My hips are uneven, my ribcage is twisted, and my waist falls differently on each side of my body. When I trace my fingers down my spine, I follow the winding path of three, 50 degree curves. For most of my adolescence, I strapped myself into a back brace for 23 hours a day. I remember the painful purple bruises from its tight, velcro straps, the embarrassment of being held aside at security lines, the misery of wearing five layers in the summer, and the taunts of one of my classmates who punched me and shouted, “Hard back! Hard back!” Fortunately, I met Gail Fennel, an advocate of the scoliosis-specific physical therapy called Schroth. Gail and I learned together; she perfected her teaching while I practiced the exercises. Little by
