Another simple exercise, which again takes very little time. Stand facing a wall with your feet hip width apart, toes slightly turned in and about two feet out from the wall.
Take your hands up the wall shoulder width apart with fingers splayed. Breathe in and as you exhale pull the knee caps up, turn the legs in (without moving the feet) lock the arms and start to take your chest to the wall.
For deeper work roll the shoulders back and down and try getting your throat to the wall. Use your breath to help you.
A yoga mat is something useful to keep around the house (or work) even if you don’t do yoga. Many physical therapy exercises for chronic lower back pain are done on the floor, and yoga mats provide a stable non-slip surface for these exercises.
Try yoga for back pain prevention and pain relief. Yoga is often helpful for back pain sufferers, as performing a variety of different types of postures generally help to stretch and strengthen all of the body's major muscles groups.
Yoga can help prevent back pain by keeping muscles balanced, moving freely, and by lengthening and "decompressing" restricted areas of tightness. Sitting all day can cause a person's spine to become contracted and compressed. Office workers often find the back bend positions in yoga good counter balance exercises after being hunched forward over a computer keyboard all day long.
Back pain is a problem which affects many people, and there are many causes of it ranging from bad posture, to weak abdominal and back muscles. Yoga postures will help to stretch the tight muscles and strengthen weak muscles which can create back pain.
Please note that if you already suffer from back pain and have limited movement, many of the postures in a general yoga class may be medically inadvisable or too difficult for you to perform. In that case, consider seeing a qualified yoga therapist for therapeutic exercises that may help. There are also many yoga books and videos available with gentle exercises specifically designed for people with chronic back pain.
Jean started practicing yoga in 1990, in part, to relieve back pain that she had since the age of 11. Yoga gave temporary relief, but the pain always returned. She also tried massage, chiropractic and physical therapy, with no lasting results. In 2002, she walked, into the Balance Centre for the first time and experienced immediate relief from her chronic low back pain. Jean was hooked and stayed on to take classes, eventually completing the 2 years Teachers' Training program. She now teaches Foundations, yoga, privates and is the CEO for the Balance Centre.
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Glen Wood - The Yoga Teacher, dedicated to unlocking the Real Secrets of Back and Shoulder Pain.
