The Best Yoga Postures For Back Pain

Back pain is often caused by poor posture. Yoga incorporates stretching and relaxation. Here are some exercises to reduce or avoid back pain.

Back pain is surely one of the most common illnesses of our time. This type of discomfort is usually caused by standing or sitting for too long. This leads to maintaining a rigid position. Hence, it causes lower back pain.

If you release the tension built up in the back muscles, you will be able to relieve the pain. To do this, it is essential to strengthen and condition the muscles to better support the spine and relieve stress.

Most back strengthening exercises focus on the core muscles, abdominal muscles, and glutes.

All the core muscles are essential for supporting and relieving tension in the spine. However, there is little stress on the core muscles during typical daily activities.

To develop strength in the abdominals and back muscles, one should practice exercises that focus specifically on these muscle groups.

The Yoga against back pain

The most practiced form of yoga is “ Hatha yoga ”. Hatha yoga incorporates a series of poses known as ” Asanas ” while performing in a breathing technique called ” Pranayama “.

Yoga involves very basic, but sometimes very complex body postures and breathing techniques. The purpose of yoga is to provide the practitioner with a series of physical and mental benefits.

Physical benefits of yoga exercises

Yoga helps increase the strength of muscles and very specific muscle groups. Maintaining positions in yoga is not meant to be uncomfortable. However, this requires specific focus and use of muscles throughout the body.

Muscle strength is improved by staying in these yoga positions and incorporating various movements.

Many of the postures in this discipline gently strengthen the back muscles as well as the abdominal muscles.

The muscles of the back and abdomen are essential components of the muscular network of the spine. They help the body maintain good posture and movement in an upright position.

When these muscles are well conditioned, back pain can be greatly reduced or avoided.

Yoga incorporates stretching and relaxation, which reduces tension in muscles that are affected by stress.

Yoga requires maintaining gentle postures for between 10 to 60 seconds. During the postures, some muscles contract. While others stretch, promoting relaxation and flexibility in muscles and joints.

Yoga postures for back pain

Downward facing dog

This classic posture gives an excellent stretch of the body, directed towards the extensors, these large muscles which form the lower back. They support the spine and help you lift objects.

How to practice it:

• Start face down, hands slightly in front of shoulders.
• Pressing backward, lift the knees off the floor and lift the tailbone toward the ceiling.
• For an extra hamstring stretch, gently push your heels toward the floor.
• Hold the posture for 5-10 breaths and repeat the position seven times.

The child’s posture

You may feel as though you are resting, but the infant pose is an active stretch that helps lengthen the back.

It’s also a great stress reliever before bed at the end of a long, tiring day.

How to practice it:

• Start on all fours, keep your arms forward and step back so that your butt is resting just above your heels.
• Hold the posture and breathe deeply, trying to feel the breath descend to the hips.
• The more you stretch in any direction, the more relieved you will feel.
• Repeat 10 times.

Triangle pose

This is an ideal posture for strengthening the back and legs, it can also help lengthen muscles along the sides of the torso, while stretching muscle fibers along the outer hip (the iliotibial band).

How to practice it:

• Start by standing with your feet together.
• Then take your left foot back one step and point the left foot outward at a 45 degree angle.
• Turn your chest to one side and open the pose by stretching your right arm to the floor and your left arm to the ceiling, keeping your straight and left legs straight.
• You may not be able to touch the floor with your right arm at first, so don’t stretch it too much. Lean as much as possible while keeping your back straight.
• Hold for 5-10 breaths, then switch to the other side and repeat several times.

Cat and cow pose

These are the perfect postures for headaches, neck pain and especially back pain. The cat and cow stretches relax the back muscles. Either as part of a yoga routine or as a warm-up for another workout.

How to practice it:

• Start from the crawling position, move into the cat position, slowly moving the spine upward, making the back round.
• Hold for a few seconds and move towards the cow pose. Lower the back, pushing the shoulder blades back and lift the head.
• The change from cat to cow helps put the spine in a neutral position. It relaxes the muscles and decreases the tension.
• Repeat 10 times, gently, from cat to cow position, then back to cat.

These postures are a great way to keep your back supple, active, and relaxed.

While yoga is not a good option if you have severe pain, those with occasional pain or chronic pain can benefit from these poses.

But it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor before starting a new exercise regimen.

Do not force postures as this may cause injury to you. If the pain is severe, you should see a doctor.

When it comes to back pain, prevention is the key to a long, pain-free life. But listening to your body is also extremely important.