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I get low back pain. Being a PT and a yoga teacher does not mean I don’t occasionally overdo it, or that I have somehow miraculously evaded the effects of aging. However, I do feel confident in how I move my body when my back starts its little twinges. I do not hesitate to take immediate action to keep the twinges from becoming full on back pain.
I have a few favorite exercises for my low back. The first one, commonly known as bird dog or alternate arm and leg lift, is my all time favorite.
After bird dog, I like to strengthen with chair pose:
I place a block between my thighs to gently squeeze and activate my adductor muscles, then I lower my hips and reach my arms forward (rather than up). I find that my back pain is often relieved with the strong engagement of the gluteal muscles and quadriceps for several repetitions.
My final pose is a supported bridge. In this pose, I place a low block under my sacrum so that my hips are higher than my heart. I then breathe into my low back to relieve tension. I stay in this position for up to 5 minutes, until I feel completely relaxed. To come out of the pose, I gently lift my hips, remove the block and settle back on my mat with my knees bent.
I allow my knees to rest against each other, feet wide, while I take another 2-3 minutes to relax my back.
I hope these poses are helpful to you. I will be teaching these poses along with many others in my upcoming Yoga For a Healthy Back series that starts Monday, September 17th. See you there.