How to heal your lower back with Yoga!

The lower region of the spine supports the whole body and any malfunction in it due to either an injury or long hours spent working on computers can affect the working of the whole system. It is also said that approximately 80 out of 100 people suffer back pain or injuries once in their lifetime. To counter this, we can take help of yoga and strengthen the lower back – the natural way.

Let’s have a look at how routine lower back yoga exercises can make us stronger and healthier the easy and natural way.

• Dhanurasana: The pose strengthens the lower back and abdominal muscles, keeping the whole back flexible.
• Natarajasana: The pose stretches and tones lower back along with hips and abdominal muscles, making the spine flexible.
• Setu Bandhasana: The pose strengthens the lower back and provides relief from backache.
• Matsyasana: The pose eases tension in the lower back, while enhancing blood circulation in the hip joints.
• Naukasana: The pose strengthens the back along with abdominal muscles.
• Marjarisana: The pose stretches lower and upper back, and gives flexibility to the entire spinal cord.

Another major contributor to lower back pain is poor posture. Sitting with a hunched back and drooping shoulders can render the muscles in the lower back weak. Bad posture does not limit to just sitting. The way you stand, walk and even sleep can aggravate pain in the back. To avoid this, a conscious effort to improve the posture is required. Avoid sitting slumped down or walking with your back bent.

At work, use a chair that supports your back and lets you sit firmly with feet touching the ground. Also, get up once every hour or two and take a walk. This will help release tension in the back, stretch the muscles in the legs and relax your eyes. Doing office yoga will also help alleviate pain and let you work comfortably.

For better results, meditating for 20-minute after you end your yoga practice is highly recommended. This will help calm your mind, stay focused and enhance your productivity.

Other physical activities like swimming and regular walking also help in relieving the back of pain. Swimming strengthens your entire back, especially when you do backstroke and crawl strokes. So, 30-minutes of swimming daily can keep you away from back problems. Walking is also considered as one of the best exercises to strengthen your lower back. For those who always have a fight for time, 5-10 minutes of walk after each meal is a good option. Remember to focus on walking with a straight posture the next time you head out for a walk.

Obesity increases the pressure on the lower back and thus exposes you to a higher risk of lower back injury. Thus, adopting a healthy eating habit is also important. In addition, adopting an ayurvedic lifestyle along with regular practice of yoga can help accelerate the process of alleviating lower back pain.

While these yoga postures are highly beneficial, people suffering from any back injury or slip disc, are advised to consult their physician before practicing any of these yoga poses or other physical exercises.