The Spine was of the most important feature in evolution. There are so many things a vertebrate can do, that an invertebrate simply cannot. It’s made the physical body so much tougher and capable of innumerable possibilities yet it is very delicate, if you don’t take care of it. I would say it is something like a very durable car, does a lot of awesome things for you, but you definitely need to service your car when it’s due. With all this chaos in our lifestyle and the lack of movement that the pandemic has gifted us, I see a sharp rise in the number of people that come to me for relief from back pain ans asking for yoga poses for back strengthening. It’s so unfortunate that something that requires very little maintenance has resulted in a chronic pain.
But never fear. It’s not too hard to get rid of back pain. It only requires patience and consistency.
The “servicing” of your spine is something certain Yogasanas do for you. Yogis were not far behind in recognizing how amazing the spine is and also gave us a prescribed manual on how to take care of it.
Here is a list of yoga for back strengthening:
Try these yoga poses for back strengthening to get relief from back pain and strengthen your back and also improve flexibility and achieve a calm state of mind
1) Bhujangasana
Bhujanga means a Cobra. It’s very common known as the Cobra pose in the non-sanskrit speaking population. It is absolutely amazing when it comes to strengthening the back. It is also referred to as a miracle asana for the back by a neuro surgeon I worked with.
To perform this follow the steps:
- Lie down on your abdomen, place your palm beside your chest and keep your feet together.
- As you inhale, lift your head and chest off the ground without puttingany weighton your hands. You can even lift it off the ground.
- Stay in this posture for 10–15 seconds to begin with and keep breathing normally.
- Exhale and bring your chest and forehead down and relax.
2) UrdhvaMukha Svanasana
“Urdhwamukha” means upward facing and “Shwana” means a dog. It is common known as an upward dog pose. This is a great Yoga Poses for Back Strengthening and is slightly different compared to bhujangasana in that here we lift the entire torso off the ground. It is amazingly beneficial for back pain and as a bonus, helps you tone the abs and neck as well.
To perform this asana follow these steps:
- Lie down on your abdomen with your palms slightly below your chest. Keep your feet together.
- As you inhale, lift your entire torso off the ground and look up. If you want to make the asana more intense, you can lift your knees off the floor as well.
- Stay here with normal breathing for 10–30 seconds.
- Bring your torso back to the ground and relax.
3) Shalabhasana
“Shalabha” means a locust. The final posture resembles a locust and hence the name. This asana is great if you have lower back pain that radiates to the legs. I personally found this asana relieve back pain instantly.
To perform this asana follow these steps:
- Lie down on your abdomen with your hands under the thighs, palm facing up.
- Keep your chin on the floor without touching your nose.
- While you inhale, lift both your feet off the ground, make sure your knees are off as well.
- Stay here with normal breathing for 10–30 seconds.
- Exhale and drop your legs down and relax.
- You can start by lifting one leg off the ground initially, if you cant lift both together. Just don’t twist your hip while lifting your leg!
4) Sethu bandasana
Sethu means a bridge and Bandha means a lock. This is a great Yoga Poses for Back Strengthening and this asana resembles a bridge and hence the name. This is yet another effective asana that strengthens your lower back. As a bonus, it is a great kegel strengthener as well. It also is beneficial for people suffering from thyroid.
To perform this asana, follow these steps:
- Lie down on your back with your feet stretched out and shoulder width apart.
- Fold your knees and bring your feet as close to your body as possible, maintaining the feet at shoulder width.
- If you can, grab hold of your ankle .
- As you inhale, slowly raise your waist up as high as you can.
- Stay here for 10–30 seconds with normal breathing.
- Exhale and drop your waist down, relax.