Modern medicine has given us wonderful discoveries and products to help cure diseases. We use the discoveries to create the healthy, natural diets at Pro Weight Loss in Massachusetts. However, there are some things that have been known for centuries that can also help. One of those is the benefits of yoga and the relaxation it brings to muscles with certain poses. Here are some easy yoga stretches that can bring relief and relaxation. They’re easy to do and quite effective.
If you have a sore back or just want to relax, this combination of poses can help.
What’s the link between a cat and a cow? In yoga, it’s the starting position. The combination of the cat/cow stretches can help bring relief from back pain. You do them both on hands and knees, with palms flat against the floor and elbow straight. For the cat, you arch your back, lowering your head as you exhale. Hold that position and move to the cow position. To do that, you lift your head, looking straight ahead and drop your back, letting your belly dip toward the floor.
Back pain can be relieved with the child pose.
The child pose starts similar to the cat/cow, on all fours with legs from the knee down extended behind you. Push yourself to upright position, still bent at the hips, with your thighs on your calves and buttocks on your heels. Inhale as you do. Now exhale while you lay your upper body forward and put your body onto your thighs, touching your forehead to the floor. Extend your arms in front of you and hold. If you can’t go this low, don’t push yourself. The more you do it the easier it becomes. Use your hands to walk your upper body back to starting position.
You’ve probably heard of the downward dog, but may not have ever done it.
The downward dog can help relax the muscles in the spine and shoulders. It starts where the child pose ends, before you walk your upper body back to starting position. Your arms are outstretched, with your bottom resting on your heels or ankles and thighs resting on your calves. Instead of pushing up with your arms, you’ll tuck your toes and lift your hips as you press your hands into the ground, lifting your bottom high and leaving your head close to the floor. You may not be able to straighten your knees or leave your heels on the ground. Again, it’s not a problem, just do your best to lift your bottom and lengthen your spine.
- Try a warrior pose. Lift your hands above your head and inhale. Take a large step to the right side as you exhale. Turn the right foot to the side and lunge in that direction until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Push the arms out with your right arm pointing to the front and the left to the back.
- Another exercise that helps the back is the supine knees to chest pose. Lay on your back, bring your knees together, bending them and bringing your thighs to your chest, wrapping your arms around your leg as you do. Pull them closer.
- If you want to stretch your back muscles and make them stronger, do the phalakasana, also known as the forearm plank. You can create a variation by straightening your arms.
- The tree pose is relaxing, but it does make you look like a stork. Lift one leg and place the sole of your foot on your inner thigh and press your palms together in front of you. If you’re standing a long time, it’s a relaxing change.
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