Yoga for Lower Back Pain: Strengthen, Stretch and Relax Your Back I
Beginner I
David has spent much of his adult life understanding how to heal his lower back pain. In this class, David takes you through a beginner level yoga class that shows you how to strengthen your core to protect your lower back (including the transverse abdominis), how to use yoga stretches, or poses, to heal the lower back and how to use relaxation to speed up the healing process. The lower back stretches alone can cause great relief and the three approaches together will ensure that it lasts. This is the first of a 2-class series. The second class is Yoga for Lower Back Pain: Strengthen, Stretch and Relax Your Back II.
Equipment:
Strap Videos
Bolster Videos
Style:
Comments
Existing Comments
Thank you, David. Really helped me today.
Great class. Thank you
Thank you, David. So helpful!
Fantastic
Wonderful back work, I will do this again. Thank you David!
Very grateful for this practice. Namaste.
Dear David, I am acquainted to DYWM since more than 5 years. I pushed myself a lot for a while, doing Fiji's intermediate classes but now I am calming down as I have some back problems. I am suffering from annulus fibrosus tear on L5S1 disc and from a grade 1 spondylolisthesis, I did your class and I managed it but still want to ask whether you believe that this class is appropriate for me. Thank you in advance for your reply.
Best wishes.
once again,I enjoyed the benefits of your wonderful website. After a day hunched over a lifetime of photographs , on dining room chairs I knew my back could get some relief. and it did. when I am going over the list of things I am grateful for in my life, access to all the wisdom on this website is right up there. thankyou.
I had a bit of hesitation even getting to the floor. But having done this class, I already feel relief. I can't wait for tomorrow! Thank you David.
Ultimately I want to learn how to get back into my yoga without ending up in this situation. Even the smallest about workout, which I need, sets me up for lower back pain. This is why I've gone all the way back to Beginner 1 and your Back sessions. I'm trying to restart safely and mindfully.
This made a huge difference after only one session - thank you. And a good reminder for me that I do not need to do 'intermediate or advanced to experience benefits , the beginner mind always wins :)
Thank you for this class - my lower back was tender today and this practice helped. The rolled-up towel was a good sensory cue.
fantastic practice for anyone suffering from chronic lower back pain. I enjoyed it especially the releasing tension visualization during savasana. namaste 1
Over the past two weeks your two lower back classes are helping me rebuild strength in my lower back after five lumbar spine PRP injection treatments. I am already back on a pitching mound and lifting lighter load weights again. Thank you
Super class for lower back and the release of tension at the end was fantastic.
David, would using the rolled up towel for sensory feedback also work when doing your Yoga For Sciatic practice? Thanks for your great practices!
Thanks for this class. I’ve had an acute recurrence of lower back pain , unable to sit comfortably and with the muscle spasms that not only hurt but also tend to lead to some generalized anxiety and tension. I’ve been following the DYWM relaxation classes which are very helpful. But this class is the most helpful, gentle enough for me but still getting those stretches that my tense muscles needed. As I write this I am sitting Comfortably! Thanks again for this wonderful site.
That helped me today so much! Thank you! Wish you good health!
I think its important to have a towel that doesnt roll up too thick - for the sequence where you need to lift off the towel, i couldnt push down with my tailbone, so i switched to a thinner towel, or rather a pillow case, and it felt a lot better.
Great practice for core stability, and preventing those niggling back problems
Cheers Dave :)
The rolled-up hand towel was infinitely better than my previous experiences with blocks and bolsters under my back! However, stretching my hamstrings with the strap was excruciating: I couldn't get my straightened legs (one or both) more than about 30 degrees off the floor, and even there the stretch became too intense to hold for as long as you asked. For me, the best stretch of the class was pressing down on my knee with ankle on the opposite thigh.
Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like you have tight hamstrings! That's pretty common, and I can totally relate. My hamstrings were super tight too and I have many students who can't get their legs past 45 degrees. It can take time to get that flexibility, and the best approach is to repeat that stretch as much as you can, but do it in a way that limits that excruciating experience. Move in and out, ease off when you need to, and do what you can to soften and release the tight muscles.
i wasnt quite that bad but i couldnt get near 90 degrees, now i can get well past that, probably to about 130 degrees or more, my foot is over my head. Thats as a 94kg powerlifter in training, so keep at it and it will come.
