Those are great suggestions, D!!! :-) I'll post what I did in the Bellates tribe too:

The muscles are most certainly involved now too, so pilates can help to retrain them and get your alignment back. If you're not already doing it, the pre-pilates exercise called the Pelvic Clock (I call it an Omi/Umi Clock in Bellates) is a great one for anyone with low back problems. Lie flat on your back on your mat (or in bed before you get out is a great way to warm the back up before climbing out of bed.) Place your feet flat on your mat/bed with the feet in line with the hip bones - basically the feet are a few inches apart and the knees are separated, in line with the legs. Keeping your ribs "corseted" and the lower ribs on the mat/bed, inhale and tilt your sacrum/coccyx down toward the mat creating a "cave" in the hollow of your back. This is 6 o'clock, now exhale and tilt the sacrum/coccyx away from the mat/bed and push your low back flat, gently tilting the sacrum/coccyx up toward the ceiling, but keep your ribs still on the mat and don't let your quads, hamstrings, or gluts do this exercise for you - use those core muscles!. This is 12 o'clock. (Pay special attention to how your body feels in 12 o'clock because thats is the movement that is opposite to what your body is doing right now in its lordotic state. You might want to stay here and work with this motion for a while in each session. Think micro-movements.) Go slowly back and forth 3-5 times with meaningful intentioned breath and movement, then try going side to side: 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, by pushing the posterior of the iliac crest (the back part of your ilium) on each side into the mat/bed, alternating with breath: inhale at 9 and exhale at 3. Repeat 3-5 times. Next go around your clock using your breath: exhale at 12, slowly continue exhaling and roll through the face of the clock to stop at 3, start to inhale on to 6, hold breath traveling on to 9, and exhale coming back to 12. Repeat this direction 3-5 times, then reverse the direction for 3-5 times.

Another thing to work on is imprint and natural spine positions. Using the same starting position as above, make sure your neck is long on the mat, shoulder blades are down your back, and the ribs are corseted with the lower ribs/floating ribs pushed to the mat. Feel the natural curve of your spine, then pull your bellybutton to your spine and push the lower ribs to the mat without tilting the ASIS (Anterior Superior Iliac Spine) out of flat alignment with the Pubic bones. Place your hands gently on the ASIS and Pubic bones to check to see it they are flat and parallel to the floor. If they are not, readjust your torso position. This is a very subtle movment, but one that I think could help you. This is called by some "imprint spine" and you should not be able to slip your hand between your low back and the mat in this position. Relax into natural spine - where your body naturally wants to go. If you have trouble maintaining a less prominent low back curve in natural spine, think about your bellybutton moving down and up and keeping the lower ribs on the mat. Start working with your breath: being able to expand your ribcage (inhale into the sides of your ribs) in imprint spine without losing it. Eventually, when you are having less problems with lordosis, you can work on moving your feet further away from you buttocks to increase the difficulty of this exercise.

If you don't already have one, you might want to try to find a certified Pilates instructor who works at a studio with the Pilates machines, (look for someone who has spent 3-600 hours in training!) as some of the exercises with resistance done on the Reformer and especially the Cadillac could be very helpful for your condition.

Also, something else that might help - I'm dealing with some scoliosis from the last car accident (not fun - so I empathize with you Joy!) and this is what my new ND suggested: an inversion table - that's right, a table that holds you up by the ankles. It's supposed to be great for joint pain and spinal curvatures and you just let gravity do the work. At first, people can only tolerate 5 minutes, but you work up to hanging for 20-30 minutes a day. Mine just arrived yesterday and so I still have to set it up. i'll let you know what I think after I hang in it a bit. :-)

Happy Healing,
B