Adapting a regular yoga practice can relieve back pain by helping you improve your posture and increase strength and flexibility in your back muscles. Consider beginning your yoga practice by taking a class with an instructor who can help make sure you are performing the poses correctly to avoid injury.
Pain Prevention
Practicing yoga can strengthen your back and abdominal muscles, giving your body a better ability to hold your spine up correctly. By strengthening your back, you can correct your posture and prevent recurrent back pain. Yoga poses are designed to teach your body proper alignment, supporting the natural curve of your spine. Yoga practice also brings flexibility to your muscles, allowing for a wider range of motion from your legs and hips, which protects your lower back from injury.
Pain Relief
Practicing yoga gives you an opportunity to relax and relieve stress, which can ease back pain by releasing tension in your muscles. During your yoga routine, you increase the blood flow to your muscles through stretching. An increased blood flow brings more nutrients to your muscles, keeping your back healthy and relieving chronic pain. Meditating during your yoga practice can bring fast relief to your back pain by changing your perception and putting you in a more relaxed mood.
Poses
Release pain and tension in your back by performing a gentle forward bend. Stand tall with your knees slightly bent and your feet hips-width apart. Slowly bend forward at the hips, letting your torso hang over your legs until your stomach touches your thighs. Cross your arms over your head and let your head, neck and shoulders relax completely. Hold the position for 10 to 20 seconds.
Downward-facing dog is a handy yoga pose for strengthening and stretching your back muscles. Start on your hands and knees with your palms flat on the floor. Straighten your legs and lift your knees off the floor, pulling your hips up and back toward the ceiling while pressing your palms and toes into the ground. Hold the pose for five to 10 seconds, then relax.
Considerations
Always consult with your doctor before beginning a new exercise routine. Don't overdo it. Start with gentle poses, moving into the poses only as far as your body will let you. If you feel pain in your back during your yoga practice, stop what you are doing and relax until the pain has subsided before continuing. Keep your abdominal muscles engaged as you perform your yoga poses to protect your lower back.
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