Driving Makes My Back Hurt
I hate driving. My hate of driving is inversely proportionate to my love of lunges. I drove first to my friend Sara's place in Colebrook, Connecticut (three hours, should have taken two, though) and the next day we both went to visit Chris is Londonderry, NH (two and a half to three hours). Today I drive all the way back to New Paltz, NY, home sweet temporary home.
Driving makes my back hurt. I get stressed out and feel it in my upper back and the sitting hurts my lower back. After it's all said and done I feel like a question mark. But, why complain when I have yoga? In the classes I teach, one of the most common complaints has always been back pain. This should be a good sequence for those with back pain and those who have done a lot of driving this Columbus Day Weekend.
Perhaps counterintuitively, some of the best cures for lower back pain is to tense it. The best way to understand this is to think of Chinese finger traps: the only way to release the finger is to push the trap tighter together. Similarly, sometimes the only way to release the back is to do some gentle back bends or back strengtheners. Some contraindications for this, however, are back inflammation or chronic back issues. See a doc or chiropractor for the latter.
Driving makes my back hurt. I get stressed out and feel it in my upper back and the sitting hurts my lower back. After it's all said and done I feel like a question mark. But, why complain when I have yoga? In the classes I teach, one of the most common complaints has always been back pain. This should be a good sequence for those with back pain and those who have done a lot of driving this Columbus Day Weekend.
Driving Makes My Back Hurt
Perhaps counterintuitively, some of the best cures for lower back pain is to tense it. The best way to understand this is to think of Chinese finger traps: the only way to release the finger is to push the trap tighter together. Similarly, sometimes the only way to release the back is to do some gentle back bends or back strengtheners. Some contraindications for this, however, are back inflammation or chronic back issues. See a doc or chiropractor for the latter.
- Sukhasana (Easy Pose)
- Dirgha Pranayama (Three-part Yogic Breath)
- Send breath to sore part of back
- Lie on back, continue Dirgha
- Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose) raises
- Take 4-5 breaths to come into full expression of Setu Bandhasana
- Lower hips half-way, rock hips side to side
- Garbasana (Child's Pose)
- In Garbasana, rocking weight onto forearms and back towards sitz bones
- Sukhasana
- Circle torso clockwise and counterclockwise
- Wide-legged Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose)
- Rocking weight forward to wide-legged Chaturanga Dandasana (Plank Pose) and back to Adho Mukha Svanasana
- Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
- Standing Yoga Mudrasana (Yogic Hand Clasp), coming backwards and then forwards
- While standing, hands on bent knees, arch spine towards ceiling, chin towards chest in Marjarasana (Cat Pose)
- Arch spine towards floor, crown of head towards ceiling in Bitilasana (Cow Pose)
- Move between steps 16 and 17
- Come onto stomach on floor
- Ardha Salabhasana (Half Locust Pose)
- Repeat other leg
- Salabhasana (Full Locust Pose)
- On stomach, rock hips gently
- Garbasana
- Supta Matsyendrasana (Reclined Twist Pose)
- Repeat other side
- Savasana (Corpse Pose)
