Effective Yoga Poses for Lower Back Pain

Updated on April 9th, 2020
Back Pain

If you are fed up with taking over-the-counter painkillers or visiting chiropractors for your back pain, then you are probably finding solutions in the wrong places.

The lower back is a sensitive area, and if you’ve hurt it accidentally, then you should try to alleviate the pain naturally instead of taking medicines or using pain-relieving tools and therapies.

Usually, lower back pain is a result of a muscle strain, and the best way to heal it is through yoga. Yoga helps to improve the body’s flexibility and posture, thus minimizing the chances of muscle or ligament strain.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality did a study(1) in 2017, where it evaluated 8 studies of yoga for lower back pain involving 1466 participants and found that yoga reduced the pain and improved overall functioning. Yoga helps to improve the functioning of the body as well as the mind.

Did You Know!

The first appearance of the word “yoga” was in the Katha Upanishad, composed around 4th to 3rd century BCE.

How Effective is Yoga For Lower Back Pain?

Yoga improves your physical and mental health and controls several diseases naturally. The art of doing yoga or yoga asana started 5000 years back in India.

Yoga improves core stability and helps you to achieve perfection in breathing, posture, alignment, and concentration.

Your lower back can also benefit from regular yoga practices. Yoga for lower back pain focuses on strengthening the pelvic muscles and abdominal muscles and boosts the blood flow.

[Also Read: Natural Treatments for Back Pain]

Easy Yoga Poses For Lower Back Pain Relief.

Most people fret about doing yoga for lower back pain(2) relief because they think that the yoga poses are challenging to imitate.

The truth is, not all yoga poses are complicated; in fact, most of the yoga poses are very simple and quite easy to execute by people of all ages.

Since lower back pain is most prevalent in older people, we have listed below some of the easy yoga poses for lower back pain.

Did You Know!

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, about 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point in their lifetimes

1. Downward Facing Dog

Downward Facing Dog Pose
Image:ShutterStock

The Downward Facing Dog is one of the best yoga stretches for lower back pain. The posture needs you to stand on your hands and knees in a ‘V’ position, with the hands slightly in front of the shoulders.

Raise your knees away from the ground and lift your tailbone towards the ceiling. Now try to touch your heels to the ground. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds and repeat up to five times a minimum.

During the Downward Dog pose, the entire spine is stretched that strengthens the tailbone and increases the blood flow to the hamstrings. This yoga pose can also address problems like flat low back.

[Also Read: Yoga for Back Pain]

2. Reclined Pigeon Pose

yoga for lower back pain
Image:ShutterStock

The Reclined Pigeon is another useful yoga for lower back pain and sciatica. This pose needs you to lie on your back and bend both the legs. Then you need to raise the right leg and cross the right ankle across the left thigh.

Pass your right hand between the legs and bring the left hand around the outside to clasp both hands together behind the left thigh.

Your head and shoulder should lie straight on the ground while you try to draw your knee close to the body.

Hold this position for 15-20 seconds and repeat three to five times for both the legs. The Reclined Pigeon pose releases lower body tension and improves blood circulation in the pelvic area.

[Also Read: KT Tape for Lower Back Pain]

3. Sphinx Pose

sphinx pose
Image: ShutterStock

Among the easy yoga poses for lower back pain, the Sphinx pose can easily top the list. This pose can be even practiced with perfection by people who are new to yoga. For this, you need to lie face down, keep your legs close so that your thighs touch each other.

Your feet shall touch the floor, now breathe while slowly sliding both the hands back till the elbows and move up your upper body up using your forearms.

Your pubic bone should touch the floor, and you should try to draw your shoulder blades on your back and move your chest forward.

Simultaneously lengthen your tail bone towards the heels and bring your chin towards the back of the neck. Hold this position for 10 seconds and slowly exhale as you lower your upper body to the floor.

This yoga position strengthens the spine and tones the sacral-lumbar arch. By promoting the natural curvature of the lower back, the Sphinx pose also prevents flat low back.

4. Child’s Pose

Child's Pose
Image:ShutterStock

To perform the Child’s yoga pose, kneel on the floor and touch your big toes together to sit on your heels. Spread your knees as wide as possible and exhale as you lay your torso down in between thighs.

Your buttocks should be in touch with the heels. Your chest should rest on top of your thighs, and your forehead should come on the floor. Keep your arms extended with the palms facing down.

Stay in this position for 15-20 seconds and repeat five times. For more stretch, bring your hands back to rest alongside the thighs with the palms facing up. The Child’s pose helps to stretch the hips, thighs, and ankles. It stretches the muscles at the front and the back torso and offer pain relief and relaxation.

[ALos Read: Exercises for Back Pain Relief]

5. Reclined Supine Twist

reclined supine twist
Image: ShutterStock

Talking of yoga stretches for lower back pain relief, the Reclined Supine Twist is an amazing pose for people with back pain. For this, you need to lie in a “T” position with your arms to the sides and palms facing down. Bend the right knee to place it on the left knee.

Drop the right knee over the left side of the body by twisting the spine and the lower back. Turn your head to fix your eyes at the right fingertips. Keep the shoulder placed to the ground.

Breathe in this position and hold for 10-15 seconds then slowly exhale as you bring your posture back to original. Repeat 3-5 times. This yoga pose lengthens the spine, stretches the back muscle, tones the abdomen, and helps release toxins from the body.

6. Cat and Cow Pose

Cat/Cow Pose
Image:ShutterStock

The Cat and Cow Pose is a must-try yoga for lower back pain. For this, get into a tabletop position and ensure that your knees, shoulders, and wrists are perpendicular to the ground.

Your eyes should look at the floor. Now inhale and lift your chest towards the ceiling as your belly sinks towards the floor, also lift your head and look forward.

Exhale and come back to the original position. Repeat 10-15 times. This pose is useful for bringing flexibility to the spine, hips, and abdomen and relieves lower back pain.

Did You Know!

Yoga is the most commonly used complementary health approach in the US.

Practicing effective yoga poses for lower back pain regularly can prove beneficial to improve the health of the backbone and hip joint, promote blood flow, and increase the flexibility of the whole body.

By practicing yoga 4-5 times a week, you can achieve physical, mental, and psychological well-being which no other activities can offer.


FAQs

1. What Is Yoga?

Ans. Yoga is termed from the Sanskrit word ”Yug” meaning to bind. It is often considered as a method of self-discipline. It is believed to be started by sage Patanjali around 2000 years back. What most people practice today are asanas or postures to improve their physical and mental well-being.

2. Is Yoga Good for Lower Back Pain?

Ans. Yoga is very effective for lower back pain. As your perform yoga poses your body muscles, pelvic bones, torso, and the spine gets stretched, and proper blood flow is promoted to every part of the body. Yoga also helps in correcting posture since improper posture is a leading cause of back pain.

3. Do You Need to Be Physically Flexible to Do Yoga?

Ans. No, you don’t need to be physically flexible and fit to perform yoga. However, with time, you can develop these skills through yoga.

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