Hi,
I am new to these forums and already have questions. 
Whenever I move into bridge pose my lower back hurts. It does not hurt when I use a low block as a prop. Should I just keep practicing with the block and hope that the pain will go away by itself? (will it ever go away??)
Any ideas?
Thank you so much!
I think it depends on the cause of the pain. If it’s a slipped disc you should get it seen to! More usually, if you’re over 40 particularly, it is likely to be spinal degeneration - wearing down of the cartilage pads between vertebrae, so that when the spin flexes the spinal nerves may be pinched where they exit the spinal column. The pain may never go away entirely, but if you do exercises to strengthen your core muscles they can act as a sort of corset to support the spine, and so make things more comfortable. I think it’s important to ensure that such strengthening exercises deal with related, opposing muscle grouns: lower back, muscles at side of waist and abs in your case should all be strengthened to produce the ‘corset’ and to avoid an asymmetry that will damage your posture and be counterproductive.
In yoga, boat, locust and similar poses; in the gym, back raises, side raises (of upper body and of legs separately); and crunchies / leg raises for the abs.
Of course, you should also stretch those muscles (many yoga and other stretches) as well as building their strength.
But most of all, you should check with a qualified physiotherapist that your yoga and other exercises are going to improve rather than exacerbate your condition.
Age and flexiblity are key to determining the appropriate level of practice for each person. Certainly checking that there is not a degenerative condition is good advice. When teaching Camel and Bridge pose, I encourage my students to move slowly into the pose, developing a stable base on each step of the way and to stay in touch with the sensations in the body (ie - don’t picture the “end position and miss the journey”). If your goal is to benefit from these poses with a flexible, strong and healthy spine, you will focus your attention on the capacity of the thoracic (upper back) to reverse it’s forward rounded curvature, rather than on hyperextending and excessively rounding the lower back, (esp L4, L5, S1) which is often the site of back and disc issues. Youthful people may be pictured on covers of magazines in advanced poses which hyperexted the lumbar spine, but for most of my students, this practice is not beneficial. Pain following your practice is a clear indication of going “too far” out of the bounds of comfort and stability and can lead to problems in the future.
Combining strength and flexibility in a considered manner as “Flex” has recommended is good advice.
Namaste,
Chandra