We all have, at one point of our life, suffered from some kind of lower back pain or discomfort. If this is you or if you know someone with this issue pass on this short yoga routine that you/they can practise daily and mindfully to help ease the pain.
Begin in puppy stretch by lowering your chest to your mat as you pull your hips towards your heels. This can be a very intense stretch for the shoulders so please be mindful and gentle while going further.
Slide your upper body across and up the matt. Straighten your arms, open your chest, and slowly roll your shoulders back arriving into upward dog.
Lift your hips up towards the sky, pull your chest towards your thighs as you uncurl your toes and straighten those legs. Don't forget to breatheee! :)
Mindfully walk your feet up towards your finger tips, arriving to the front of your matt. Allow yourself to take a few extra minutes here to receive all the benefits this pose has to offer. Feel free to bend your knees if this is too intense on the hamstrings.
Bend both of your knees, lift your left foot off the matt and send it directly behind you. Drop only the ball of your foot onto the matt as you straighten your back leg, maintaining a 90 degree angle with your front thigh and calf.
From here transition into crescent lunge by releasing your back knee onto the matt, placing your hands onto your knee, uncurling your toes and slowly easing into the stretch by sending your hips forward and down. If you would like to intensify the stretch lift your arms above your head, spread your fingers wide and breatheee. (Image below for reference)
When you feel you have received what you can from this pose drop your hands onto the matt, curl the back toes, straighten the back leg to arrive into low lunge again. Slightly bend your back knee as you step it up to meet the right foot. Straighten your legs the best you can and bow down onto your legs. Release your head and neck here in forward fold.
Bend both of your knees, lift your right foot off the matt and send it directly behind you. Drop only the ball of your foot onto the matt as you straighten your back leg, maintaining a 90 degree angle with your front thigh and calf.
From here transition into crescent lunge by releasing your back knee onto the matt, uncurling your toes and slowly easing into the stretch by sending your hips forward and down.
This here can get tricky so be patient with this transition. Place your hands onto the matt. Use the strength of your arms to lift your left foot up and slowly bend your knee out to the left edge of your matt as you lower the side of your calf and foot down. You may need to make two adjustments: walk the back foot back behind you to even out your hips. Also, if it is available to you, lift your left foot and walk it up so that your calf is almost parallel to the front of your matt. From this place allow both of your hands so drop to the side of your body and work on sending your hips down but making sure not to lean to much to one side.
Use the strength of your arms to lift your left leg off the matt and send it behind you the best you can. From here position your self into table top position. Knees hip with apart, hips directly over knees, shoulders over wrists, and breathee.
From here we are going to transition to the opposite side of pigeon pose by simply reaching your right knee towards your right wrist, swing the side of your right foot towards your left wrist (again making that line across your matt with your calf). Surrender fully into the pose by sliding your left foot back behind you. Square off those hips and breathe as you focus on surrendering into the stretch.
Shift your weight into your right hip, swing your left leg around (the best you can) over top of your right leg and place your left foot down onto the matt and along side your left thigh. From here pull your right foot next to your left hip, hug your left knee with the opposite arm, and straighten your left arm into the matt and up against your back to assist in finding space in your space. Inhale work on straightening the spine, exhale twist deeper.
Switching to the opposite by pulling your left foot alongside your right hip, swing the right foot up placing it onto the matt aligned next to your left thigh. Hugging your knee into your chest as you work on straightening and twisting your torso.
Release both feet out in front of you, bend your toes back, place your arms where ever it is available to you (knees, thighs, calves, or ankles). Begin with a straight spine as you bow your chest towards your legs.
Once you have gone as far as you can, give in the rest of your body by allowing your back to gently curl forward, let go of your neck and head. Take at least ten breaths here before you lower your back onto the matt to finish your practise.
I rely heavily on my good looking stick people to help me remember certain sequences or routines for teaching and my own personal practise. If this helps you as well feel free to print this off as a reminder of what positions are next if you have enough yoga experience under your belt and understand how to get into each posture.
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