Yoga for Back Pain
Do you have back pain? Join the club-it’s a very large club, especially in America where we spend roughly $3.1 trillion on our back care. That includes doctor visits, pharmacy costs, emergency visits, surgery and everything else it takes to keep us out of pain.
So, in order to stay OUT of this particular club, there are several things you can do to prevent back pain or to tackle it after it begins. Always check with your healthcare provider to see if you have restrictions for physical activity before you attempt any of these care options. If you have a particular diagnosis or know there are certain movements that cause the pain, that is helpful information! Working one on one with a qualified yoga therapist can help you find ways to move that are pain free and even has the potential to relieve the pain! Schedule with me here>>
Start by laying in constructive rest (laying on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor).
Breathe! Begin to notice your breath and slowly start to deepen and lengthen the inhale and exhale. Let the air come all the way down towards the tips of the lungs/rib cage, filling up from the bottom to the top. Fill up from lungs, to mid rib cage to chest. Exhale in reverse (top to bottom). Let the breathe take on the quality of a wave.
With your hands, find your two boney hip points on the front of your pelvis. Place the heels of your hands on those hips points. Place your finger tips on your pubic bone. So, you form a triangle with the 3 boney points of the front of the pelvis. See if you can get these points all on the same horizontal plane. You might have to lift your head and look to see if your pelvic girdle is parallel. If it’s not, move your pelvis until it is parallel to the ground.
As you exhale, draw the two boney hip points toward the belly button, squeezing your deepest muscles in like a corset. Hold that squeeze!
As you inhale, lift the pelvic floor. (This is the same muscle you would use to STOP in the bathroom;)) Hold that squeeze, too!
Exhale, let it all release!
This is deep core engagement at it’s very basic form. This is how we should engage our core, not just during “ab work”, but during all of life-picking up the groceries, taking out the trash, lifting the bag of mulch, etc. This core engagement needs to become second nature, a natural reaction. This is our brain making a new neuropathway-a samskara. Once you have this mastered, you are ready to move on to the next phase.