Yoga for back pain

Most of us spend much of the day sitting hunched in front of a computer with poor posture and limited movement. It’s not surprising that many people experience back pain on a regular basis. However, incorporating a few yoga postures into your day can do wonders for your back and overall health.

How yoga can help back pain
Yoga has a particular emphasis on spinal alignment and many of its postures and sequences work to heal sore back muscles and assist in reducing recovery time and prevent re-injury.

Yoga, with its focus on alignment, flowing postures and deep breathing creates greater body awareness. This is a particularly helpful way to become aware of and correct poor posture before it leads to back pain. Practising yoga on a regular basis will allow you to experience improvements in posture and overall body mechanics.

Yoga styles for back pain
Most yoga styles will draw on the essential Hatha yoga poses that will help strengthen the spine and soothe sore muscles. However, when considering yoga specifically for back pain, it is best to choose a slower, gentler style.

There are specific yoga styles that are very beneficial for back pain relief. Iyengar yoga makes use of props such as blocks and straps. These props help enhance flexibility and allow one to gradually build up strength. The props offer the support needed by people with back pain and other injuries so they can still achieve the benefits of the stretch without experiencing discomfort.

Yoga postures for back pain
Here are some yoga postures that can offer relief for back pain.

Mountain pose: Stand with your feet together and feel the entire foot make contact with the floor. Flex and lift your kneecaps and lengthen your spine. Your shoulders should remain down and relaxed. Your chest can be gently pushed out and your hands can remain at your side.

Forward bend: Once in the mountain pose, raise both hands over your head. On an exhale, bend at the hips and gently bring your hands towards to ground. The aim is to bring the upper body as close to the legs as possible.

Cat stretch: Go down on all fours. Keep your hands at shoulder distance and knees hip distance apart. On an inhale, lift up your tailbone, push your stomach down low and raise your head up. On an exhale, reverse the pose by arching up your spine, pulling in your chest and curving your head down.

Spinal stretch: Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Bend your right leg and draw it close to your chest. Then, wrap your left arm around the bent leg so the hand touches the thigh. Then lift up your spine, twist and look over your right shoulder. Repeat in mirror image to stretch the other side.

Yoga has a particular emphasis on opening the chest and strengthening the spine. Yoga postures create greater body awareness, making them effective for back pain. Yoga teaches us to become aware of spinal alignment and this will help to correct poor posture and avoid or relieve back pain.