Yoga for my back + scalp issues

[ᥫ᭡. Echos ৻ꪆ]

First of all, I'll start with my scalp.

I have very thick, healthy hair - which I see as a blessing, of course.

However, there is a LOT of it. And I have noticed something that annoys me to no end.

I wash my hair every other day because it can get oily quite fast. But even like this, my scalp has this... sour smell? It's hard to describe, but it is sharp.

Regardless of what shampoo I use, it persists. I have switched to a more natural one that I got from a pharmacy (quite cheap too) and while it has improved the silkiness of my hair and is leaving my scalp cleaner, I still notice the smell. I wouldn't say it's noticeable, but I found out about it while massaging my scalp some months ago. I feel like it's driving me insane. The shampoo has improved it but it has not fully eliminated the problem. I have also noticed it's lessened if I do blow-dry my hair.

I assume it might be something related to bacteria or fungus? I'm tempted to try introducing tea tree oil to my routine, mainly because I have had good experiences with its antiseptic properties.

Second problem: scoliosis, which doesn't hinder my lifestyle and it's not that noticeable but I would still like to be cautious when it comes to the yoga I do.

I have chosen this routine and I've had good experiences with it but I'm unsure if it's a good one to use for spiritual advancements?

And are there any other poses I should add to my routine?

 

[OttoHart]

The hair thing is likely oil buildup, vulnerability to your hair being damp, etc.

1. Rinse more thoroughly.
2. Look into scalp-scrubbing or start exfoliating (more if you already do).
3. While blow-drying is not the healthiest, do focus on drying your hair thoroughly and don't let it stay damp.
4. I've seen mixed results with tea tree oil, but nothing beats apple cider vinegar. Once a week until the problem subsides, then monthly.
5. Get a shampoo that is high in Zinc Pyrithione in case the issue is fungal.

Ditch or reduce hair oils if it's relevant, hidrate more, and get plenty of antioxidants.

 

[ᥫ᭡. Echos ৻ꪆ]

The hair thing is likely oil buildup, vulnerability to your hair being damp, etc.

1. Rinse more thoroughly.
2. Look into scalp-scrubbing or start exfoliating (more if you already do).
3. While blow-drying is not the healthiest, do focus on drying your hair thoroughly and don't let it stay damp.
4. I've seen mixed results with tea tree oil, but nothing beats apple cider vinegar. Once a week until the problem subsides, then monthly.
5. Get a shampoo that is high in Zinc Pyrithione in case the issue is fungal.

Ditch or reduce hair oils if it's relevant, hidrate more, and get plenty of antioxidants.

I will keep your advice in mind, thank you! I have yet to try the apple cider vinegar. I do use a bit of hair oil, but it's minimal and mainly focused on the ends and the hair itself. I avoid using it anywhere close to my roots.

 

[SomewhatCoherent]

There are some really nice shampoos and conditioners that use neem and tree tea oil. In another post you said you live in eastern Europe I'm not sure what products are available your country. Neem smells really nice and takes away from the harsh tree tea oil smell when mixed in the same product. There are also oils that normally you would added to your hair after a shower for their moisturizing properties. You can soak your scalp in these oils for 30mins to an hour before washing your hair. Witch hazel is another natural product to look into and doesn't smell like anything.

When my back gets bad (usually in summer from over working + the heat). I'll lay on the floor in a corpse pose, its unpleasant while doing, works great by forcing the spine to straighten out. For a lot of chronic conditions working the connective tissues will fix the problems long term. For example if someone is weight training, the muscles will recover first, then the connective tissue will take 3 times longer to recover. Which why most professional strength training programs include a recovery deload week. Connective tissue only get blood flow from movement. A lot of long term conditions are caused by atrophy in the connective tissue which leads to poor body positions in daily life and then its all down hill from there. Doing small movements without straining the back will get blood flow into the connective tissue, and I would recommend using physio therapy methods for safety.

Just an example if anyone wants to try it. Open and close you hands a bunch of times until you start to feel a pump as fast as you can. Then make a fist and rotate you wrist/forearm in a half moon rotation back a forth. You should feel the blood flow and inflammation from the pump move around around the forearm. Then you can go back to opening a closing the hands again or move your finger like you are typing on a keyboard really fast until you feel another pump. The idea is to get the burning pump sensation going and then change the exercise. The goal is NOT to overwork a muscle just get some inflammation/pump and blood flow going. Inflammation is part of how the body heals from injury and micro tears. Blood flow is how the inflammation is removed. A lot of people make the mistake of putting ice on a soar muscle or taking a cold shower right after workout because cold stop inflammation from doing its job.

Here is a quick search video. explaining inflammation -> Youtube short answer.

If you fix the muscles/connective tissues and nerves around the spine over time it will fix the condition. I don't know how severe your condition is. A lot of nerve damage is cause by the bones/joint pinching the nerves and causing atrophy. This can be recovered from by movement and stretching. By focusing on connective tissues it should naturally heal any nerve damage. A lot of people get surgery for no reason. It takes about 6 months or more depending severity to fix similar injuries/condition. I've learned all this the hard way. There are a lot of physio therapy techniques that stack with yoga. Personally I big fan of mixing old school wisdom with modern sports science. Apologize for the length of this and hopefully it makes sense.

