From time to time I experience back pain which I diagnose as too much time at the computer and not enough exercise. Recently I had a stab of back pain and the same day, synchronistically, received an email from Ezine Articles. The article, Managing Back Pain With Yoga, recommends several yoga poses that help with back pain.

Included below are some of these poses recommended. I have added one of my images to illustrate the pose along with instructions for how to do the pose.

You can read Chris Ramos full article by clicking on his name below.

Managing Back Pain With Yoga
By Chris Ramos

. . .  Most back problems are related to weak back muscles and absence of flexibility from the body, which causes even the smallest amount if pressure or strain on the back to cause pain in the area. In order to lead a healthy and pain free life, people suffering from either acute or mild back pain should learn to manage it with the help of yoga. Currently there are many forms of yoga practice that are easily available in all Western countries, so it is quite simple to change your lifestyle to incorporate yoga into it for a healthier life.

. . .  Hot yoga, Iyengar, Anusara, Ashtanga are all great examples of yoga forms that promote physical fitness as well as mental wellbeing. Most of the basic postures in all these types of yoga are the same, with few specialized changes in each.

Apart from injury invoked back pain, the most frequent causes of back related problems include bad posture, utilization of incorrect bending and lifting techniques, excessive weight gain, weak back muscles and stress which causes the neck and shoulders to spasm resulting in pain shooting throughout the back. . . . When a proper yoga exercise routine is followed, it gradually aids in achieving a good posture, strengthens the muscles, assists weight loss and relives stress. . . .

. . . For people who already follow a yoga system, they can substantially reduce and eventually eliminate back pain by incorporating the following asanas into your regular practice:

Corpse: As this pose relaxes the entire body it is beneficial in reducing stress and tension which causes back pain.

Instructions

1. Lying on your back, let the arms and legs drop open, with the arms about 45 degrees from the side of your body. Make sure you are warm and comfortable, if you need to place blankets under or over your body.
2. Close the eyes, and take slow deep breaths through the nose. Allow your whole body to become soft and heavy, letting it relax into the floor. As the body relaxes, feel the whole body rising and falling with each breath.
3. Scan the body from the toes to the fingers to the crown of the head, looking for tension, tightness and contracted muscles. Consciously release and relax any areas that you find. If you need to, rock or wiggl part sof your body from side to side to encourage further release.
4. Release all control of the breath, the mind, and the body. Let your body move deeper and deeper into a state of total relaxation.
5. Stay in Shavasana for 5 to 15 minutes.
6. To release: slowly deepen the breath, wiggle the fingers and toes, reach the arms over your head and stretch the whole body, exhale bend the knees into the chest and roll over to one side coming into a fetal position. When you are ready, slowly inhale up to a seated position.

The Corpse pose is essential to practice at the end of every yoga practice. This posture rejuvenates the body, mind and spirit while reducing stress and tension.

Cobra Pose: This is an important pose used for stretching and strengthening the entire length of the spine. It is very useful in developing back muscles and reducing pain.

Instructions

1. Lie on your belly, with the chin on the floor, palms flat on the floor under the shoulders and legs together.
2. Pull up the knee caps, squeeze the thighs and buttocks, engage mula bandha, and press the pubic bone down into the floor.
3. Without using the arms, inhale and lift the head and chest off of the floor, keeping the neck in line with the spine.
4. With the elbows close to your sides, press down into the palms and use the arms to lift you up even higher. Drop the shoulders down and back and press the chest forward. Keep the legs, buttocks, and mula bandha strong, and keep the pubic bone pressing down into the floor.
5. Breathe and hold for 2-6 breaths.
6. To release: exhale and slowly lower the chest and head to the floor. Turn the head to one side and rest, rock the hips from side to side to release any tension in the low back.

The Cobra posture opens the chest, strengthens the core body, aligns the spine and invigorates the kidneys and nervous system.

Cat Pose: This posture helps improve blood flow trough the spine, which could be a cause of the pain. Once the blood flow increases, it will reduce the pain in turn.

Instructions

1. From Table pose, exhale and tuck the tail bone under, round the spine and let the head drop down.
2. Press into the palms to drop the shoulders away from the ears and to reach the middle and upper back up towards the ceiling.
3. Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths, or vinyasa between cat pose and dog pose, inhaling into dog and exhaling into cat.
4. To release, inhale and flatten the back moving into Table.

Cat pose stretches the middle to upper back and shoulders.

Fish Pose: Strengthens the back and improves posture which is improves back problems.

Instructions

1. Lying on your back with the arms along side your body and the legs a few inches apart, slide the hands palms down under the tops of the thighs, just below the buttocks. Have the elbows slightly bent, next to the sides of your torso.
2. Pressing into the elbows, use the arms to lift the chest up, arching the spine, and rolling on to the crown of the head. Do not use the head or neck to support the posture, use the arms, torso, buttocks and legs to continue to lift the chest towards the ceiling. Little or no weight should be on the head.
3. Breathe and hold for 3-8 breaths.
4. To release: slowly remove all of the weight off of the head and gently lower the back of the head, the neck and then the spine back down to the floor. Remove the hands from under the legs.

Benefits: Fish pose deeply opens the chest and increases flexibility of the spine. Fish also stimulates the cardiovasc.

These are just a few poses that are beneficial for improving the back, but like all forms of exercise, caution should be used while practicing them and the body should not be pushed beyond its limits, in order to reap the maximum benefit of yoga for managing the back pain.

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 7:23 pm and is filed under Articles, health, Yoga Poses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.