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The lower back, or the lumbar region, can be an area that often gets sensitive for most of us at some point in our lives. Whether we have to sit a lot during the day, or whether we move a lot, the lumbar region can get affected. In any case, pain in the lower back can seriously affect your mood and your day. Yoga can offer a great relief for the pain, as well as provide great preventative care for the future.
Here are five yoga poses to ease lower back pain and relieve that dull ache.
1. Downward-Facing Dog
This classic yoga pose is a great total body stretch that targets back extensors, or the large muscles that help form your lower back, support your spine, and help you stand and lift objects.
Try it:
Start on your hands and knees, with your hands slightly in front of your shoulders.
Pressing back, raise your knees away from the floor and lift your tailbone up toward the ceiling.
For an added hamstring stretch, gently push your heels toward the floor. Hold the position for 5 to 10 breaths, and repeat the pose five to seven times.
2. Cat and Cow Pose
The perfect poses for an achy, sore back, cow and cat stretches loosen back muscles, whether as part of a yoga routine or as a warm-up for another workout.
Try it:
Starting in an all-fours position, move into cat pose by slowly pressing your spine up, arching your back.
Hold for a few seconds and then move to cow by scooping your spine in, pressing your shoulder blades back and lifting your head.
Moving back and forth from cat to cow helps move your spine onto a neutral position, relaxing the muscles and easing tension.
Repeat 10 times, flowing smoothly from cat into cow, and cow back into cat. Repeat the sequence as needed.
3. Child's Pose
It may look like you’re resting, but child’s pose is an active stretch that helps elongate the back. It’s also a great de-stressor before bed at the end of a long, exhausting day.
Try it:
Start on all fours with your arms stretched out straight in front of you, then sit back so your glutes (butt muscles) come to rest just above — but not touching — your heels.
Hold the position for 5 to 10 breaths, and repeat as many times as needed for a good, soothing stretch.
4. Pigeon Pose
Pigeon pose, which can be a little challenging for yoga newbies, stretches hip rotators and flexors. It might not seem like the most obvious position to treat a back ache, but tight hips can contribute to lower back pain.
Try it:
Start in downward-facing dog with your feet together. Then draw your left knee forward and turn it out to the left so your left leg is bent and near-perpendicular to your right one; lower both legs to the ground.
You can simply keep your back right leg extended straight behind you, or for an added hamstring stretch, then carefully pull your back foot off the ground and in toward your back.
Hold the position for 5 to 10 breaths, then switch to the other side, and repeat as needed.
5. Thread the Needle Pose
If the hips are tight, the movement we need tends to come from the back, which results in back pain. When the hips and hamstrings are open, this can help alleviate the lower back pain as well, since the body has a better and fuller range of motion. This pose stretches the hips, outer thighs, lower back and spine. It’s also a milder, modified version of the Pigeon pose.
Try it:
Lay on the floor, and bring the soles of the feet on the ground, feet hip-distance apart.
Place your right ankle on the left thigh, and keep the foot flexed throughout the pose.
Take your right arm in between the space of the legs, and the left arm outside the left thigh.
Interlace the fingers either behind your knee, or on top of the shin, depending on the space available to you.
Keep the back and shoulders relaxed.
Stay anywhere between 1-3 minutes and change sides.
* Remember to breathe and take your time. *Consult with a doctor before trying any new exercise routine.
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About the Author:
Kenya Marsh is the founder of SimplyFitandCurvyYoga and Author of several books including Yoga for Beginners: A Great Way to Start. As a wife, stay-at-home mom of two, and yoga teacher. Kenya knows how challenging and beneficial a steady yoga practice can be. She understands it can be hard to start a new yoga journey alone. She created this website, along with courses, books, and more materials to help provide support to busy yogis elevate their yoga practice.