The Harsh Reality of Scoliosis
By Theresa Shay
When someone steps into the Scoliosis Wellness Journey, one major surprise is that their curvy, twisted spine has compromised so many places in the body. One shoulder is lower. One hip juts forward. One side of the ribcage pokes out. The head tilts. A rib hump rises in the back.
Asymmetry, everywhere you are willing to look.
I stand in front of my mirror and stick out my tongue. Yes, even my tongue appears to have scoliosis. Amazing what you see when you decide to look.
The student new to addressing their scoliosis usually cannot see their asymmetry easily. The illusion of small-minded thinking with its tilt toward firm preferences means we see things not as they are but as we want them to be. To meet what is actually present, we must be willing to give “a long, loving look at the real.” This is how Jesuit theologian Walter Burghardt described contemplation.
This invitation is an appropriate starting point for people interested in their scoliosis treatment.
As I show students how to see with fresh eyes, their asymmetries begin to take shape in the mind. The student steps away from the mirror.
“I didn’t realize how contorted I am.”
“I’m a mess.”
“I never noticed how bad it was.”
“This is depressing.”
I hear their words. The Telling Lump forms in my throat with two realizations. I remember this place. I wish I could spare them the pain, catapult them to the place of knowledge, empowerment, energy, and delight. It will come, I am sure, but it will take time. Second, I recognize the challenges I unconsciously faced as a young girl and am amazed at where I stand now.
I offer the student another take on the matter. “Not contorted. Asymmetric.”
They are willing to agree to this. I have named their reality, just left out the judgement. Inside myself a blessing for them moves silently through: A transformation is heading your way. Stay with it – the rewards are so great.
Witnessing someone react to their scoliosis helps me clear away yet another bit of the once-impenetrable wall I cemented against my body as a teenager. That wall allowed me to disconnect from the rigid form of a torso being squeezed tight by a back brace for four years. I stayed on my side of the wall and went about my life and did as little with my body as possible.
Thankfully, the wisdom of TriYoga and my effort over the past three decades has taken most of that wall down. When I bear witness to the harshness a mind can offer when compassion would go so much further, I watch the dust from that old wall stir through the blazing light. Perhaps these moments of compassion for my fellow journeyer are how I am becoming clearer and brighter now.
I’ve been on this TriYoga journey long enough to have almost forgotten the upset that comes when your central pillar decides to wander around instead of supporting you at the center. There are challenges for sure, physical and mental. But the harsh reality of scoliosis is not the reality at all. The reality of scoliosis is, simply put, the recognition that you are asymmetric and that you can do something about it with the right knowledge.
May you who are beginning a journey be inspired to give a long, loving look at the real. The knowledge you gain will be the wisdom you need to meet the challenge you have received.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.