hi,
i am new to this forum , i am doing yoga from 3 years, recently i added extra postures to my daily routine asanas. after adding few i suspect two asanas
are causing problems to my lower back pain.i observed after two days my back pain is severe then i stopped all asanas. here i am attaching those snap shots.
here i am suspecting the asana attached as first asana attached is the major cause for my back pain . am i correct ? or i attached all new asanas , which assana is giving problem?, becuse i never faced problem from three years with regular asanas. first time becuase of yoga i am facing problem.
what my doubts are whether i am doing correctly or any inverted or counter pose is required?
Ask your teacher about this. Ask her/him to check your alignment and explain clearly to her/him the exact nature of the pain so that you can do the asanas effectively and safely.
If you do not have a teacher…then go to a properly qualified teacher who can teach you how to do the asanas safely and effectively for your particular needs.
Nuzrajesh,
Welcome to the forums.
Some questions:
Your age? Any prior injuries? Do you attend class or practice only at home? What style do you practice? Important questions to be able to properly address your back issue.
Virabhadrasana 1 (first picture) will definitely compress your back if not done properly. The pelvic rim should remain parallel to floor so make certain you are not tipping the pelvis forward as you bend the forward knee. Tailbone drops while ribcage lifts, creating length.
In Trikonasana if groins or hamstrings are tight this will also affect your back. Your abs should be engaged. Revolved Trikonasana, due to twisting, can be tricky with back issues if not done impeccably.
All the above are considered therapeutic for lower back issues, so if you are experiencing pain “due” to them, I would check with your teacher (as yogacambodia suggested) or seek out a well qualified teacher to work with you.
A final question. When you stopped all asanas did the pain stop also?
The last two photos are both utthita trikonasana.
Only the first pose, Virabhadrasana I is a backbend. Actions in the body for safe backbending have to be developed first.
Students who use photos to explore their own bodies often violate their own individuality and thus their own exploration of the pose from general to specific, gross to fine. Ergo in those situations injury is often the result. Said result is often the same when the power of the practice is devalued such that one believes proper instruction is not warranted.
Generally, lower back issues will be magnified or facilitated in the incorrect “doing” of the first pictured pose. Students who do not learn the requisite actions for protecting the lumbar spine and maintaining its length do compress it and that tends to have less than profound health benefits.
gordon
lotus girl
i stopped yesterday only, still pain is there in my back. i am 30 years old and doing yoga, pranayam, suryanamaskars from 3 years. i have some yoga asanas CDs with me & i mixed yoga postures from all the gurus, i have no problems from 3 years -last week i added these new postures-after three days pain started from my back.one day back i stopped all asanas, pranayams.still pain is there
now i am doing counter poses forward bending lightly like bujangaasana–, is these counter poses will reduce my pain? or is there any other asanas to reduce lower back pain? plz suggest
Nuzrajesh,
Bhujangasana isn’t a forward bend it is an extension or back bend. It is therapeutic for the back IF it is done correctly and mindfully. If your back pain is in an acute phase, I would suggest something milder like sphinx.
And without knowing your specific practice it is difficult to determine what ignited the pain. For instance, if your hamstrings are tight and you forward bend you will likely fold using your back instead of your hips. Same goes if your hips are tight. And as I suggested above regarding Virab I, when you bring your arms ups overhead, make sure you are not lifting or jamming your tailbone. That will compress your lower back. Allow the tailbone to drop and lift your ribcage without puffing it out.
The issue with only using CD’s and mixing it up is proper sequencing. This is why going to class and/or working with a teacher is so important. Starting your practice with a series of forward bends, backbends or twists before the spine is properly warmed up is quite injurious. Maybe not at first, but eventually it will catch up with you. My own practice and teaching begins with a good 15 minutes of warm ups for shoulders (shoulder squeezes, rolls and eagle arms), neck (movement in all directions without rolling), legs (supta padangusthasana), hips (supta ardha padmasana, ananda balasana, wind relieving pose) and spine (cat/cow and 1/2 forward folds). These are just a sampling. And I do not “warm up” with Surya Namaskars.
There are many therapeutic poses for back issues such as salabasana, sphinx, baby bhujangasana, supta padangusthasana, wind relieving pose, cat/cow and poses that strengthen the core like navasana and its modification lying on back and lifting head, chest, arms and legs only a couple inches. Whenever the back is an issue, making sure your core is engaged will help protect and strengthen the spine. If doing any of the above poses still cause you pain, have it checked out by your doctor. And pay particular attention to how your hips move in all seated forward bends. If the hips stops moving as you come forward, you stop moving forward. Forward bends, seated ones in particular, are contraindicated for many back issues.
lotus girl
today i will start slowly my old sequence asanas, whatever the asanas u suggested which are there in my old sequence, but i think i sholud not do Halasana & its variants up to some time .is itnt?.i made lot of survey on yoga, isha yoga, ramdev, ravi shankar--etc.i learnt asanas from ramdev instructor long back, in TV also i seen some asanas, i am following some, thats why i didn’t went for specific yoga instructor.these recent asanas are from iyengar yoga–may be virabhadraasana i sholud not do, it is created probelm for me. Thanks for reply
It is not the pose that creates the problem. It is the doing.