One of the health problems suffered by a large number of people today throughout their lives is back pain. Due to the type of routines and customs that are practiced today, discomfort in the areas of the back, both cervical and lumbar, are very common and require effective treatment, since they can become chronic and pose certain limitations in the person’s day-to-day.
One of the practices that is recommended to prevent and treat these discomforts in the different areas of the back is yoga. Thanks to the different exercises that are performed in this discipline, back discomfort can be considerably improved, in addition to balancing other bad habits that derive from today’s lifestyle. In this article, we explain the benefits of yoga for the back.
Table Of Content
1. Why do back pains occur?
2. what is yoga
3. relaxation
4. Elasticity
5. tonicity
6. Yoga poses to prevent back pain
Why do back pains occur?
Currently, pain at any level of the back is very common, given the customs and practices that are carried out. In the first place, the vast majority of the population is considered sedentary, that is, they do not perform any exercise routinely, so the back muscles do not have any type of strength and are atrophied. In this way, any type of effort can cause injuries or serious discomfort.
In addition, in general, in many jobs we must remain seated in a chair for many hours, which causes poor postural hygiene to be maintained for much of the day, a fact that can later have repercussions on the back. You also have to take into account the position that is maintained when using the mobile or any other screen.
In the article Why my back hurts you can see more causes of this common ailment.
what is yoga
Yoga is one of the most practiced disciplines in the Western population in recent years. The numerous benefits of its practice at many levels of health, both physical and mental, have been demonstrated on countless occasions.
For this reason, it is a discipline implemented in a large number of centers and is chosen by those who do not want to carry out very intense physical activity, but want to maintain good muscle tone, correctly stretched muscles and good postural hygiene. It is also a key practice to relax and become aware of your own body control.
It consists of a series of exercises, the difficulty of which increases as you progress in its practice and which, in general, aims to increase the tone and elasticity of the muscles. In the realization of the vast majority of them, the back, or at least a part of it, plays a very important role, which is why it is so beneficial for this area of our body.
relaxation
One of the main objectives of this discipline is to learn to relax the body and mind. It is done in different ways, both with active exercises and through breath control and meditation.
It is important to bear in mind that, in general, due to the pace of life today, a large number of people are used to living under stressful situations as part of their routine, which causes tension in certain areas. of the body. Two of these areas that are most commonly affected are cervical and lumbar. Therefore, the practice of yoga in relaxation and meditation means that these parts that make up the back are relaxed, helping to release tension and avoiding and preventing possible injuries and muscle contractures.
Elasticity
One of the most common causes of back pain is the lack of elasticity of the muscles that are part of it. The postures that are maintained in front of the computer and the rest of the screens or those that occur during work contribute to increasing this rigidity.
If the back muscles are not stretched regularly, contractures and injuries usually occur that can affect other areas of the body and that can limit daily activity, especially in the case of “sprains” in the cervical and lumbar areas, preventing certain essential movements in normal life. Yoga helps to achieve greater elasticity thanks to various exercises focused on the back area that provide an increase in the elasticity of muscle fibers, stretching them and, therefore, acting as prevention of possible injuries.
tonicity
Another of the most common causes of back discomfort is the lack of tone of the muscles that form it. The practically zero performance of exercise during the routines of the vast majority of the population leads to the development of muscular atrophy that affects all the muscle groups of the back and those that surround them.
This atrophy can cause injuries when making an effort that you are not used to, so it is important to keep your muscles trained. In this sense, another of the great benefits of yoga for the back is that, thanks to its different postures, it helps to maintain this tonicity and develop it to prevent contractures.
Yoga poses to prevent back pain
There are certain exercises within the yoga discipline that facilitate the elasticity, tone and relaxation of the muscles that make up the back area. The most common yoga exercises for the back are:
- The dog position: start from a lying position on your stomach, with your legs slightly apart. The hands are placed on the sides of the body and, while inhaling, the torso is raised, stretching the arms, until you notice how the knees separate from the ground. This position should be held for 30 seconds.
- The cat position: start from the position with your knees and hands on the ground. First, the arms are stretched, arching the spine, with the chin trying to touch the chest. Then slowly he straightens his back, placing it straight, in line with the ground. This sequence must be repeated 10 times.
- Knees to the chest: it is a very simple but highly recommended posture. Lying on your back, bring your knees to your chest, hugging them with your arms to exert more pressure and get a good stretch. This posture should be maintained for one minute.
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