Low back pain and weak core muscles

Your Asana Practice
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Hi

Which program or challenge to take in case of low back pain and weak core muscles?

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Yo, this is The Yoga Snunch and I’m doing laps on the Rachel Scott Bow Pose Series. During the classes you’ll get a boat load of back bending and core strengthening.

Maybe give those a try!

Snunch

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Yes, those are great suggestions. That is a fantastic series for learning how to activate the core, particularly in a backbend.

You can also have a look at our Programs page, where we have 3 programs you may like to browse through. There is Establish Your Core Stability and Strength, Vinyasa Yoga for Lower Back Care with Fiji McAlpine and Beginner Yoga for Optimal Lower Back Health. Scroll down and you’ll see all of them.

Let us know if you have any more questions.

Take care,

David

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If I may jump in, I would suggest you find out what exactly is causing your low back pain. Some conditions can be aggravated by back bends. If you have a bulging disk, for example, you would need to keep a neutral spine and avoid back bends. It certainly is important to strengthen the core and there are a lot of ways to do this without spinal flexion. It is also very important to examine your posture and to work to align your load bearing joints (ankles, knees, hips and shoulders) with ears above shoulders both horizontally and vertically. We all have asymmetries and it helps to look in a mirror, close your eyes and tilt to one side, come back up and stand straight as you can. Then open your eyes to see if you are tilted, close your eyes, readjust and open them again repeating until you are straight. Doing this front and side is helpful because then your mind connects with your body and you “re-learn” to stand properly as the body has forgotten and has compensated thus throwing off muscles and bones and affecting all other joints in the body. Thanks for listening.

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Hi, thanks a lot. I have been avoiding back bends now because I noticed they increased the low back pain. I started to practice pilates. :slight_smile:

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I have found the pilates classes here very helpful in strengthening my back and core muscles.

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Well, I would suggest starting planking to strengthen your core. There are many Yoga poses that are really helpful in low back pain and strengthening core muscles.

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First of all, go to the doctor. Then you can thing about yoga.

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I came to yoga looking for some help with low back pain too. For me, it’s caused by a combo of overly tight hamstrings due to playing sport and running, as well as weak lower core muscles. David’s class Deep Release for the Hamstrings I find really helpful here, as well as the classes that involve gentle twisting of the spine. Anastasia’s Spinal Care for Beginners class is also really good for the whole back, stretches it out nice and gently. I’m sure there are plenty more I’m just yet to find them!! :smiley:

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Thanks for sharing that. Do you have an example of a Pilates exercise for back and core?

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Deep breathing can help!

Sorry you’re suffering from low back pain. Hang in there
infinite love and gentleness is within and without
:green_heart: :sunrise_over_mountains:

These may help when approached with caution, listening to your body, with input from a professional, ideally:

https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/yoga-lower-back-pain-strengthen-stretch-and-relax-your-back-i :muscle: :mount_fuji: , :bug: :butterfly: ,:seedling: :sunflower:

  • Core stability

  • Standing on one leg

  • Press ups

  • Superman’s

  • Bridges

  • pigeon reclined or forward

  • Sphinx/upward facing dog pose.
    Though some people benefit more from flexion
    rather than extension— or even traction

  • This works for me:
    1 Lying on your stomach on a yoga mat with a pillow under the hips
    2 then removing it,
    3 easing gently into upward facing dog on the inhale,
    4 exhaling, relaxing the low back at the top of the extension
    5 inhale, extend with length and ease a bit more if it feels okay to
    6 exhale, releasing back to Earth. Cycling that about 10 times
    7 pulling self forward by the forearms to get traction of the legs- this works for me. I learned it from the McKenzie method & exploration

  • McKenzie method, considering mechanical causes, like hunching and sitting without low back support & stretching breaks

  • Lying on the back knees together, heels a part, and a small book under your low back, heart open, shoulders down and back… Approach this cautiously as I am not qualified. A yoga instructor taught me this but different people need different things

  • resistant band walks and clam shells

  • If sciatica. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQnMSy0BjKEy1UMNRi5yi4-6HtlPmmmHU

In pain our inner understanding, love, healing, strenght blossoms.

Our strength is of mountains, observing from above
Our love is wholesome, pure, peaceful, gentle surrender to streams of sattva
Sattva equilibrates, aligns and unites: the energies of raja and tamas, effort and ease, tensegrity of mind, body, and spirit (or consciousness or purusha), root to crown in sushumna, body to Atman.
Love is enough;