Yoga For Back Pain:

In Today’s hectic life, we put too much pressure on our bodies. We take our backs for granted. Millions of people in the world deal with chronic back pain. This is mainly due to our sedentary and unhealthy lifestyles.

Do you know that a spinal cord is a root that strengthens and keeps the body erect? It is responsible to keep the whole body together and healthy. A weak spine can result in bad posture.  If you are experiencing this, then you need to take care of your back before it affects your life.

Practising yoga every day can be very effective to heal your lower back pain. It is an ancient practice which will strengthen your back, reduce your back pain and maintain your body posture also.

How Yoga can Heal your Back pain:

• It strengthens your back muscles and makes them more flexible.
• It helps to relieve stress and anxiety levels.
• Yoga helps to calm you down.
• It stimulates and improves your blood flow.

In this blog, we are discussing the Top 10 Yoga Asanas to Help with Back Pain.

1. Bhujangasana (Low Cobra Pose)

Benefits: Helps to strengthen the spine, decrease lower back stiffness, toning the buttocks and increases flexibility.

How to do it

1. Lie face-down with your legs a couple of inches apart
2. Place your hands under your shoulders with your fingers pointing toward the top of the mat
3. Press down through the tops of your feet
4. Lift your head and chest slightly off the floor
5. Let your shoulders back and far from your ears
6. Straighten your arms, lift your chest off the floor and touch tops of your thighs down onto the floor

2. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Seated Side Twist)

Benefits: Helps to strengthen the back muscles, with the plus benefit for the soft tissue around the spine.

How to do it

1. Sit up on a mat, stretch your legs out in front of you
2. Bend your right knee and put your right foot on the ground outside of your left thigh
3. Keep your left leg stretched out in front of you, or bowed inwards
4. Twist your torso to the right. Fold your left arm over your right leg or straightened and inside it, and put your right hand on the ground behind the bottom part of your spine

3. Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Fold)

Benefits: It results in an intense hamstring stretch that’s additionally useful for lengthening your back which causes relief to the lower back.

How to do it

1. Sit on the floor placing your legs straight in front of you
2. Breathe in as you reach straight up in order to lengthen your spine
3. Breathe out, reaching to grab your big toes and feel a mild stretch in your hamstrings
4. Inhale completely as you lengthen your spine. Hold for 30 seconds.

4. Balasana (Child’s Pose)

Benefits: It helps to relieve stress and fatigue, also stretches the back torso muscles and helps to reduce neck pain and back pain.

How to do it

1. Begin with all fours
2. Spread your knees separated, at the same time keeping the big toes touching
3. Lay your bum on your heels
4. Sit up straight, bow forward, putting your torso between your thighs
5. Try to touch the floor with your forehead and hold for around a minute.

5. Bitilasana (Cow Pose)

Benefits: It strengthens the back, improves body balance and blood circulation. It is very good for those suffering from acute back pain, as this yoga asana brings blood flow and relieving nutrients to the spine.

How to do it

1. Get down onto all fours
2. Set your knees specifically beneath hips and wrists, elbows and shoulders in line to the floor
3. Then, Center your head in a neutral position and look at the floor
4. Position your stomach to sink to the floor and lift your head to look straight forward or slightly upwards
5. Come back to the neutral all-fours position

6. Ardha Uttanasana (Forward Fold Half Way)

Benefits: It helps to strengthen the spine and back which results in improved body posture. It heals tension in the back and neck. It tones abdominal muscles and extends and stretches the front and back torso.

How to Do It

1. Stand on a mat with your feet marginally apart and hands on your hips
2. Breathe in, lifting the breastbone and after that fold forward, angling your back
3. Let your fingertips reach to the floor
4. Place your hands on shins and lift most of the way up
5. Breathe out and release as you stand upright.

7. Ūrdhva Mukha Svānāsana (Upward-Facing Dog)

Benefits: It helps to align the spine and strengthens the back. This is very crucial as a spine out of alignment creates stress in other body parts and make a domino effect.

How to do it

1. Lie face-down on the floor with your legs spread a few inches apart
2. Fix your arms and lift your torso and legs a couple of inches off the floor
3. Press your palms down onto the floor, dropping your shoulders and lifting your chest forward
4. Lift your thighs and legs off the floor
5. Hold on for up to 3 breaths
6. Twist your knees and gradually bring down your torso and forehead to the mat

8. Chaturanga Dandasana (Low Plank)

Benefits: It helps in toning all core muscles along with lower back muscles. It strengthens the muscles around the spine and improves body posture.

How to do it

1. Lie face down with elbows directly underneath your shoulders
2. Hold your hands in front of your face
3. Get up on your toes. Just your hands and toes touch the floor
4. Your body needs to float a few inches off the floor
5. Pull your navel toward your spine, tightening your buttocks
6. Stay in this pose for at least 10 seconds and then lower yourself to the floor

9. Supta Jaṭhara Parivartānāsana (Supine Twist)

Benefits: It helps in stretching the back muscles and the spine alignment. If you are suffering from back pain, then this yoga asana is worth considering as it will extend every one of the muscles running along the spine. For those individuals who sit at a desk throughout the day, this twist pose is a must.

How to do it

1. Lie down on your back
2. Put your palms facing down, bring your arms out to the sides in a ‘T’ position
3. Twist your left knee, putting your left foot on your right knee
4. Drop your left knee over to the right side of your body, bending spine and lower back
5. Keep your shoulders flat to the floor
6. Stay still for 6 – 10 breaths
7. Repeat on the other side

10. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

Benefits: It helps to build back strength and protects the flexibility and health of the spine. This flexibility relieves back pain and improves body posture.

How to do it

1. Lay down on the mat along with your back on the floor.
2. Your arms must be on the sides of your thighs
3. Now, twist both of your knees, placing your hip-width apart and feet flat on the floor.
4. Press your feet into the floor, lift your chest, back, and hips off the floor
5. Keep up the posture for 30 seconds
6. bring your back down

We believe that “Health is Wealth”. A healthy back lays the foundation for correct body posture and health. It is similar to the root which helps the tree to grow out long and strong. Back pain can be very severe for your health. This epidemic is hitting at least 8 out of 10 of us at some stage. You need to pause and think for a while. Many people opt for pain killers, and other drugs to get rid of back pain but that is not a permanent solution. After some time they wear off or you might end up getting addicted to drugs. Yoga is the perfect permanent solution to get rid of back pain if done regularly. It strengthens your back and muscles around the spine to cure all type of back injuries.

Start practicing these Yoga Asanas regularly and see the results!

Images were taken in Tenby during our U.K. Yoga Teacher Training workshop.

Mahi Yoga offers US Alliance Certification 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Course.