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Summer 2018 lower back

There are few people who haven’t experienced lower back discomfort, if not downright pain, at some point of their lives. Humans simply aren’t built very well! The places where the spine changes its curvature – the cervical (neck) to thoracic (upper back) vertebrae, the thoracic to lumbar (lower back) vertebrae – tend to be our problem areas. Often, the neck and lower back will reflect each other’s level of ease, or lack thereof. The abdominals, especially the transversus abdominis, are also involved in keeping the back healthy, for when they are weak, the lower back muscles have to take on more than their fair share of work.

This week’s practice focuses on what to do to release the lower back. Since the hips and lower back are intimately connected, as we learned while exploring the psoas and piriformis during the hips practice (password: “sleepy”), you’ll find we revisit several of our hip asanas again. Practice on for a lower back easing restorative session!

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Windshield wipers: Start lying back in constructive rest, and windshield wiper your knees slowly side to side to warm up your lower back.

Block under sacrum: From constructive rest, push your knees forward, which will pull the hips off the ground, and place a block under your sacrum. Use the height of block appropriate for your practice that day. Relax your hips completely onto the block and feel the delicious stretch through the lower back. If you’d like to add a little extra stretch, touch your knees together without moving the feet (you can lift the heels, though). When coming down, remove the block and lay down the vertebrae one at a time, starting at the top of the spine.

Feet remain hip width apart and parallel. Sternum is lifted.

Lower back bolster: Roll up a blanket bolster and place it behind you. Lie down, with the bolster nestled into your lower back. Your hips might not touch the ground – don’t force them down, but do allow the spine to melt over the bolster. Windshield wiper the knees from side to side, again without moving the feet.

Relax spine like a wet noodle over bolster.

Side bolster twist: Roll onto your side while still on the bolster, and nestle it in the soft space between your hip and lower ribs. You might want to move the bolster around a bit unit it feels comfortable. Tuck your knees up, place the foot of the top leg above the knee of the bottom leg, and encourage the upper thigh to roll out. Then reach the upper arm up and out while rolling onto your shoulder blades. (Caution: if your piriformis is extremely tight, this asana might provide too much stretch; begin with thread the needle instead.)

Make sure that your outstretched hand does not drop lower than your shoulder (bottom photo). Place a block under the arm if your shoulder blade does not touch ground yet.

Salabhasana/locust: Lie on your belly, place your forehead on the ground arms next to you. Press the tops of the feet and ankles into the ground (ankles won’t touch, but just have the intention), and make the sacrum heavy; engage your abdominals while relaxing your glutes. Lift upper body (keep those glutes from engaging!) – you may leave the hands on the floor for assistance or lift them next to your body. This pose strengthens the back muscles, which is also important for keeping the lower back happy.

The photos below are from when I could still lie on my belly… 🙂 Sphinx pose (bottom photo) is also a good back muscle strengthener.

Salabhasana/Locust (variation) and Sphinx: both of these asana ask the mid-spine to extend. Keep neck long on both.

Janusirsasana/head to knee pose: Take a seat, stretch the legs out in front of you, then bend one foot in towards the other thigh. Hold the outside of the foot with the opposite hand, or use a belt. Twist slightly towards the leg, so that the spine and leg are lined up one on top of the other, then extend the spine, as you bring the belly to the thigh first, then the lower ribs, then chest, and finally head – this might be a multi-year process! Eventually, you may place the hands one on either side of the foot, as in the photos below.

Tip the pelvis forward in this asana, or place a blanket under your hips if that is a challenge.

Janusirsasana variation: Begin the same way as for janusirsasana, seated with legs in front, one bent. Take hold of extended foot with opposite hand, but instead of keeping the back straight and bringing the belly/lower ribs/chest/head to the leg, round the spine and pull away from the foot until you feel a lovely stretch through your entire back.

Draw abdominal muscles in to enhance this rounded back stretch.

Uttanasana with back against wall: Stand in front of a wall, then take a forward fold. Walk in as close as your back allows, plant feet hip width apart and parallel, and lean into the wall while extending the spine. This is a fantastic pose if you can really let go and trust the the wall is going to hold you up!

