5 Simple Poses for a Healthy Back

July 25, 2016

In this article

These two postures help to keep the spine, and shoulders, mobile and strong.

Start on your hands and knees, in a neutral table top position. Hands are shoulder-distance apart and knees are hip-distance apart. Shoulder heads are over wrists and hips are over knees.
Slowly inhale, settle your belly toward the ground as you lift your gaze and your tail, cow pose. As you exhale, draw your navel toward the spine, drawing your gaze and your tail toward the navel, cat pose.
Repeat 5 times then switch direction. Inhale as you draw your navel toward the spine into cat. Use the power of your inhalation to draw the shoulder blades away from each other. As you exhale, settle gently into cow.
Be sure to link your breath to your movement.

This posture helps lengthen and strengthen back, leg, and hip muscles.

Begin on hands and knees. Root into the palms as if you were lifting into plank, then shift your hips back and up, angling your tail bone toward the sky (this requires titling the pelvis forward). Bend your knees or lift your heels as much as you need for the spine to be neutral and long.
Root firmly into the fingertips, lengthening the torso. Place your shoulder blades together on the back of the body for shoulder stability.
Relax your neck muscles, gaze toward your toes, and keep your ears in between your biceps.
To come out of the pose, gently release to your starting position.

Standing forward fold helps stretch the hamstrings and release muscles in the low back.

Stand with feet hip-distance apart. If you have acute low back pain a wider stance will be more gentle. Inhale arms out to your sides and up so palms are facing. Exhale, title the pelvis forward as you bend at the hips lowering your arms out to the side and down toward the ground. Keep the spine neutral as long as you can before you round toward the ground.
Nestle opposite elbows into the crook of your palms and let your head be heavy.
There are two ways to rise. Take a deep bend in your knees and roll the spine to standing, letting your head be the last to rise. Or reverse swan dive, root firmly into your feet, lift your arms out to the side, and rise with a neutral spine.

Triangle pose stretches the sides of the body, helps lengthen back muscles, and strengthens the legs.

Start with your feet one legs distance apart. Angle one foot to 90 degrees and the opposite foot to 15 degrees, drawing a straight line from the front heel to the inner arch of the back foot.
Torso faces the side of the body. Inhale arms out to sides. Exhale, shift your torso forward, laterally, and extend your front arm as long from the body as possible, gently shift the front palm toward the ground. This hand can rest on the floor, on the shin, or on a block. The opposite arm extends energetically toward the sky.
To come up, root firmly into both feet and inhale arms back to your start position. For the opposite side simply switch the direction of your feet and repeat.

Child's pose is a playful, yet soothing pose that is good for low back pain.

Start on hands and knees. Bring your hips toward your heels as much as possible.
Stretch your arms out in front of you so that your palms are resting gently on the floor.
Relax your forehead to the ground, and breathe deeply.

To come out, crawl your hands toward your legs and slowly sit up. Let the head be the last to come up.

A foundation you can trust