Back in March, before our San Francisco trip, I injured my back. I had debilitating pain for a whole week causing limited movement and a realization that this is why people get hooked on pain meds. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I could literally barely do anything. Sitting can hurt. Standing can hurt. Laying down was ok for me. But only in a few positions, and no turning over! Simple tasks like brushing my teeth were excruciatingly painful. In yoga training we teacht two simple movements as a spinal warm up which also work as yoga for back pain relief exercises. I still do them daily.
Yoga for back pain relief video
While a picture can say a thousand words, a video is perhaps better for movements. Below is an embedded video for yoga for back pain relief exercises. As always you can find this video on YouTube or on Daily Motion. I have more videos coming soon so ensure you subscribe!
Arch and Flatten
Similar to “cat & cow” poses, but in yoga for back relief we come all the way down to the floor on our backs. This reduces the pressure on our low back, and allows for support. On your back with knees bent, and feet on the floor about hip distance apart arch the low back away from the floor. Then pull the navel to spine, drawing the low back to the floor. Get a sense of this movement coming from the gentle tilt back and forth of the pelvis.
This movement can also be done seated in a chair, laying in bed, on all fours or standing. It’s suggested that if you have pain transitioning from seated to standing then do a little of this movement BEFORE standing to mobilize the back and prepare it for stress.
Windshield Wipers
Starting again laying on the floor with knees bent. Place the feet wider than the hips. From the pelvis let the knees gently sway from right to left. Start small as this requires rotation from the pelvis and lumbar spine which may be over stressed already if you have an injury. So start small and go slow.
These yoga for back pain exercises should be done for 1-2 minutes each. Preferably multiple times a day. I hope you found this information helpful as it really helped me recover from my own back injury. As usual like, comment and share!
Questions
Have you suffered with back pain
Are there any yoga poses you’d like to see covered in a video/post?
What health challenges have you faced this recently?
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I keep hearing such good things about yoga including how it helps with pain and fitness. Maybe it is worth trying out for myself.
It is, I highly recommend it
Back pain is really miserable. This is very informative and helpful post thanks for sharing this information with us
you’re welcome!
Thanks for your post, i do need this kind of exercise. If i cant have it, i opt for a massage.
oooh me too! I like the double whammy of yoga then a massage!
I have back problems now and again. I will have to remember these exercises for when I am having problems with my back. I could definitely use them.
I think we all have those times!
So glad I’ve read this! I totally fell on my kids trampoline and did something to my back. It hasn’t been quite painful enough to see a Dr. BUT uncomfortable enough to impede my daily activities. I’ll be giving these moves a try!
please do!
i lie with back pain every day and for a long time i was using it to manage my pain, but then my son was born and there was a long time that i fell away from doing yoga. I need to really start getting back into it
yep it’s easy to get out of the habit, but try and schedule some YOU time this week!
My husband suffers from back pain and I have issues with my SI joint. We stretch together every morning! I’ll have to go over these with him.
Definitely helps SI issues! Does wonders for my sciatica!
I haven’t tried yoga but this looks like totally relieving. I’ll check this out again when I get back pains.
yep we all need to get on the floor and do more rolling around!
Thank you for this article! I will look into yoga further for myself as well as my husband
you’re welcome
Hubby suffers from back issues and I know how uncomfortable he can get. He swears by yoga! Thanks for sharing this, very helpful.
Heck yes! I’ve sufffered with sciatica for years and it really helps that
Sitting in a chair half the day my back hurts! This could be just what I need! Thanks for the instructions!
Yes! I’ll work on a chair yoga routine!
back pain is so body numbing. I will keep this in mind for next time. thank you for sharing this knowledge
Ugh it was terrible. Literally couldn’t move without immense pain.
I have extensive back issues, I’ve broken it 3 times and have 6 bulging discs, and gone through so much surgery and more planned, but have recently started yoga! I need to strengthen my back to recover!
Be careful with back extensions and make sure to tell your yoga teacher your back issues!
My husband injured his back once when playing badminton, and the back pain comes again sometimes. I should tell him to do these back pain relief exercises. Thank you!
Definitely give it a shot!
Thanks for these. I love yoga and find that when I’m not working out but pull a muscle, yoga stretches help me so much.
Yep these two moves saved me when I had back pain
I’m sorry you had to experience such pain! I took yoga for a while and really like the hip openers because I carry a lot of stress there. My problem are my knees: I don’t know what the issue is, but my knees hurt a lot and I stopped doing yoga because of that. I miss it! I think these lying down poses are great 🙂
Such a shame you haven’t been given alternatives to poses that hurt your knees 🙁
My husband suffers from back pain. He does a lot of yoga for his back and it helps!
Yep I hear this all time as a yoga teacher!
I am taking my first yoga class in years on Tuesday. I am excited! I will have to remember these back-saving moves! Thanks!
yay! Hope you enjoyed it!
Back pain is definitely terrible. You can hardly move! I know I’ve had this. It is important to strengthen your back with exercises to avoid getting injured.
I actually have a really strong back, that’s part of my problem.
As a sufferer of back pain, I am a bit skeptical on yoga, but will certainly give it a shot. I have tried everything else.
Be gentle and go slow
Every now and again I tweak my back, so I will need to keep these moves in mind. I might do them for the sake of lightly stretching my back. Back pain is absolutely no joke. It’s miserable. Thank you for sharing!
We do this every class because it’s great for avoiding pain also!