Yoga for back pain: Learn the connection between imbalance and pain and how to correct it.Yoga for back pain is a very personal experience. Living with chronic, debilitating back pain for over 8 years following a car accident led to a virtually pain free life once I committed to a consistent yoga practice. Having a consistent yoga practice for over 4 years and drawing on knowledge from work with back pain rehabilitation taught me about the mechanisms of back pain and how to eliminate, reduce and prevent it. Happily, people who attend my classes tell me that they are free from back pain as well; more so than they could have imagined. The key to eliminating back pain that is caused by muscular imbalance lies in understanding that the only way to relieve symptoms is to exercise. It sounds contrary to what the body wants to do, rest. Following an injury, the muscles spasm to protect themselves when they are weak and injured. Chronic cycles of spasms and pain lead to more weakness and spasms. This imbalance is further amplified by core instability and overly tight hamstrings that pull the pelvis out of alignment, It is a terrible way to exist, if you can call it an existence.
Depending on what the reason is for back pain, if your physician has cleared you for normal activity; you still have to be careful before jumping into a yoga class. Certain postures can aggravate back pain, such as uttanasana; (the forward fold) can cause more pain and harm for herniated disks. Twisting is recommended instead. When using yoga to lessen back pain, one has to remember that good communication with your yoga teacher can save you a lot of pain and aggravation. They can help you develop some modifications that you can use during classes if you are unable to do some postures. Yoga for back pain: The Abdominals Basic positions for building strength include core strengthening including lats, obliques and abdominal. Bridge poses, incline planks, spinal balance and cat cows can help to strengthen the back. Purvottanasana, or inclined plank builds the shoulders, opens the heart and allows the chest to expand and stretches the entire front of the body.
This example of a core builder is the navasana. Many modifications are available and one can build up their strength gradually. This posture can aggravate the tailbone if there is an injury somewhere in your past. Listen to your body, and allow it to tell you where to take the next posture.
Yoga for back pain: How to build the lower back muscles The cobra also strengthens the back, especially the spinal erector muscles that run along the lower back from the pelvis to the mid thoracic region. Rolling the shoulders back and down also allows for more openness and relaxation through the chest. Below that the virabhadrasana A posture allows the lower back muscles to tone, as the hip flexor is straightened and toned on the leg that is reaching back.
Yoga for back pain: The Back stretching exercises Back Stretching exercises include many common yoga postures that elongate, flex and rotate the spine. Yoga postures that also benefit the back are those that allow full spinal twist from side to side. Matsyendrasana allows the spine to flex and rotate, thus allowing toxins to be released from the disks, the disks are flushed with fresh fluid and the internal organs are compressed and flushed with fresh blood. All this squishing, rotating and flexing can release a lot of old toxic waste from the beep tissues. Common side effects are a feeling of nausea and dizziness.
Another yoga for back pain posture is paschimottanasana or the seated forward fold. The hamstrings and lower back are stretched in this pose and the deep connections in the hips are also relaxed. Twisting to the side here is important if you have bulging or herniated disks as you don't want them to have more pressure on the disk material.
As with all exercise programs, please check with your doctor before beginning any new program. Communicate with your teacher to allow them to help you work around injuries and allow yourself to harness the patience to develop a strong connection to your feedback loop. Listen and the body will rise to the occasion! Return from yoga for back pain to yoga poses and beyond |
