If you deal with back pain, yoga might be exactly what you need. Yoga is a mind-body remedy that helps efficiently treat back pain and stress that accompanies it. Here, we’ll discuss yoga poses that can reduce pain, relax, and strengthen your body.
There can be tens of different causes of back pain; poor posture, a weak core, and sedentary work are among them. It’s always essential to find out contributing factors and reasons for pain so that you can treat it the right way and prevent it from happening again. However, in most situations, practicing even basic yoga poses will relieve the strain and pain in your back.
In 2017 a study was conducted and it proved that yoga is really beneficial for back pain. A group of 320 adults was assessed to see whether yoga was efficient as physical therapy for reducing chronic back pain. Participants in both physical therapy and yoga classes showed analogous improvements in pain levels.
But what yoga poses to choose? We all are aware of how many yoga poses exist, and some of them are rather challenging to perform, especially if you’re a beginner. To make your life easier, we’ve divided yoga poses based on their complexity. So, regardless of how fit, strong, or flexible you are, in this post, you’ll find helpful yoga poses to suit your fitness level.
Yoga poses for beginners for back pain relief:
Child’s Pose
This is one of the easiest yoga poses, it takes the strain off the lower back by aligning the spine. This pose gives you a nice stretch.
Instructions for Child's Pose: Kneel on the mat with your knees hip-width apart, feet together behind you. Breath in deep, and as you exhale, place your torso over the thighs.
Try lengthening your neck and spine, moving your ribs away from the tailbone and the crown of your head away from your shoulders.
Lay your forehead on the floor, arms are extended out in front of you.
Keep this position for 1-3 minutes.
Sphinx Pose
This pose generates a great natural curve of the lower back. It also involves your abs that support the lower back. These factors make this exercise one of the best yoga poses for lower back pain.
Instructions for Sphinx Pose: Lie on your belly with your feet together and straight behind you.
Put your elbows right under your shoulders and forearms on the ground and lift your chest off the ground.
Press your thighs and hips to the ground and try lengthening your spine and keep your shoulders comfortable.
Feel deeply a nice stretch in your lower back. However, be careful not to hyperextend the spine.
Cat-Cow Pose
This pose provides a good flexion and extension of your back, improves mobility, and relieves tension in the lower back. This yoga pose also helps to enhance posture.
Instructions for Cat/Cow pose: Start on your hands and knees.
Inhale deeply and round your spine towards the ground, lift your head and chest.
Exhale slowly and go on with the next step.
Inhale deeply, and on the exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, drop your head toward the floor - it’s a cow position.
Keep exercising for 1-3 minutes.
Knees to Chest and Slow Rock
Add a slow rocking movement to your basic stretch. This easy yoga pose provides a natural, nice bodyweight massage.
Start lying on the back
Embrace your knees that are over your chest.
Rock your torso slowly back and forth
Keep doing this exercise for 1-3 minutes.
Here are some more yoga poses that might be better suited for Advanced Beginners & Up:
Downward Dog
This yoga pose strengthens your back and shoulders, plus, it reduces back pain.
Instructions for Downward Facing Dog pose: Start on your knees and hands on the mat: knees under hips and wrists under shoulders.
Press your palms against the floor, tighten your toes, and lift your knees.
Move your hips towards the ceiling.
Extend your tailbone from the back of your pelvis, bending your knees slightly.
As you exhale, press firmly on your hands.
Make sure to distribute weight evenly on the shoulders and hips, and keep your chin tucked in.
Keep this pose for 1-3 minutes.
Triangle
This yoga pose alleviates pain from the neck and back. Besides, it stretches and strengthens hips, legs, chest, and shoulders.
Instructions for Triangle pose: Stand with your feet about 4-5 feet apart.
Rotate your right foot forward, leaving your left toes at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.
Raise your arms with palms down, parallel to the ground.
Leaning on your right thigh, extend your arms and torso forward.
Lower your hand to the ground, shin, or foot, while extending your left hand towards the ceiling.
Place your shoulders and hips so that your spine is aligned.
Look up, toward your left hand.
Keep this pose for 1-2 minutes, then repeat on the opposite side.
Happy Baby
This exercise includes rocking motion as well as the one we’ve already described; however, it requires more flexibility. The pose stretches shoulders, neck, hips, and relaxes back muscles.
Instructions for Happy Baby pose: Start lying on the back and bend your knees over your belly.
Inhale deeply, hold your feet with your hands. Open your knees to your armpits.
Make sure your ankles are over your knees and your heels are bent.
Bring your arms down to create pressure and resistance.
Keep rocking for 30-60 seconds.
Conclusion:
Yoga poses we’ve described here are safe to do daily. They are great for working on core stability, correcting posture, and flexibility - all that you need for a healthy back. However, it’s important to listen to your body and stop doing exercises that cause any discomfort. If the pose hurts, ease up on stretching. Depending on the severity and location of your back pain, different poses will work better for you. Remember also, that yoga poses that help heal back pain, are not limited to just these postures. Keep exploring and find what brings relief and vitality to you!
We hope these tips will help you to reduce or prevent back pain and make your life healthier.
By Alex Green
Alex Green is a copywriter who is fond of healthy living and knows everything about home improvement. In his spare time, Alex likes walking with his golden retriever, meeting with friends, and attending the gym.
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