Yoga for Scoliosis Part 1 – ONLINE/IN PERSON – taught by Deborah Wolk

Elise Miller will be recovering from hip replacement surgery, and so she regretfully will not be able to teach this workshop. Deborah Wolk, Founder &  Program Director for Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective and longtime Yoga for Scoliosis Certified Teacher Trainer will present the first part of Elise’s internationally acclaimed workshop on working with scoliosis. Deborah has been teaching Yoga for Scoliosis for 21 years and is considered to be a leader in the field of Yoga for Scoliosis. She met EBM in 2003 and completed the Yoga for Scoliosis Teacher Training and practicum in 2005. She has assisted Elise’s Teacher Trainings annually since 2006. Deborah will follow Elise’s curriculum for Part I precisely, so if you are interested in completing the Practicum after Part II you will be fully prepared. Deborah will be ready to answer all of your questions with her vast experience with the topic.

We are opening the studio for students interested in taking this workshop in person, but will continue to offer it online as well. Deborah will be providing feedback and support to students online and in the studio. Those coming in person will be able to use the best quality props and a rope wall. Participants coming in person must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

This workshop is designed to present information and experience in the ways that Iyengar Yoga can be used to meet the challenges of scoliosis. We will include anatomical background on scoliosis, identify each participant’s scoliosis, and discuss cause and effect as well as psychological consequences of scoliosis. Participants will learn optimal yoga postures for scoliosis as well as how to adapt specific yoga postures to their scoliosis. By combining the yoga postures with breathing awareness, one can develop more structural alignment of the body and become more symmetrical and balanced. Through yoga, one can find the balance point that allows the scoliosis curve to coexist with gravity and activates the body’s natural plumb line.

This workshop is appropriate for anyone with scoliosis whether they are currently a yoga student or not. Teachers are also urged to attend to gain knowledge and be more skillful when assisting their students with scoliosis.

Saturday AM

Deborah will discuss the physical and psychological causes and effects of scoliosis, identify different patterns of scoliosis and introduce the most beneficial poses for scoliosis. Adjustments and props will be used to assist participants to work with their individual scoliosis. Emphasis will be on lengthening the spine and aligning the body with breath awareness in beginning yoga poses.

Saturday PM & Sunday

Participants will continue to learn to work with their particular scoliosis with a variety of yoga poses including standing poses, back strengtheners, twists, inversions and forward bends.

Do you have an interest in becoming certified as a “Yoga for Scoliosis” Trainer? The Yoga for Scoliosis “Part 1” workshop would fulfill the first 10 hours of the 20 hours required to get started on the Elise Browning Miller  “Yoga for Scoliosis” Training program.

Deborah Wolk, C-IAYT, has been teaching and working with students with back issues, scoliosis, and other injuries for over 21 years. Her yoga practice working with her own scoliosis informs the work she does to help others. Deborah met Elise Browning Miller and was certified as a Yoga for Scoliosis Trainer through Elise’s training program in 2005. In 2007, Deborah travelled to India to study with the Iyengar family and spent most afternoons observing the medical classes there. Also in 2007, she co-founded Yoga Union Center for Backcare & Scoliosis and co-directed it for 8 years. In January 2015, Deborah founded Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective. Samamkaya is a democratically run worker cooperative and is devoted exclusively to scoliosis, back care, teacher education in therapeutics, and adaptive yoga for students with disabilities and nervous system disorders. Deborah is warm and funny and her teachings are subtle yet explained at a level everyone can understand. Deborah teaches workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings on Back Care & Scoliosis in New York City, across the US, and around the world, and has a thriving private practice. www.dwolkyoga.com . Interview with Christine Jaureguiberry on YogaBerry’s Back Chat/ The NY Times Article/ Deborah Teaches 1 pose 3 ways/ A review of Deborah’s class/ An Interview with Deborah Wolk/