Yoga for lower back pain: How to find sweet relief

Lower back pain is one of the worst kinds of pain that you can experience. It makes you feel vulnerable, uneasy, and really can just ruin your whole day.

I found that yoga can help a lot with this problem. Usually when I find that my lower back is acting up again, or when I strain the lower back muscles too much while working out I go to YouTube to find some help with this.

So today, I want to show you a few yoga tips for when you suffer from lower back pain.

The best Youtube Yoga video for lower back relief

My favorite YouTube Yoga video for lower back relief of all times is this one by Esther Ekhart.

I’ve been following her YouTube videos for over 10 years by now and they are simply great.

This one specifically never fails to help whenever I have problems with my lower back.

No matter if it’s from stress, from bad posture, from sitting at the desk too much or from working out. This one will bring lower back pain relief, I promise! And it just takes a few minutes of your time.

It also qualifies as beginner yoga for lower back pain, as all the poses are pretty accessible.

Definitely try it!

Related: Get it straight: 7 Yoga poses to improve your posture

Yoga for lower back pain sciatica

Another lower back issue that yoga can help with his see sciatica. It’s a very common problem that comes from the sciatic nerve being put under too much pressure.

If you are familiar with Yoga with Adriene, you’ll know her Yoga routines are very beginner-friendly. And she has loads and loads of videos out there.

Related: The best channels for beginners Yoga on Youtube
Related: The complete beginner’s guide to Yoga

So it’s no surprise that she also has a video specifically for sciatica.

As usual, if you have chronic back problems, check with your doctor before you do anything and get their approval that you’re okay doing this.

And as soon as you have that, start doing this Yoga routine regularly and you’ll find sweet relief from your sciatic pain!

Chair yoga for lower back pain

Some of us suffer from lower back pain in the office a lot because of the way we’re sitting or just because we are sitting a lot. (Too much.)

To help you with this, you can also try some chair yoga for lower back pain.

Cat-cow on a chair

One of my favorites that you can do all the time and that doesn’t even look that weird is the cat-cow stretch. It works like the “normal” cat-cow pose, just while sitting on your chair.

So you sit with your feet evenly planted on the floor and your sit bones on the edge of your chair. On an in-breath puff your chest out and let your neck move back a little bit but keep it long.

And on an out-breath, push your upper back really back. Really round your neck and back. Then go back to curving your spine the other way when you breathe in again.

Do this for a few breaths.

This will release any pressure along the spine. So it will also help with lower back pain.

Forward fold on a chair

Another option you can do is a seated forward fold on a chair.

Sit again with your feet planted and your sit bones on the edge of the chair. Then start bending forward slowly, starting from your head.

Slowly roll down vertebrae by vertebrae until your upper body lays on your upper thighs and your hands are hanging loosely. Relax here for one or two breaths and then engaging your belly muscles slowly roll back up. Again, move slowly and roll up vertebrae by vertebrae.

Do this a few times. And again, you will feel instant relief.

Because it is so easy, you can do this every day at the office. And who knows, maybe you’ll get some coworkers in on the fun?

Yin yoga for lower back pain

If you have a little more time, you can also try some yin yoga to combat your lower back pain.

In Yin Yoga, poses are held much longer than in other Yoga styles, so your body gets to relax and release.

The video below is a Yin Yoga class targeting the lower back specifically. Give it a try!

Lower back pain from yoga

Last but not least, I want to address a common problem. Lots of people complain about actually getting lower back pain from yoga.

This often happens after backbends, for example, the very commonly used pose cobra pose. And what happens here is not actually that Yoga is giving you back pain.

Instead, you’re most likely not doing the poses in a safe and correct way.

Whatever you’re doing, in Yoga you will always have to make sure that your lower back feels okay. Especially in backbends, you need to be mindful about not putting any stress on the lower back.

This only works if you’re

a) doing the poses with correct posture and

b) being really aware of what’s going on in your body. No one but you can know!

If you’re doing yoga at home and you notice that your lower back starts feeling vulnerable after Yoga practice, I suggest that you find an experienced yoga teacher near you.

They can show you how to correct your posture and practice yoga in a safe way for yourself and your lower back!

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I hope this post was helpful to you and that you and your lower back feel better as soon as possible. If it did help you, then spread the love and share this post with someone else!