seated twist for spinal alignment

By Paula M. Hunt

Back pain is the most common of all health problems experienced by people in all parts of the world. In our society, there are many opportunities for repetitive forward bending: child care, yard work, housework, shopping, improper posture and even sedentary work such as sitting requires some bending and twisting. The everyday activities of life are the ultimate cause of tight hamstrings, hips and lower backs and these constrictions are often the cause of lower back pain. A person’s hips play a major role in how well or poorly they can move and the hip’s are also an important part of body posture and balance. It has been found that eighty percent of people that suffer from pain in their backs do so because of hip problems.

Most people are tight in such areas affecting the spine, for example in the hips and shoulders. The hips, which are centrally located, are connected to the lower spine. Tight hamstrings also affect posture and the health of the lower back by exerting a constant pull on the sitting bones and overly tight abdominal muscles combined with tight hamstrings pull up on the pubic bones contributing to a posterior tilt. It is true that strong abdominal muscles are important support for the lower back, but the problem arises when the abdominals are strengthened with regular exercises, but the back extensors are ignored. Overtime, this may cause a muscle imbalance to develop and with repetition, or if great force is applied as in heavy lifting, the ligaments weaken and may bulge like a bubble in the wall of a tire. The ligaments may even tear, allowing the inner disc to leak out, which results in a herniated disc. For most of us, half our body weight is above the waist and smaller repetitious forward-bending movements are a well-known cause of back injuries.

Yoga for back pain is a type of exercise that is great for the body and spirit. Yoga is a terrific form of exercise for people of all ages and abilities. An exercise such as yoga, which releases the tension in the muscles, should improve back pain. Doing yoga provides a balance between the flexibility and strength of the muscles of the body, which is often the real cause of most back pain. Flexibility is increased throughout the body through the proper stretching of muscles and ligaments while increasing circulation to painful areas. Yoga increases muscular strength by using a full range of motion while teaching the individual the proper way to move, stretch and breathe. Mental focus is also used to create a calm and well being throughout the body while increasing awareness of the body’s systems and functions.

A study of 101 adults with chronic lower back pain, compared the benefits of yoga with conventional therapeutic exercise and those who took a weekly yoga class for 12 weeks experienced the most increased function and the biggest decrease in the need for pain medication. Yoga is effective in helping people manage back pain by making them more aware of how they move their bodies. In yoga the emphasis is on stretching and flexibility, but yoga also helps develop muscle strength. This, coupled with the relaxing breathing techniques reduces strain on muscles and joints and occasionally helping the reposition of tendons and muscle fibers. Taking 10 to 15 minutes daily, with the right yoga poses, you can begin to reshape your body by lengthening your hamstrings without compromising a normal lumbar curve. As a whole, yoga develops body awareness and places emphasis on alignment. This means that the whereabouts of each body part (feet, knees, hips, spine, shoulder, head) affect all the others. When you are ready to start and If you have a back problem, it’s best to get an okay from your doctor before trying yoga.

Your doctor can advise you of any movements to avoid, the most productive level of challenge, safety modifications, and effects of interaction between your medications and exercise. Most yoga classes utilize props, which help bring the pose to you, when tight or weak muscles cannot fully bring you into the pose. Once you have recommendations from your doctor, a good teacher will be able to respond to your medical limitations with the use of props and modifications, allowing your experience with yoga to be safe, as well as beneficial. It is important that you respect the limits placed on you by your pain. Yoga might not cure every type of pain, but it will increase the general health of the individual. There are some exercises that help with some types of back pain, and yoga can be one of them. In fact, yoga for lower back pain is often considered the best solution to alleviate as well as prevent pain in the back.

When doing yoga for lower back pain, you may choose to do it from home with the right instruction, or you can take a class with an experienced yoga teacher. In order to maximize benefits, seek out a qualified instructor who has experience in the treatment of back problems. To start you will need a yoga mat and you may wish to purchase a book that has information about yoga for lower back pain. It is also important that you get the right clothing for your yoga for lower back pain sessions. Beginner Yoga is mostly a physical experience. As an individual progresses into a deeper understanding of the art, mental, spiritual and even ethical benefits are derived from study and practice. Modern Yoga has many styles and each has its own physical and mental focus. The techniques and teaching methods will differ from style to style. Hatha Yoga is the most popular style. Other common styles are Kundalini, Bikram, Ashtanga and Bharata. Yoga is best known for it’s rigorous, yet relaxing postures, called Asanas.

Yoga asana and exercise makes the spine strong. The asanas which focus on lower back pain are but are not limited to: (1) Balasana (child’s pose), (2) Uttanasana (standing forward bend), (3) Pawanmukta Asana (wind relieving pose), (4) Paschimottanasana (intense west stretch), (5) Vakra Asana (spinal twist), (6) Ardha matsyendra Asana (the half spinal twist), (7) Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-faced dog), (8) Trianga Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana (three-footed forward bend), (9) Janu Sirsasana (head-to-knee pose), (10) Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose), (11) Dhanura Asana (the bow posture), (12) Trikonasan (triangle pose) and (13) Parivrtta Trikonasana (revolved triangle pose). Modifications can be done for these postures of yoga according to the condition of the patient. As an individual experiments with a particular aspect of a pose, they should be completely aware of the body.

The best way to determine if an alignment or variation is right is to try and it and let the body be the judge. When an individual is ready to start, forward bends are the best beginning exercise. A good plan for building towards safe forward bends involves six basic poses and are not limited to: (1) Modified Supta Padangusthasana (supine hand-to foot pose) which is practiced with the raised leg up the wall and the straight leg through a doorway, (2) Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (extended hand-to-foot posez0 which is practiced with the raised leg on a chair back, (3) Prasarita Padottanasana (widespread forward bend), (4) Supta Baddha Konasana (Supine Bound Angle Pose) which is practiced with the pelvis against a wall and the feet up on the wall, pressing gently on the thighs, (5) Modified Supta Padangusthasana (supine bound angle pose) which is practiced with the raised leg extended to the side and the foot on a wall, and (6) Savasana (corpse pose) which is practiced with a blanket support for the spine. Taking only 10 to 15 minutes daily, these poses will begin to reshape your body by lengthening your hamstrings without compromising a normal lumbar curve. These gentle poses will help your progress toward forward bends.

The great thing about yoga is that it can be very easy on the body, and there are many different things in yoga that an individual can do. You don’t have to do all the moves that most classes have. You only need to do the ones that work well with your back. Yogic exercises are mainly designed to keep the proper curvature of the spine and to increase its flexibility by stretching appropriate ligaments. Most people are physically unable to perform the “classic” poses. It can take many years of practice to acquire the strength, flexibility, and body awareness to perform some of the most basic yoga postures correctly. There is always an opportunity to improve on yoga posturing. There is no right or wrong way to do a pose. Throughout an individual’s yoga practice, a deeper understanding will be gained which will make it easier to execute these poses. Yoga awakens the body’s intelligence and as you continue to practice, you become more and more as to what is right and what is wrong for you and what meets your individual needs. Yoga can be one of the best and most natural means of bringing mind, body and soul back into perfect synchronization.

Paula M. Hunt teaches Yoga classes in Piedmont, Alabama.