How Yoga Can Help You With Low-Back Pain Relief

by: Stefan Simonovic

There are countless experts who agree that an ancient art of exercising yoga keeps justifying its positive reputation as being beneficial for physical and mental health alike, even the moment as we speak. This means that it can significantly help us reduce a low back pain, which is- as we all know- one of the most common hindrances of today that can drastically affect the quality of our lives in general. And even though this physical annoyance is usually caused by a contemporary lifestyle that often includes sitting in front of a computer for too long, the lack of physical activity can also have a fair share in it.

On the other hand, we can also blame it on anxiety caused by this hectic lifestyle we’re forced to lead. Still, whatever the cause might be, the good news though is that there are plenty of asanas (physical exercises or poses in yoga) that can help us with a low back pain relief, and these 3 on our list are perhaps the most suitable for absolute yoga beginners. We, therefore, encourage you to share these either with your friends, or with your Western match for instance, and we bet you’ll have a new buddy for your yoga class in no time!

#1 Bridge Pose

This pose is also known as Setu Bandha Sarvangasana and it actually has numerous beneficial effects, from rejuvenating and energizing, to decreasing that obnoxious low back pain that’s been causing you so much trouble lately. The key is to lie down on the floor, bend your knees and try to keep your feet as parallel to sitting bones as possible while firming the buttocks (don’t harden them). You should also clasp your hands while they are under your pelvis for a stronger support and use inner feet and shoulders to press into the floor. Once you’re done, remain in the position anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute. Make sure to exhale deeply while lifting your body off the ground. After the 30 seconds have passed, exhale once again slowly until you’ve finally reached the floor.

#2 Cat Pose

Marjaryasana or the cat pose is awesome for stretching out the entire back but it’s also great for all organs that are set in our belly. This pose starts off with our hands and knees on the ground, in the so-called tabletop position. Knees should be right below our hips while elbows should be in line with wrists and shoulders. Head should be facing the floor. While exhaling, we should round up our spine towards the ceiling but also make sure not to push the chin against our chest. Once we’re done, we can slowly exhale and go back to the initial position.

#3 Cow Pose

The actual name for this pose is Bitilasana and it’s amazing since it allows us to warm up the entire spine slowly. Again, we’re starting off with the tabletop position, same as we did in the cat pose. Actually, it’s almost like an inverse cat pose - you should be lifting your sitting bones and chest to the ceiling but the head shouldn’t be facing the floor. Instead, you should be looking at an imaginary point somewhere in front of you. Also, you should exhale while you’re returning to an initial pose and make sure to repeat the exercise for at least 10-15 times.

Have you tried any of these yet? If not, make sure to test them out ASAP! Tell us all about the results in the comment section below!


About the author:

Stefan is a writer and a blogger in his spare time. He also works for First Beat Media, a company that mainly focuses on the online dating niche and similar services.