Thank you for this class and for opening the subscription content up to those who aren't able to support you financially during this time.
I found this class very relaxing. A lot of physical, and with it, emotional release. On a hot Easter Sunday in North London, with my windows wide open, I could hear children playing in the garden next door, birds, loudly chirping away and then the piano music at the end, gently washing over me, which I wasn't sure if it was from my housemate or the computer.
I hope you are keeping well. Thanks for sharing this much needed mediation. Namaste
What a release on dropping those knees to the side...my lower back popped better than at the chiropractor. Thank you for such wonderful therapeutic sequences!
when you say lower back, where specifically do you mean? Sacral or lumber?
Generally lumbar, but this class is an effective way to relieve tension and pain in the lumbar and sacral area.
I sit too much (like we all do). I don't have a lot of lower back pain, just pressure. I find myself coming back to this class over and over again because I feel so great afterward! Very relaxing, while getting in a nice stretch and core stabilization. David, your voice is so soothing. Thank you!
Thank you for anothe great class. I suffer from sciatica and this is exactly the sort of thing I needed. It really helps to relieve the pain.
Thank you David for your website, clear instructions (always) and this class.
I was wondering, when doing the spinal twist with one leg crossed over the other, is the buttock pain on each side also related to a weak lower back?
Namaste
Amanda
You're welcome, Amanda.
It's hard to say. Are you feeling buttock pain on both sides during both twists?
Just on one side during both twists. It seems to be around my sit bones.
Thank you! That.was a beautiful journey.
If you don’t mind, I have some questions =)
Where did you deepen your yoga & breathing practice /where did you receive your certification? Where did you learn pranayama? Do you practice meditation?
Where did you learn massage?
What joys and challenges you’ve found in your journey and teaching?
Hi there. Thanks for the feedback! I did my yoga teacher training with Chakra Yoga in Thailand. I had been studying meditation and pranayama before then and have continued, with other teachers and through books. I learned massage at a massage school in Montreal and I studied Thai Massage in Chiang May, Thailand, at a few different schools. I love teaching and appreciate the continual opportunity to grow as a human being.
Great class! I don't have any issues with back pain - doing this class as part of the runner's programme. What a wonderful change from the more fast-paced classes I normally do. Loved it! Can't wait for part 2 :)
I really thought this class had done very little for me. That is, until I got up and started to move around. Then I realized just how much pain and tension I had been carrying around. I hadn't been able to run that morning my usual 2 to 3 mile run. My back was so tight I couldn't touch my toes. After this class I felt a great sense of relief and looseness in my hips and in my lower back. And I could touch my toes. And I could run the next morning. Thank you so much for this class.
Thank you so much, I am so happy to be back as a member. Love you
Thank you for the feedback everyone!
Thank you David. My lower back feels happy and free. I am so grateful. Love and Namaste, Charley
=) this made me smile. Do you do any other exercises or stretches, like upward facing dog/Urdhva Mukha Svanasana?
I am always trying to figure out how to manage my lower back issues , this class has made my back feel so much better!
You are a gem David , and I feel so blessed to have you and the rest of the team in my life!
What great way to start my day !
Peace
Would it reduce the effectiveness to do 20 minutes during a study break, then finish it after another study session?
In general, it's more effective to stretch when the muscles are warm so best to do it all in one flow. However, you could warm up the muscles with a bit of exercise before you begin and I can't see it being a problem.
Thank you so much :) <3 Take care
No lower back problems but a lot of tightness in my legs to work on.
Great class, and good cues, thanks.
great strength building and surprisingly gets the blood flowing - my biggest challenge is being able to relax my neck and David's calm presence helps me get closer :)
I have this same problem! My neck actually feels like it's arching. I sometimes have to use a small pillow.
Don’t have any issues with lower back but I like these classes because I simply feel good after them. Thank you, David, it was nice!
Thank you
Great class, thanks for the volume tip fellow yogis
Precise as always David. Love your classes.