5 Ideal Yoga Poses For Lower Back Pain
It has been found that yoga can relieve chronic back pain and provide strengthening to the muscles of the spine. These 5 yoga poses for lower back pain may help you too.
Back pain – and chronic back pain at that – is emerging as one of the most common pains of modern life and one of the most likely reasons to miss work.
The conclusion drawn by experts is that the main culprit is a sedentary lifestyle. The absence of physical movement of the body and poor posture for long hours in an office chair “shorten” the muscles that support the spine.
These gradually atrophy and can no longer function in a supportive way. Thus, a sudden movement can cause an unstretched, “short” and idle muscle to easily contract, causing pain.
Is there a cure for back pain?
Experts are constantly looking for new treatment methods, as the existing ones do not offer permanent relief, often not even effective. Interestingly, a new therapeutic approach that treats chronic back pain as a disorder of the nervous system.
There are many types of exercise that aim with specific exercises to alleviate these pains and build a strong muscle group that will support the spine properly so that injuries are not caused every three and a half years, with pilates being the most popular type.
However, it is also yoga that promises relief, through the frequent practice of certain asanas that actually aim to strengthen the muscles through stretching them. In other words, careful and guided stretching is the recipe that yoga uses.
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The benefits of yoga
As stress is also considered a major reason for muscle tension, yoga has been found to help relieve muscle spasms through its other techniques, thanks to which the body practices to manage stress. [1]
David Overholt, a well-known yoga instructor and wellness coach from his YouTube channel, suggests 5 stretching poses to relieve chronic back pain. However, don’t try them if you are in exertion and without the consent of your attending specialist.
Yoga Poses For Lower Back Pain
Pose #1
This is one of the easiest yoga poses for lower back pain. Bring a mattress perpendicular to the wall and sit by sticking the side of your torso to the wall. From this position, raise your legs up the wall and stretch them while lying down on the mat so that your legs and torso form a right angle. Stay like this for a period of 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
If the pulling you feel causes discomfort in your back, place an aid (a folded mat or thin pillow) between your pelvis and the floor, as close to the wall as possible so that your spine rests firmly against the floor.
In the second phase, bring the feet together and bend the knees so that they open outwards. The soles of the feet should rest against the wall while you bring your feet closer and closer to your pelvis. Stay in the position where you feel the pull without pain for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Pose #2
After bringing your body at right angle to the wall, as in the pose above, bend one knee to the side and bring your foot over the other knee. Keep the other leg extended against the wall.
Gradually bend the foot of the wall, bringing the knee towards the chest (the foot presses against the wall) and gently pressing the foot that rests on it. Stay in the position that is comfortable for a maximum of 2 minutes. You can also use the mat here.
Pose #3
Place a mat stuck to the wall, on which you will rest one knee bent. Carefully bring the sole of the bent knee to rest against the wall, while you rest your torso on the other leg that rests bent on the mat. The pose is reminiscent of a runner’s stride.
Push your torso towards the foot that is on the ground. Adjust the intensity of the stretch through the foot resting on the wall. You should feel the pull on the quadriceps which is equally important for the back, as strange as that sounds.
Pose #4
Lie down on the mattress with your legs bent and your feet on the ground in a comfortable position. Lift your pelvis up to the point where the spine is aligned with the thighs and no higher, so that it does not arch.
Stay for 10 seconds, lower the basin to the mat and rest for another 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times the lifting of the pelvis in this way.
Pose #5
Lie on the mat, press the feet to the ground and bring the bent knees to stick together. With gentle movements, open the right leg to the right and let the left leg “drop” inward and switch sides.
The movement should be natural, the spine should not form a large arc with the floor and the lateral muscles of the back should be gently contracted.
After alternating 10 such “turns”, spread your hands on the floor and bring the left ankle above the right knee. Allow the right foot to drop to the side while the left foot presses it lightly. Stay for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
In the following video you can see the stretches in detail, as well as which muscles they work out.
10 tips for waist care
Here are ten short tips to treat your waist and your back that would also help you avoid back pain.
- Breathe through the stomach.
- We sit on the edge of the chair.
- At home, we sometimes choose to sit on the floor instead of a chair or couch.
- When we sit cross-legged, we change position and leg regularly (while avoiding staying in this position for prolonged periods of time).
- Make sure we get up from the chair every 20 minutes.
- Remember to drink water to help the muscles and joints to function properly.
- From time to time we spread our legs outwards to maintain and improve hip mobility.
- We work in an upright position.
- We take time to perform exercises or stretches that improve hip range of motion.
- We do yoga and pilates to maintain and improve our flexibility.
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