Keep front of thighs engaged, heel firmly planted. Release into pose completely.

Simple one-legged twist: Lie back and cross one bent leg over the other straight leg. Keep shoulders down. Twist to the point where that the asana feels good for you. Relax muscles lining the spine and breathe well.

Keep knee bent, or straighten leg for additional twist and stretch.

Finish with savasana and enjoy the after effects of a happy lower back! 🙂

~namaste,

Sylvia

 

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Summer 2018 Hips

If I ask a yoga class of riders on what they’d like to focus, inevitably most people say “hips and shoulders.” Most riders recognize that we tend to hold tightness and tension in these two areas, and that we need to do something about it to ride and connect with our horses well. Hence, last week’s practices addressed the shoulders, and this week’s practices focus on the hips.

The two main muscles on which we are focusing are the psoas and the piriformis (the “terrible p’s”), which need to be both supple and strong for us to ride well. The psoas is a deep hip flexor, bringing the knee up, while the psoas is an external leg rotator, turning the leg out (both of these muscles work along with other hip muscles, of course, and have additional roles, but these are the most important and basic). For more details about the role of the psoas in riding, refer to this post from July 2017.

After mentally taking some moments to transition into practice, begin with high lunge, moving into low lunge:

Anjaneyasana – high lunge. Keep energy flowing freely down back leg by lifting it up from inner thigh.
Anjaneyasana – low lunge: Arms can be raised above shoulders for additional stretching of hip flexors. Press top of back foot into ground for stability; pad under back knee with blanket if uncomfortable.

Thursday only: claps the hands behind you and lift the sternum into a backbend.

Be sure to press top of back foot into ground, and imagine that you are drawing front foot backwards (although it doesn’t move). Engage core, and lift heart. You need not take head back, only if that is comfortable on your neck.

Low lunge with side stretch: place a block under the lower hand if stretching all the way to the floor is too far for you at this stage (this photo is from our yoga for riders e-book)

Virabhadrasana I/Warrior I pose: Feel the grounding of the pose through the feet, yet the uplift of energy through the upper body. Refer to second set of photos below for a reminder about knee alignment.  Thursday only: Humble warrior (right side of photo below).

Square the hips towards the front of your mat while keeping pinky side of back foot, along with hell, well grounded. Imagine that you are stretching the mat long between your feet.
Virabhadrasana I/Warrior I leg alignment – be mindful of keeping the knee in line with the second toe of the foot

Virabhadrasana II/Warrior II pose: Grounded through feet, light with upper body. Note alignment of knee in second photograph below.

Hips open to side of mat – think of external rotation of the thing bones, while dropping tail towards floor, but not tucking. Imagine stretching the mat long between feet. Keep shoulders relaxed.

Thursday only: repeat last week’s bound extended side angle pose.

Bring the head in line over the front foot – this will automatically align the hips. Keep heel of straight leg well grounded.

Warrior II leg alignment – it is especially easy for the knee to fall over the big toe or even further in here; think about rotating the thigh bone out towards the pinky toe.Thursday only: Half pigeon pose, then bend back leg (optional)

Flex the foot of the bent leg, and place the bent knee far to the right (if right leg bent). Keep the weight evenly distributed on both hips.
Half pigeon pose extending forward: Keep the front of the body long
For a bigger stretch of the hip flexors and front of the thighs, draw hip of back leg forward.

Upavista konasana/Seated wide legged forward fold: Keep knees and toes pointing straight up towards ceiling, even as you move deeper into the pose.

Upavistha konasana/Wide legged forward fold: Front of spine remains long. If you find your pelvis in a posterior tilt (tuck), place a folded blanket under the seat to help you find a more neutral pelvic alignment.

Side twist with bolster: Tuesday class, we did not get to this, but feel free to practice this pose as well if you are familiar with it. If not, we will return to it again in a future class.

Ensure bolster is placed comfortably under side. Release into the pose – no effort.

Happy practicing – and sweet dreams thereafter 🙂

~namaste,

Sylvia