Yoga Therapy for Lower Back Pain
Yoga therapy can effectively manage and alleviate lower back pain by improving flexibility, strengthening muscles, correcting posture, and promoting relaxation. Chronic lower back pain can stem from various causes, including muscle tension, poor posture, weak core muscles, or underlying conditions such as herniated discs or sciatica. Yoga therapy offers a gentle, therapeutic approach to addressing the root causes of lower back pain and providing relief.
Yoga therapy helps develop awareness of poor postural habits, such as slouching, which can contribute to lower back pain. Yoga Therapists will guide you to align your body correctly in both seated and standing positions. Yoga therapy teaches safe ways to bend, lift, and sit through slow, intentional movement, reducing the risk of further injury or strain.
Poses supported by props (like blankets or bolsters) allow the body to relax completely, especially for individuals with chronic pain. Chronic stress can exacerbate lower back pain by increasing muscle tension. Yoga therapy incorporates relaxation techniques, such as guided meditation, Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep), and therapeutic movements, which reduce stress and create a sense of ease in the body. Yoga fosters greater awareness of how you move and sit, helping prevent habits contributing to lower back pain.
Yoga stretches the muscles and tissues around the spine, reducing stiffness and increasing range of motion. Strengthening the core and back muscles provides better support for the spine and improves posture. By teaching proper alignment, yoga helps correct poor posture, one of the main contributors to lower back pain. Because stress can exacerbate back pain by causing muscle tension, yoga promotes relaxation, reducing mental and physical stress.
One of the key points I make in our Yoga Therapy Certificate Program is to bring a greater range of motion (ROM) to the area above and below the area of concern (AOC). In the case of lower back pain, we want to bring more range of motion to the hips and the upper back or shoulder area. We could do this by using arm movements, and like all therapeutic poses, we link the movement with the breath. Inhale and take the arms up; exhale and take the arms back down. This arm movement uses muscles in the back, namely the latissimus dorsi muscles, which teases into the lower back area. Simple arm movements are one of the best and easiest things that can be done to tease into the lumbar area without causing pain or exacerbating symptoms. Arm movements can be done seated in a chair or on the floor, lying in bed or on the floor, or standing and incorporated in other standing poses.
To bring more ROM to the hip area, we could lie down on our back and, on an inhale, extend the arms up and overhead (landing on the floor beyond the head if comfortable)—this arm movement does the same thing as above. You might notice the spine does a little bit of a backbend with this arm movement, so the spine is moving a little, but the intention for the movement is in the arms or shoulders. The legs can also go up, feet toward the ceiling. This movement begins to open the hips. Each subsequent time the legs go in the air, the feet can go a little wider apart, bringing more flexibility into the hips. Opening the back of the legs (hamstrings) helps lower back pain because, often, people with tight hamstrings make their back do more work when bending and lifting. Tight hamstrings can also pull on the pelvis (like tucking the pelvis), which misaligns the lumbar by flattening it instead of letting the lower back have its natural curve.
Often, students with lower back pain are afraid of doing backbends and think that is what will further injure them. However, I have found that gentle, baby backbends are precisely what is needed to heal. When I say backbend to someone, they generally conjure up in their mind a deep backbend like Urdhva dhanurasana (wheel pose). But I’m just talking about starting with Cat-Cow Pose. This gentle, flowing movement between arching and rounding the spine helps mobilize the back, loosening tight muscles and improving spinal flexibility. Moving with the breath helps the spine move the way it should with each breath. Begin on your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Inhale as you do a gentle back bend (Cow), and exhale as you round your spine (Cat). Repeat several times, moving with the breath. During Cow Pose, ensure you are not pushing or dropping the belly. Instead, keep a gentle tone to the abdomen on both Cat and Cow by imagining that you can pull your hip points (on the front of the pelvis) toward each other.
A pose like Child’s Pose gently stretches the lower back, hips, and thighs, providing a soothing release for the lower spine. From the Tabletop, pose above, lower your elbows to the floor, and then sit back toward your heels as your hips and knees allow. Lower your torso toward the thighs or mat. The arms can be anywhere that supports your pose: extending your arms forward, keeping the arms at your sides, or with the elbows on the floor. You may wish to rest your forehead on some prop, such as a folded blanket or block, or stack your fists on top of each other and rest the forehead. Breathe deeply.
A Supine Hamstring Stretch (Supta Padangusthasana) helps because tight hamstrings can contribute to lower back pain. This stretch lengthens the hamstrings and releases tension in the lower back. Lie on your back with one leg held in toward the chest and the other either knee bent, foot on the floor, or the leg extended on the ground. You can use a strap around the foot of the leg held in toward the chest or keep your hands holding the leg. Bend and straighten that leg so that the foot goes up toward the ceiling on the inhale, and on the exhale, gently fold the leg toward your chest. Keep the other leg grounded by preventing it from dropping to the side or rolling in.
Bridge Pose (Dwi Pada Pitham or Setu Bandhasana) can help because it strengthens the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings while gently stretching the front of the body. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet hip-width apart. Press through your feet and lift your hips toward the ceiling as though the hip points are being pulled upward and inward toward each other. Hold for a few breaths before lowering down.
Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana) is a gentle backbend that strengthens the lower back and promotes spine extension without compression. Lie face down with your forearms on the floor, elbows slightly forward of your shoulders and slightly wider than your shoulders. Press into your fingers and lift your collarbones and upper ribs. Keep your lower ribs and pelvis on the ground. Press up on an inhale and return to rest on the exhale. You may also wish to exhale going up, stay up on the inhale, and exhale when coming back down (staying down for the inhale).
Knee-to-Chest Pose (Apanasana) gently stretches the lower back and massages the lower spine, relieving tension and discomfort. Lie on your back and hug both knees into your chest more deeply on an exhale and loosely on the inhale. The elbows will bend when you exhale and draw the knees in, and the elbows will straighten on the inhale, knees going away from you. The knees go out only as far as being up over the hips. Taking the knees too far away is more abdominal work, and this pose is used more for relaxing, bringing symmetry to the spine, and gently massaging the lower back.
Conscious breathing can calm the nervous system and relax the muscles in the lower back, promoting a healing response. Many folks with lower back pain chronically breathe in the belly. If that is you, expand your ribcage instead: outward (front, sides, and even the back). This will help tone the abdominals. Weak abdominals can lead to lower back pain. You may also wish to try a breath technique called Ujjayi. This slow, controlled breath creates internal heat and promotes relaxation, which helps ease tension in the lower back. Seek a qualified yoga instructor to learn ujjayi.
Yoga therapy offers a gentle, holistic approach to managing lower back pain. By addressing pain's physical, energetic, and mental components, yoga therapy can help reduce discomfort, improve flexibility, strengthen the core and back, and promote long-term back health. Incorporating a regular yoga therapy practice tailored to your specific needs can offer lasting relief from lower back pain and improve overall well-being.