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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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Simple practices for breath and movement

(Follow the links in this post for additional information on each topic. Happy learning!)

How many times have you found yourself holding your breath while trying to learn something new, such a half-pass or gymnastics combination? Yes? Most of us have 🙂

One of the gifts offered by yoga is learning how to breathe well, move, and perform at the same time. Importantly, we inhale and exhale with the mouth closed in yoga. Unlike exercise, such as running or pilates, yoga teaches practitioners how to meet stress with calm by activating the parasympathetic nervous system through breath.

In the first classes of our Tuesday and Thursday Yoga for Equestrians courses, we are focusing on the importance of connecting breath (prana, the life force) with movement. We also learn how to practice Ujjayi Breathing, Victorious Breath, a form of pranayama, or breath control, most used in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, the form of yoga with which I began my journey over 20 years ago. Here are three simple and safe ways that one can practice breathing and moving:

Wave Breathing is safe for everyone, and can be practiced by cupping the knees or holding the backs of the thighs if that is a challenge. Exhale – knees in. Inhale – knees out. 

Cat/Cow (or, for us: Cat/Sway Backed Horse!) is another good warm up for the spine and practice of connecting breath and movement. Really push the ground away and create a “Halloween Cat” with your back, including tucking the tailbone under (often, riders’ lower backs are tight and can benefit greatly from this movement). Keep elbows straight in Cow pose and draw the shoulders back. Exhale – round to Cat. Inhale – extend to Cow. 

Swan Dive to Rag Doll Rollup allows the back to stretch nicely and for the prana to really wake up (I’m embedding the link to the FB post of it, as the video is too large to upload to this blog). Engage your abdominal muscles well in all the movements. If your back bothers you, keep your knees bent even on the “dive” forward and down, and/or support yourself by putting your hands on your thighs, as is shown later in the video. Inhale – reach up. Exhale – swan dive. Inhale and exhale as you slowly stack each vertebra on the now under it and round up to standing.

Feel free to comment or ask questions below!

Happy practicing ~namaste, Sylvia