 

[ᥫ᭡. Echos ৻ꪆ]

There are some really nice shampoos and conditioners that use neem and tree tea oil. In another post you said you live in eastern Europe I'm not sure what products are available your country. Neem smells really nice and takes away from the harsh tree tea oil smell when mixed in the same product. There are also oils that normally you would added to your hair after a shower for their moisturizing properties. You can soak your scalp in these oils for 30mins to an hour before washing your hair. Witch hazel is another natural product to look into and doesn't smell like anything.

When my back gets bad (usually in summer from over working + the heat). I'll lay on the floor in a corpse pose, its unpleasant while doing, works great by forcing the spine to straighten out. For a lot of chronic conditions working the connective tissues will fix the problems long term. For example if someone is weight training, the muscles will recover first, then the connective tissue will take 3 times longer to recover. Which why most professional strength training programs include a recovery deload week. Connective tissue only get blood flow from movement. A lot of long term conditions are caused by atrophy in the connective tissue which leads to poor body positions in daily life and then its all down hill from there. Doing small movements without straining the back will get blood flow into the connective tissue, and I would recommend using physio therapy methods for safety.

Just an example if anyone wants to try it. Open and close you hands a bunch of times until you start to feel a pump as fast as you can. Then make a fist and rotate you wrist/forearm in a half moon rotation back a forth. You should feel the blood flow and inflammation from the pump move around around the forearm. Then you can go back to opening a closing the hands again or move your finger like you are typing on a keyboard really fast until you feel another pump. The idea is to get the burning pump sensation going and then change the exercise. The goal is NOT to overwork a muscle just get some inflammation/pump and blood flow going. Inflammation is part of how the body heals from injury and micro tears. Blood flow is how the inflammation is removed. A lot of people make the mistake of putting ice on a soar muscle or taking a cold shower right after workout because cold stop inflammation from doing its job.

Here is a quick search video. explaining inflammation -> Youtube short answer.

If you fix the muscles/connective tissues and nerves around the spine over time it will fix the condition. I don't know how severe your condition is. A lot of nerve damage is cause by the bones/joint pinching the nerves and causing atrophy. This can be recovered from by movement and stretching. By focusing on connective tissues it should naturally heal any nerve damage. A lot of people get surgery for no reason. It takes about 6 months or more depending severity to fix similar injuries/condition. I've learned all this the hard way. There are a lot of physio therapy techniques that stack with yoga. Personally I big fan of mixing old school wisdom with modern sports science. Apologize for the length of this and hopefully it makes sense.

I try to avoid adding too many oils to my hair due to the fact that my scalp can build up dirt and natural oils already pretty fast, but I do use some simple ones on the rest of my hair.

I know some people dislike the smell of tea tree oil, but I personally love it. I used it a lot for my skincare when I used to have bad acne problems. It was the only thing that worked.

And thank you for the advice on my back! I did enjoy doing the corpse pose in the past and felt like it aligned my body more, so I'll try to do it regularly now.

As for my scalp, I'll keep using the shampoo I've gotten (since it does make my hair much nicer) and try the apple vinegar soaking before I switch to a shampoo with tea tree oil and Neem (mainly because I'm just so tired of constantly switching shampoos to try to find a good one).

 

[SSinHeartandSoul]

First of all, I'll start with my scalp.

The scalp is acidic in nature, the smell can come from certain chemicals / metals that get into contact with the scalp (The same applies for example to sweaty & smelly armpits, deodorant contains metals that react with your sweat, this causes a nasty odor around the armpits.). Shampoo's, gel's etc. can be a cause for the smell, generally you do not need to wash your hair using soap more than once a week. Certainly there will be a buildup of grease / oil on your hair, this however is completely normal! If your hair get excessively oily it simple means (in most cases) that it's trying to "combat" other substances that prevent it from doing its function. If oily hair is a problem you can wash it with water only, this is generally more than enough to restore proper hair cleanliness.


Here are some extra tips:

1. You can wash your hair with apple cider vinegar once in a while, this helps to restore proper acidic levels of your scalp. - Fill the bathroom sink with warm water, put a swig of apple cider vinegar into it, stir, apply some of this water to your scalp, let it rest for about 10 minutes, wash your hair out with water.

2. Use natural shampoo's, as mentioned above certain chemicals & metals can cause damage, or release nasty smells upon contacting your skin, so try to avoid shampoo's or other products that contain those chemicals / metals.

3. Unless you need to apply anything to your hair (for example gel), don't put anything in.


I do not know if yoga will help with getting rid of bad odor, I do know however that it will help with energy (Bio-electricity) flow within your body. So it is a good idea to do yoga regardless of scalp problems.

 

[SSinHeartandSoul]

Second problem: scoliosis, which doesn't hinder my lifestyle and it's not that noticeable but I would still like to be cautious when it comes to the yoga I do.

About this, a mixture of yoga & strength training can fix this. Be cautious about what kind of exercises you choose though! if anything feels off don't do them. One exercise in particular that can be very helpful is a dead hang, try doing this morning (Build up to it first). Consistency is key!

 

[ᥫ᭡. Echos ৻ꪆ]

About this, a mixture of yoga & strength training can fix this. Be cautious about what kind of exercises you choose though! if anything feels off don't do them. One exercise in particular that can be very helpful is a dead hang, try doing this morning (Build up to it first). Consistency is key!

Thank you so much for the tips! They're greatly appreciated.