The spine, it is a big part that connects us from top to bottom and with life today it can be easily injured if appropriate management isn’t followed.
It sounds crazy that it is easily injured, but our daily lives are actually one of the main reasons our spines ache.
Sitting for long periods, Poor posture, sitting at a computer all day, driving for long periods or all the time.
All these things actually case back injuries- Sure it doesn’t sound like and injury, but it is and for some a REALLY painful type that can be debilitating.
Our spines have a range of movement, flexion, extension lateral flexion and rotation and all these neeed to be used to give us a healthy spine.
However with all the sitting we do, a lot of those movements aren’t done, so our spines tend to be used in a more MONO style instead of wholistic type..
What are some common back injuries??
- Arthritis – It is back, In the last two months this fella has made the list and it is coming in for a third month. Poor posture, age, and injury are the main offenders, but this fella can also cause weakness in the arms and legs.
- Herniated Discs – A common injury, it is caused a lot by poor posture. Physical stress, repetitive strain, and extra weight can cause the little disc that is the shock absorber between vertebrae to herniate.
- irregularities in the spine – Scoliosis is a good example of this irregularity which is a curvature of the spine.
- Muscle Strain – Heavy lifting, poor posture, stretching,, or trauma from car accidents or sporting injuries usually cause muscle or ligament strain which causes back pain.
A few simple tips to help prevent further problems or back pain happening in the yoga classroom.
- Strengthen the back muscles,
- Keep the spine tall, pulling up from the crown of the head.
- Focus on how you feel and move accordingly into forward, back or twisted poses.
- Stretch and strengthen surrounding muscles, like the core, psoas, and trapeze muscles.
Just a few asanas to modify if back pain is present.
- Savasana – our lovely relaxing end pose, although this is the gentlest of poses, for a person with back pain it can still cause issues. Place a blanket or bolster under the lower back and knees to ease the strain on the back.
- General forward folds – Keep the knees slightly bent to take the pressure off the back and bend from the hips as you exhale down into forward folds whether standing or seated.
- Twisted poses –General – Moving in and out of these poses we need to move with mindfulness, engaging the core and twisting from the core rather than the spine, keeping the spine elongated as we exhale slowly into these and slowly come out exhaling before moving over to the other side. Chair Twist, High Lunge Twist, Easy Twist, and Low Lunge Twist.
These are a few guidelines for those wishing to practice at home, however, if you are with a class please let your teacher know if you have any injuries new or old in your back.
Mindfulness is key to all body and the spine is the structural core of our body and also helps carry our central nervous system.
Our cervical spine is up the top and contains the 7 top vertebrae, the middle is the thoracic spine which carries the next 12 of our vertebrae, and finally the base of our spine, the lumbar spine carries the last 5 in our spine with the base being the sacrum, coccyx (tailbone).
Each of these areas has specific muscles attached and depending on our daily activities, injury history, body type, or illnesses and part of this can become painful.
For this reason, we really need to take a moment to engage in awareness of our bodies before moving into poses or practice of any kind.
To do this, always start with a warmup sequence making sure that all joints, muscles, and ligaments have enough heat in them before moving into a yoga flow can help to prevent injury or further causing pain in previous injuries.
Next month is wrist & shoulder injuries and the best way to modify for this.
That’s it for today though… Have a great, injury-free yoga practice.
Namaste ❤️ Megen
YoZenQi Holistic - Megen Hibbins 