Skinny Ms: 7 Soothing Yoga Positions for Lower Back Pain

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

7 Soothing Yoga Positions for Lower Back Pain

Two-thirds of Americans will experience lower back pain at some point in their lives, according to APTA. This is an astounding number of people! To make matters worse, nearly half of these people don’t ever seek treatment. There’s no reason to live in pain! These Yoga Positions for Lower Back Pain are a great way to reduce and even fix your pain for good! Practicing Yoga is an excellent idea if you want to improve your quality of life.

Almost every yoga position is modifiable, meaning that no matter what level of flexibility you’re currently at, there’s a way to make it work for you. It’s always a great idea to make sure that you’re nice and warmed up before you begin a stretching routine. Warm muscles will be more malleable and decrease the risk of further injury. Go for a walk or spend a few minutes on a bike to warm-up. Of course, if you’re experiencing any kind of pain, you should always speak to your doctor before beginning a new routine.

What you need: A soft surface, towel or yoga mat.

What to do: I want you to hold each pose for a minimum of 60 seconds. If you feel that you need to hold one longer, that’s totally fine! It’s imperative that you control your breathing throughout the entirety of the routine. This will allow you to get a deeper stretch and promote better posture. We’ve included instructional videos for each pose below. These 7 moves will take approximately 10 minutes as 3 of the stretches require single-leg holds.

Yoga Positions for Lower Back Pain

1. Child’s Pose

This pose is an excellent way to start out because it will align and lengthen the spine. So often, lower back pain is caused by spinal compression. This occurs when we sit, slouch or even stand for too long. This pose is one of my favorites! It’s simple yet SO relaxing.

2. Cat Cow

The Cat Cow pose focuses on spinal mobility. This pose will improve muscle stiffness, which happens to be another common cause of low back pain. One of the greatest benefits of this pose is that it teaches you what your neutral spine should feel like. These days we spend way too much time hunched over computers and phones or slouched on the couch. Good posture can work wonders on lower back pain!

3. Downward Dog

This pose will lengthen not just your spine, but your entire posterior chain. Sometimes, low back pain isn’t caused by an issue in the back at all but around the back. If your legs and hips are tight your spine can be forced into an unnatural position. Downward Dog will lengthen these muscles in order to relieve your lower back pain.

4. Half Spinal Twist (Per Side)

The Half Spinal Twist rotates the spine from top to bottom in order to get a full spinal stretch. This pose will also help to relieve spinal compression and improve posture.

5. Supine Piriformis (Per Side)

The piriformis stretch is another one of my all time favorites! It feels SO wonderful! This pose will stretch your glutes, thighs and hips. Tightness in any of these body parts can cause low back pain.

6. Knee Rocks

This one is a great lower back and hip opener to prepare you for the Supine Twist. If you’re lucky, you may feel a few pops and cracks along your spine as it loosens you up.

7. Supine Twist (Per Side)

This pose focuses on opening up space in the lower back that commonly gets very tight. You’ll feel it all the way up your spine as it releases all of those tight spinal muscles. The supine twist will also work on ‘shoulder hunch’ as it improves your posture.

Instructional Videos

Child’s Pose

Cat Cow

Downward Dog

Half Spinal Twist

Supine Piriformis

Knee Rocks

Supine Twist

You can repeat this routine as often as you’d like. It doesn’t take long for your back to get tight so if you can manage to perform these stretches daily, you’ll notice the best results! I know it seems like I have a lot of “favorite” stretches… that’s because I do! One stretch won’t heal you, but make these yoga positions for lower back pain a part of your routine, and I promise you’ll find relief. Yoga for lower back pain can work wonders!

I know that we talked a lot about muscle tightness as a cause of lower back pain today, but muscle weakness can also play a role. Try this Lower Back Bodyweight Workout to strengthen and avoid back pain.