Scoliosis Support Groups
Things are easier when you have a little support. That’s why we’re happy to share details about some wonderful online support group options open to anyone with scoliosis and/or spinal fusion!
Martha Carter
teresa heit-murray
1. Fusion Support Group
Our friends at Samamkaya Yoga have teamed up with Martha Carter, Director of TOPS, to offer a monthly support group where people with spinal fusions (or those considering a spinal fusion) can come together for a casual online chat.
This group is designed to encourage participants to safely explore and question the physical and emotional realities of living with scoliosis and fusion, with others who share similar experiences. Martha hosts this support group once a month on Thursdays.
Whether you were a teen when your spine was fused, an older adult, or somewhere in between, discussions within this group will help to draw out personal reflections and identify successful ways to manage this lifelong condition. Every month is different, evolving to reflect the needs of the group.
About Martha
Martha Carter is the founder and director of Twisted Outreach Project for Back Care and Scoliosis (TOPS), a Canadian-based non-profit that provides a range of holistic and creative approaches to working with back care and scoliosis. TOPS runs workshops, connects specialists, empowers individuals, builds community, and raises awareness. In 2012, TOPS created and continues to build and maintain this resource-filled website and ongoing blog for people living with scoliosis.
As a therapeutic movement specialist for scoliosis and spinal fusions, Martha teaches Gentle Yoga and Scoliosis Wellness classes, workshops, and retreats for all ages and abilities in Canada, the US, and internationally. She is a certified teacher of Yoga for Scoliosis, based on the techniques developed by acclaimed Iyengar teacher, Elise Browning Miller. In 2013, Martha completed her Yoga Teacher Training at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, and in 2016 she travelled with Elise to attend and study medical classes at the Iyengar Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India. She has also studied (and continues to enjoy explorations in) Pilates for Scoliosis, Essential Somatics, Energy Medicine, and Trauma Release techniques, which she weaves into all her classes to help participants with pain relief while enhancing their movement potential. Martha holds a BA in Music from Stanford University, and an MFA in Dance from New York University.
Martha’s full bio can be found here.
Group Details
Meetings are hosted online via Zoom by Samamkaya Yoga, on the following Thursdays from 4:00-5:30pm ET | 1:00-2:30pm PT. Tentative 2025 dates are:
- January 23
- February 20
- March 20
- May 22
NOTE: For April 2025, in place of our usual Fusion Support Group, TOPS is hosting a special ‘Fusion Forum’ on April 24. Click HERE for details and to register.
Monthly Support Group meeting attendance is free or by donation. Interested? Sign up via the link below. Feel free to email us if any questions.
2. new: TWISTY Scoliosis Support Group
Group Details
Meetings are hosted online via Zoom, on the following Saturdays from 11:00am-12:00pm PT | 2:00-3:00pm ET:
- January 11
- February 8
- March 8
- April 12
- May 3
Meeting attendance is free or by donation.
3. NEW: Fusion Forum
ONLINE
This new (FREE!) online opportunity will help build awareness around how people with fusions can find ways to help themselves as they age. Facilitated by Martha Carter, each Forum will feature a couple of ‘fusioneers’ with impactful stories and learning to share, and will finish with a Q&A.
The next forum is scheduled for Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 1:00-2:30pm PT | 4:00-5:30pm ET.
Forums will be recorded and available for replay on the TOPS YouTube page for those who cannot attend 'live'. Sign up below to receive the Zoom link. Email us with any questions!
4. A-Symmetrical Community for Yoga and Scoliosis
NOTE: Currently on hiatus. Visit teresa’s website if you’d like to get in touch with her.
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Following our online ‘Yoga for Scoliosis - Part 1’ workshop that TOPS hosted with Elise Browning Miller in September 2020, teresa heit-murray, a workshop participant and certified yoga teacher, started the A-Symmetrical Community for Yoga and Scoliosis.
This virtual community gives its members the space to encourage each other, share scoliosis tips, resources, and generally talk about what it's like living with scoliosis.
About teresa
teresa began practicing yoga in 1999 with Rosalia Holt, who was in her late 70's at the time. teresa is a Registered Yoga Teacher having completed her 200 hour Pure Yoga training in 2010. She has been taking yoga classes for over 12 years in Chicago and Oak Park. teresa teaches Restorative, Intro to Yoga, Yang, Yin, Hatha and Vinyasa Flow styles of yoga. Her classes focus on a body/mind awareness in a way that helps individual students find what works for their unique anatomy. She also has special training in healthy back solutions with Gabriel Halpern and Elise Miller (scoliosis specialist) as well as Yin Yoga from Paul and Susan Grilley.
teresa teaches in a way that helps individual students find what works for their unique anatomy, in order to achieve the health benefits of each pose. teresa has found that if practiced regularly, yoga can help with posture, skeletal alignment, muscular strength, pain reduction, and joint mobility. teresa's classes focus on core strength, posture, balance, lengthening of muscles and tissue. teresa is a dancer and designer who brings much creativity to her sequences and a desire to be a good guide for exploring new poses in her classes. teresa's goal as a teacher is to help yoga students of all ages and conditions experience the many health benefits of yoga... and to have fun doing it.
If you’re interested in joining this community, you can reach out directly to teresa at teresa@heitmurray.com