Try Our Simple Yoga Poses &  Exercises to Alleviate Back Pain

Lower back pain is a killer. We feel you. It turns up from out of nowhere and hangs around like a bad fart in a library. No one wants that.

It can quickly break your motivation and your mood. Your usual practices go out of the window.

Sitting. Standing. Reaching. Twisting...

However you move, it pops in and gives you the twinge. Get off my back, man!

If you’ve had persistent back pain, you must visit a professional. Simples.

But sometimes, light movement is what your body needs to help you get some relief. If you know your body and you want to try some light exercises to loosen, relieve and safely mobilise, we’ve put together a few simple warmers. 

Take Care

As with all exercises, if you experience pain, stop. Everybody and everybody is different. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for lower back pain. But hopefully, one or two of these light back mobilisation exercises just might unpick a few knots.

Roll out your Honest Yoga Mat and let’s get some weight-free relief. Yes. 

The Grateful 8! Best Exercises to Counter Lower Back Pain

Standing Twists

Stand with your feet shoulder with apart. Extend your spine. Nice and tall. You might feel some relief immediately. Touch the fingertips of your left hand onto your right shoulder. Engage your core. Slowly twist your body and your head to the right. If your movement is met with pain, then stop. If not, extend your right arm out and stretch to your right hand side. Lovely. Repeat the exercise with total consciousness from side-to-side.

Shoulder Blade Squeeze

Sometimes the simplest ones are the best. In Mountain Pose, rotate your palms out to face the front. Squeeze your shoulder blades together with a slight downward motion, while lifting your chest and pushing it forward. To do this properly, you want to feel your shoulder blades pull towards the back pocket of your... Flow Trousers. Relax. Then repeat. Feel good?

Knee-To-Chest 1

Lie on your back. Engage your core. Slowly raise one leg and reach to squeeze it into your chest. If anything feels too much, then don’t do it. If it feels good, slowly return you leg to the floor and repeat the exercise on the other side. Remember, keep that core tight. You can do this exercise with the lower leg bent or straight for a deeper stretch in the hip flexors.

Knee-To-Chest 2

If you managed Knee-to-Chest 1 ok and you feel you want to take a variation, here we go. Before you raise your knee to your chest, place the heel of the opposite leg over the knee. When you pull the leg in you should feel a stretch to your outer hip and your glute. Once again, keep your core engaged. Keep your foot flexed - this protects your knee and concentrates the stretch in the hip. If you experience any knee pain whatsoever, back off.

Cat-Cow

Come to all fours on your mat. As you arch into cow take a deep breath inwards. Move slowly, with intent and consciousness. From cow, start to arch through your straight spine and keep moving towards cat. Keep you core engaged. Arch as far as you feel comfortable. This is a great, none weight-bearing way to create space and relieve tension in the spine. If you’re comfortable, move with the breath and repeat. Meow.

Partial Abdominal Crunches

Lie on your back with your feet flat to the floor - knees bent. Lift your head slightly and engage your core. Now using your abdominals, try to move your head ever so slightly towards your knees. You’re not attempting a full sit up here, just a partial raise to create some engagement and relief of the back. How does that feel? Good? We hope so.

45-Degree Forward Fold (Caution!)

Stand at the top of your mat. Feet shoulder width. Engage your core and slowly start to lean forward. If it’s painful, stop. If you’re ok, try to reach 45 degrees. You’ll feel some stretch in your hamstring. This is good. If you’re unsure with this exercise, you could try doing it in front of a table or a wall for additional support. Take care.

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) (Caution!)

This may well be a bridge too far... And be extra careful. But if you can rock out a comfortable bridge this may offer some relief. Lie flat on your back and feet flat to the mat. Knees point up to the sky. Heels and knees in line with your hips. Tuck you chin to your chest. Press through all four corners of your feet and take a nice breath in. Hug naval to spine. Scoop the tailbone up and lift the hip points. Nice and slow. Open you palms. Lift the hips and let that neck be nice and long. Hold the pose and breath long and slow. When you’ve had enough, move slowly down with the breath and drop one vertebrae at a time, catching a sweet massage back to the mat.

Good luck and we hope you’re back to 100% soon.

Don’t rush it. You’ll get there. Stay safe and stay in the flow.

Thanks for reading, brothers.

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