| I went over in detail the use of the shoulder stand | | | | Spinal Twist: (Ardha Matsendrasana): |
| sequence as ‘the' Yoga exercise for back pain in | | | | |
| part one of this article. Now let's go over the rest of | | | | -Sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you. |
| the applicable poses shall we. | | | | -Bend your right knee, lift your right leg over your left, |
| | | | | and place your right foot on the floor next to your left |
| FORWARD STRETCHES: | | | | knee. |
| | | | | -Sitting with spine straight, place your left elbow on the |
| Wind Relieving Pose: (Vatayanasan) | | | | right side of your right knee. |
| Lie down flat. Now take a deep breath and hold it. | | | | -Bend your left arm so that your left fingertips are |
| Now fold your right leg at the knee and press the | | | | touching your right hip, while at the same time, twisting |
| folded leg against the abdomen. Make sure to keep | | | | to look over your right shoulder. |
| the alternate leg straight while doing this. Now, switch | | | | |
| legs and to conclude this use both legs at the same | | | | Since this actually involves a twisting of the back, |
| time. | | | | make sure you go only as far as it is comfortable. As |
| 5-15 Seconds | | | | a matter of fact, it is advised that depending on the |
| | | | | severity of your case, you only go as far as the |
| Plough Pose (Halasana): | | | | poses allow you to at any time. |
| Lie flat on your back on your blanket. Keep the hands, | | | | 5-15 Seconds |
| palms down near the thighs. Without bending the | | | | |
| knees, slowly raise the hips and the lumbar part of the | | | | Corpse Pose (Savasana): |
| back and bring down the legs till they touch the floor or | | | | |
| go as far as you can. The key here is to get as deep | | | | This is the relaxation pose. From experience, after the |
| a stretch for the lower back as possible. | | | | spinal twist above, if you immediately get into this pose, |
| 5-15 Seconds | | | | there is an indescribable feeling of relief from tightness |
| | | | | in the back. You ought to try it out for yourself. |
| Forward Bend (Paschimothanasana): | | | | |
| Lie flat on your back on the blanket, with arms | | | | -Lay motionless on your back with the arms and legs |
| overhead on the floor. Keep the legs and thighs firmly | | | | slightly extended. |
| on the floor. Stiffen your body. Slowly raise the head | | | | -Breathe deeply in counts of 5 that being in a ratio of |
| and the chest and assume a sitting position. Now | | | | 5:5:5 |
| exhale till you are able to catch you toes, ankles or | | | | (inhalation-retention-exhalation) |
| heels. You may even bury your face in between your | | | | -Lay as such for as long as you desire and you could |
| knees. | | | | mentally send relaxation messages to your body parts |
| 5-15 Seconds | | | | such as "My ….. is hereby relaxed" (filling in the space |
| | | | | with whatever body part. Remember to start from the |
| BACKWARD STRETCHES: | | | | toes working upwards.) |
| | | | | |
| Inclined Plane Pose (Purvottanasana): | | | | Other factors to keep in mind when I say try ‘yoga |
| | | | | for back pain' are that Yoga involves the consumption |
| Rest on your hands on heels, keeping the body | | | | of a healthy diet. This brings to mind Hippocrates' |
| straight. | | | | quote: "Let your foods be your medicine…" |
| 5-15 Seconds | | | | |
| | | | | That considered, do make sure your diet is primarily |
| Bow Pose: (Dhanurasana) | | | | made up of the right stuff, raw and cooked fruits and |
| | | | | veggies. |
| This pose is hailed as the best backward bending | | | | |
| exercise. Lie Prone on the blanket. Relax the muscles. | | | | This will relieve constipation and this reminds me of a |
| Now bend the legs over the thighs. Catch hold of the | | | | true experience with my father years back. He had |
| right ankle with the right hand and the left ankle with | | | | suffered a severe back pain for weeks and an |
| the left hand firmly. Raise the head, body and knees | | | | alternative health consultant told him to eat a meal of |
| by tugging at the legs with the hands so the whole | | | | plain fruit on a given night and 2-3 hours afterwards, he |
| body rests on the abdomen. | | | | was instructed to drink a laxative tea. After a really |
| | | | | good bowel movement the next day, the pain |
| Wheel Pose (Chakrasana) | | | | magically subsided. That said you may want to try this |
| | | | | tip as well. |
| Lie down. Bend the arms and legs. Raise the body and | | | | |
| rest on the hands and feet. Tuck your head firmly in | | | | It is my hope that all these pointers above will come in |
| between your shoulders. | | | | handy in your use of yoga for back pain relief-with the |
| 5-15 Seconds | | | | right poses. So go on and give it a shot today. |
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