There are many ways to stretch the back. A variety of yoga poses will help to open different places along the spine, leaving you feeling better and standing taller. When you move quickly, your body jumps to the places that are easy to move, so it is important to move the body slowly and consciously to stretch the places that feel immobile.
Cat-Cow
Before trying more difficult contortions, let the back warm up by doing a simple cat-cow exercise. Come to all fours, with your hand and knees on the ground. Align your shoulders over your wrist and your hips over your knees. As you inhale, press the belly down, lift your chest and gaze up. Allow your shoulder to relax, as if they were rolling down the back. This is cow pose. On your exhale come into cat by letting the back roll up like a scared cat, while you tuck your chin to your chest and pull your stomach muscles in. Repeat these two poses several time, letting your body ungulate with each breathe.
Bridge- Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Bridge pose is a beginning back contortion that aches the entire spine. To begin, lie with your back flat on the floor. Bend your knees, placing your feet flat on ground, parallel to each other, with the heels as close to your bottom as you can get them. Let your arms rest at your sides. As you exhale, push the feet into the floor, lifting the hips into the air. The lower back will begin to arch up. Keep pushing, letting the arch extend into the upper spine. To lift up higher, walk your hands and shoulders underneath you and push them into the ground.
Camel-Ustrasana
Camel pose also arches the entire back, but focuses more on the hard to reach upper back. To come into camel stand on your knees and place your hands, fingers down, on the lower back. Using your hands as support, pull the elbows and then the shoulder blades towards each other. Look towards the ceiling and begin arching back. As you arch, push your hips forward so the they stay over the knees, this will keep the arch move down the back, rather then jumping right into the lower back. For a more advanced version, once you are leaning back, let your hands come to your heels and increase the arch. Return the hands to the lower back for support before rising.
Seated Twist
Any back contortion sequence needs to include a pose to twist the spine as well as arch it. In seated twist, let the legs cross over each other as show. Inhale and reach the arms straight over your head. As you exhale lower the arms, and push the left elbow off the knee twisting towards the back hand. Hold for several breaths. lengthening through the back as you breath in and twisting farther as you breath out. Switch sides.
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