Mark your Calendars - Osteoporosis and Yoga Workshop Returns!

Sunday, November 17th, 12:00-4:00pm EST. Join us in-person at Stonegate Studio or online via Zoom. This workshop includes:

How to practice or teach yoga for those at risk for fractures from osteoporosis.
Hands-on practice and support.
Handouts that support the lecture, with pictures and real-life examples of bone structure and skeletal variation.
Spine safe movement.

This workshop is perfect for students and teachers with or without osteoporosis. This course is approved for 4 CEUs by Yoga Alliance and IAYT.

The sacrum, often overlooked, plays a vital role in both spinal health and overall movement. It's not just a single bone but a fusion of five vertebrae that occurs as we age, usually completing the process in our 20s. Despite this fusion, the sacrum is part of a dynamic system that requires awareness and movement to stay healthy. Here's why understanding the sacrum is so important, and how it affects both the spine and surrounding tissues.

Bringing Awareness to the Sacrum

Most of us are more aware of the back of the sacrum than the front, but shifting our attention to the front of the sacrum—where it meets the spine—can give us a fuller sense of its position and function. Bringing awareness to the front of your spine and sacrum can help with balance, posture, and creating a better relationship with your core. This can also shed light on how pelvic floors work. Yes, floors—plural. Our pelvic floor is not just one single structure but a set of muscles layered to support the organs, spine, and hips.

The Sacrum’s Role in Early Development

Even before the sacrum fully forms, it's being shaped by our movement—or lack thereof. Take, for example, the importance of tummy time for babies. In car seats, swings, and other common positions, babies spend a lot of time with their sacrum in flexion, which can "program" the back of the sacrum to remain compressed. Tummy time encourages extension, helping develop the natural secondary curves of the spine. Consider postures like sphinx or cobra that support the nourishment of the sacrum.

The Spinal Cord and Nerve Pathways

The spinal cord extends into the sacrum through the sacral canal, where it transitions into the cauda equina—a bundle of nerves that fans out to serve various parts of the body. These nerves exit through small holes in the sacrum and branch out both anteriorly and posteriorly, connecting with the lower body.

This neural network is responsible for transmitting sensory and motor information, but it's not without its challenges. Compression in the back of the sacrum, often from poor posture or lack of movement, can cause the nerves to get “sticky” or trapped within the surrounding soft tissue. This leads to pain, numbness, and mobility issues that can manifest anywhere from the low back to the legs.

Nerve Compression and its Effects

One area particularly affected by sacral health is the glutes. The superficial cluneal nerves, running from the lumbar region into the glutes and down the posterior thigh, can become compressed through prolonged sitting or poor movement habits. This can cause numbness in the glutes and make it difficult to activate the muscles properly. The same goes for the sacral nerve pathways, including the pudendal and perineal nerves. When these nerves are compressed or restricted, they can lead to a variety of symptoms, from low back pain to sciatic discomfort.

Sitting for extended periods can lead to cluneal nerve compression, causing discomfort not only in the low back but also in the hamstrings. Without mindful movement, the nerves can eventually "shut down," becoming numb or less responsive to stimuli. This is why it's crucial to keep the sacrum and surrounding tissues moving freely.

Restoring Sacral Mobility and Nerve. Health

Healthy movement of the sacrum helps maintain adaptability in the nerves. Through gentle activation of the glutes, stretching, and mobility exercises for the pelvis and spine, we can help "wake up" the nerves and restore function to the muscles.

Keeping the sacrum mobile and the nerves adaptable is essential to overall well-being. By regularly practicing movements that support the sacrum, and bringing awareness to how we sit, stand, and move throughout the day, we can alleviate discomfort and promote long-term health. Our weekly Mindful Movement practice promotes great insights as to how we hold tension, move (or do not move) our bodies, and how we relate to the sensations in the body.

The sacrum, though small, is mighty. Consider working with one of our certified yoga therapists to treat your spine with the care it deserves. Our yoga therapists work closely with you to understand your specific health concerns and craft a practice that is uniquely yours. Click here for more information or email info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com to schedule an initial consultation.

Amanda Dzengeleski is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher and yoga therapist in training. She has additional training in trauma-sensitive yoga, therapeutic yoga, and functional movement. Amanda deeply believes that all beings possess an innate wisdom that blooms despite difficulty, trauma, illness or loss. She is dedicated to hosting a safe and inclusive space and inviting an embodied experience for students to honor their uniqueness and learn to listen to the wisdom of their bodies.

Sam Sather, founder of Dogwood Studios, is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) and an Insight Yoga Institute (IYI) endorsed teacher. She individualizes the yoga practice with appropriate modifications for participants’ unique bodies and medical histories with a focus on finding calm and improving health. She offers several live, online and in person yoga classes as well as private sessions so you can focus on your needs one-on-one.