07 Jul Can Yoga Really Help Ease Your Back Pain?

Back pain is extremely uncomfortable and quite annoying.  It can be caused by a number of things and — for most — it is completely unavoidable and will likely happen at some point or another in your life.  

Upper and lower back pain is sure to negatively affect your ability to do normal day-to-day tasks.  Practicing yoga has many benefits, among those is back pain relief and can help strengthen your core and improve posture.  

Harvard Medicine reports that a study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that was published last year found that people who suffered from lower back pain that completed a three month yoga program experienced less pain and a better quality of life compared to those that received standard medical care.

Holding Yoga Poses Strengthens Your Muscles

There are many yoga positions that will help increase muscle strength in the back and other core muscles.  These groups of muscles are extremely important to the muscular network surrounding the spine. Back pain can be lessened or completely avoided when these core muscles are properly conditioned and strengthened.  

Yoga requires proper, upright posture and promotes proper alignment.  Having strong core muscles help keep your body in the correct position which alleviates and protects against pain.  Regular practice of yoga can help proper posture become a habit.

Yoga Promotes Stretching and Relaxation

Many people carry stress in their back, causing their muscles to tense up.  Practicing yoga regularly can help reduce tension in those muscles where stress is carried.  By holding certain yoga poses for 20-60 seconds, certain muscles will flex leaving others to stretch.  This helps your body and mind relax relieving any back pain. It can also greatly improve joint and muscle flexibility.

Many people experience back pain because their bodies are not flexible.  By stretching muscles like the hamstring you can help increase your range of motion in the pelvis which can help reduce the amount of stress and pressure the lower back often experiences.  

Not only will stretching expand your range of motion, stretching will also increase your blood flow which brings nutrients to the muscles and flushes any toxins out of muscles.  This helps promote healthy muscles.

Yoga Poses Intended to Alleviate Back Pain and Strengthen Core Muscles

Downward Facing Dog Pose: This pose stretches your the muscles in your lower back and hamstrings.

Upward Facing Dog Pose: This pose stretches your chest and ab muscles and engages your back muscles.

Child’s Pose: This pose stretches and elongates the back.

Locus Pose: This pose strengthens core muscles, specifically those all along the spine.

Cat and Cow Pose: This pose is a great way to warm up your back muscles before a workout.

Plank Pose: This pose strengthens back and abdominal muscles and increases your stamina.

Pigeon Pose: This pose stretches your hip rotators which can contribute to lower back pain.

Triangle Pose: This pose helps strengthen back and leg muscles.  It also stretches the sides of your torso and outer hip muscles.