Yoga For Back Pain

One of the biggest complaints I hear from my clients is that they have back pain. It is a major reason many people turn to yoga. Back pain can have any number of causes-weak muscles, tight muscles, an alignment problem, an injury. Often tightness or weakness in the neck or legs will manifest as pain in the lower back. The following videos were designed to address some of the more common causes of back pain. If your back pain is due to a new or old injury, DO NOT DO THIS SEQUENCE. The sequence is designed for the otherwise healthy person who feels moderate pain in the lower back. I take you through some basic core strengtheners, then finish with hip stretches ands twists. The idea is to bring the spine into alignment and keep it healthy and flexible. As always, because of time constraints I hold some of the poses for a very brief period, so if you'd like to hold the poses for longer please feel free to do so. If you have any questions about the poses or sequence, leave a comment here and I will try to address it.

Master Class: Yoga for the Core

A few months ago I posted Yoga for Abs and have had some requests for a follow-up. Well, here it is! Below are the original video and a newer one with some different poses. In yoga you often use the core (the inner and outer abdominals, inner and outer obliques, pelvic floor, and lower back muscles) in poses that at first glance would appear to have nothing to do with the core. I designed the sequence in the second video with that in mind. Although the poses are generally ab-oriented, they teach you how to use the abs in motion, which is helpful for all yoga asanas. I also instruct you to use the bandhas, which is truly the secret to engaging the deeper muscles of the core, including the transverse abdominus, which acts like a natural corset. If you don't understand the use of bandhas, click on the word above for about.com's explanation.