Cat Cow Yoga Pose for Overcoming Lower Back Pain

In our normal day to day postures of sitting, walking, running, standing, we unknowingly put considerable pressure on our spine. Those of us who have sedentary jobs bend over a keyboard for hours together. When we sit this way without giving our spine a full back support, we also develop many spinal ailments due to lack of proper circulation of blood around the spine. These ailments include chronic backaches, sprain in the back, and also sciatica, spondylitis, slipped disc, etc.

The Cat cow yoga pose is a very useful exercise to reduce lower back pain. This pose is all about the movement of the spine by curving the back up and down from a position of being on all fours. This exercise seeks to increase the circulation of blood around the spine and nourish the tendons and ligaments around it to give us a supple spine. This pose also helps us to reduce the tension that accumulates around the spine.

You start from a position of being on all fours. When you are in this position, ensure that your spine is not curved either to the right or the left. Also check if your wrists are directly under your shoulders and your knees are directly under your hips.

Inhale deeply and curve your back downwards to bring your belly button to its lowest point. As you do this also lift your head and curve your neck. Your spine receives a stretch in one direction as you do this. Pause at this position for between three to five breaths, or as long as you are comfortable and then move on.

Come back to a neutral position where your back is neither curved upwards or downwards, and the crown of your head is in a straight line with your spine and tailbone, to the extent possible.

Inhale, and as you exhale, engage the muscles of your abdomen and draw your belly button inwards as you lift your back to curve your spine upwards. Your back is now arched, so that the center of your back is the highest point in your posture. When you do this, drop your shoulders downwards as you also lower your head between your arms. Pause at this stage for some time, before getting back into a neutral position, and then again curve your back downwards.

Repeat the cycle of these movements for some time before you exit this pose.

Sources:

Yoga for Lower Back Pain

http://shoulderexercises.org/600/yoga-for-lower-back-pain-cat-cow-yoga-pose-for-lower-back-pain/

Cat-Cow Pose - Yoga Pose for Spinal Alignment

http://backandneck.about.com/od/yogaforbackpain/p/yogabackpcatcow.htm

Yoga for Lower Back Pain: Cat Cow Yoga Pose for Lower Back Pain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LodlEH6TluM

Body Rotation Exercises

The Yoga body rotation exercises are those which you can do sitting in your chair at home or office. To do these exercises, you just have to take a break from your daily chores and sit forward in your chair. Your back should be slightly away from your back rest. Extend your legs a little bit and keep your knees level with your hips. Place your feet firmly on the floor.

Now to release the pressure in your lower back, you can rotate your spine. When you do this, ensure that you keep your spine straight without curving it so that you do not bend forward nor arch backwards. Now you may place your arms on your thighs, or on the arm rests of your chair, if you feel like.

Now as you keep your spine erect, bend forward and lower your chest towards your thighs. As you do this, be careful not to arch your spine. As your spine is inclined at an angle of about forty five degrees, start rotating it in a circular fashion. Ensure that you keep your spine straight as you do this. To help you to keep your spine straight, you may place your right palm on your abdomen and left palm on your hip. With this kind of support you can more easily hold your spine straight as you rotate it.

When you rotate your spine, you may fix your gaze on any point in front of you. This will help you to keep your spine straight as you rotate yourself. This would also help you to keep your head level, and not lower or raise it as you rotate.

You will need to keep breathing consciously, as you rotate your spine. Inhale, as you circle back, and exhale as you bring your chest forward. When you are rotating your body this way, you are also giving exercise to your abdominal muscles and stimulating your abdominal organs to secrete better. Repeat the rotation for between three to five minutes, or for as long as you find it comfortable and then emerge from this pose.

After doing the body rotations, you might feel a bit stiff at your neck. You can lower your left ear to your left shoulder and pause, and then drop your chin to your chest, and follow this up by dropping your right ear to your right shoulder. This will help you to overcome stiffness around your neck.

Sources:

Chair Yoga Exercises For Seniors: Open Up Your Body And Improve Your Health

http://www.yogawiz.com/blog/yoga-benefits/chair-yoga-exercises-seniors.html

Chair Yoga | Chair Exercises | Sitting Exercises

http://yoga-health-benefits.blogspot.com/2009/04/chair-yoga.html

Exercises in an Office Chair

http://www.livestrong.com/article/94056-exercises-office-chair/

Chair Exercise - body rotations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDfygg9YkdM

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Eka Pada Paschimottanasana in Partner yoga

The Eka Pada Paschimottanasana in Partner yoga is the seated forward bending pose using one leg. You do it with the help of your partner, and harness each other’s strength to help both partners to do the pose properly.

Before you do this pose, you shall need to consult your physician, if you suffer from any hip or spine related ailments like sciatica or slipped disc. Learning to do it under the guidance of a yoga teacher would help.

Sit on a mat in a cross-legged position facing your partner. Sit at a distance, not more than a couple of arms from your partner. This is necessary as you and your partner should be able to reach out to each other with your arms. Fold your right leg from the knee and extend your left leg towards you partner. Your partner also extends her (his) left leg towards your right leg which is bent from the knee. Your partner likewise folds her (his) right leg.

Press your foot lightly against your partner’s shin just near her (his) knee and stay connected. Extend your arms towards your partner, and hold her (his) arms. You should be holding your partner’s wrists, as your partner also does likewise.

Inhale, and lengthen up your spine. Ensure that your spine is not curved to either your right or left. As both partners exhale, one partner should bend backwards, while the other partner leans forward. Keep checking with your partner about each other’s comfort level when doing this. Draw your partner down towards yourself till your partner can comfortably bring her (his) forehead towards her (his) knees.

When you do this, both partners leverage on each other’s strength and ability to bend. The partner who stretches backwards is held on to by the other partner, who is helped to bend forward by the first partner.

Pause at this position and then inhale before you start returning to your original position. Pause for a moment before you now bend forward, while your partner pulls you, while she (he) leans backwards. Lower your forehead to your knees. All this while keep a firm grip on your partner’s wrists. As you bend forward you may exhale to go deeper into the stretch.

Repeat this backward and forward movement for some time and then exit this pose. Doing this pose feels like a tug of war using a rope, and for kids, this exercise would seem more like a game.

Sources:

Partner Yoga Guide : Eka Pada Paschimottanasana in Partner Yoga

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMrx5nijmZg

Double Paschimottanasana in Partner Yoga

http://www.livestrong.com/video/1272-double-paschimottanasana-partner-yoga/

Opposite Hand to Shoulder Stretch in Partner Yoga
http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_2260227_opposite-hand-shoulder-stretch-partner.html