Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back (10 page)

Big Hip Circles

You'll come into Big Hip Circles starting in Cow Pose. Lift your sit bones and collarbones as you inhale, and as you exhale, take your hips over to the three o'clock position at your right and start to trace a clockwise circle with your hips (
fig. 2.4
). Continue your exhalation while you take your hips back to six o'clock and at the same time tuck your tailbone, drop your hips toward your heels, and drop your head toward the floor. Your spine will now be in a rounded, Cat Pose–like arch. With an inhalation, take your hips over to nine o'clock at the left, lifting your sit bones, tailbone, collarbones, and the crown of your head back into Cow Pose, and complete your Big Hip Circle by bringing your hips back to twelve o'clock with a neutral spine. Repeat three times in a clockwise direction, then change and repeat three times in a counterclockwise direction.

FIG. 2.2

FIG. 2.3

This circular movement of your hips, along with the gentle flexion and extension of your spine, creates multidimensional openness within your body, which invites the prana and apana vayus to flow more easily. Since this exercise emphasizes the synchronized movement of your hips and spine, it gives your prana and apana vayus the chance to unite where your hips and spine come together, at the heart of your spine—your sacrum.

FIG. 2.4

Chair-Seated Hip Opener

Stretch | Suchirandhrasana Variation

Sit squarely on the seat of a sturdy chair with your feet flat on the floor (or on a book if your feet don't completely reach the floor) and with your hips in neutral position. You can feel when you have neutral hip position by placing one hand on your lower abdomen and the other at the back of your hips. When you feel your hips vertical and upright, you have found neutral hip position.

FIG. 2.5

Lift your spine up toward the ceiling. Take your hands to your lower back and feel its natural, gentle inward (concave) arch. Now lift your right leg and place your right ankle on your left knee. Lift your spine up, and then start to bend forward over your right leg. It's important to bend from your hips and to keep length in your spine during the stretch, otherwise your spine starts to round and your chest collapses—in which case your hip won't get any benefit from the pose.

Are you feeling a stretch in your hips? Perhaps a big one! This is a deep stretch for the piriformis, the major external rotator muscle. It releases tension and tightness that comes into the hips from inactivity and too much sitting, and it can help with sciatic pain. Bend forward as much as you'd like, moving into a position that brings a good and sustainable stretch into your hip. Breathe into your hip and visualize all its muscles expanding and releasing (
fig. 2.5
). Feel warmth coming into your hip as you inhale, and let your muscles soften into the warm energy. As you exhale, visualize a quiet spaciousness inside your hip, like the peace that comes to the seashore as a wave flows back into the ocean.

Stay in the pose for fifteen to twenty seconds. Then take your right foot down to the floor and repeat the pose with your left foot on your right knee.

Reclining Crossed-Legs Pose

Stretch | Supta Gomukasana

Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Support your head if you feel tension in your neck or across your upper back. Cross your right leg over your left leg, bringing your knees as close as possible to each other. On an exhalation, bring your knees up toward your chest. Let your shins swing outward, and hold your feet with your hands. If you can't hold your feet without lifting your head, support your head on a folded blanket. You will be holding your right foot with your left hand, and vice versa (
fig. 2.6
).

If you can't reach your feet without your groins feeling pinched or your hip muscles feeling overstretched, try a milder version instead, called Eye-of-the-Needle Pose (Suchirandhrasana). Place your right ankle on your left
knee and draw your left knee toward your chest. Thread your right arm between your legs and hold your left shin or the back of the thigh with both hands.

FIG. 2.6

This is a deep stretch to both the piriformis and the gluteus maximus muscles. While you are in this pose, breathe deeply into both hips and as you inhale, visualize the quality of
prakasha,
or radiant light, within your whole pelvis. Visualize light, brilliance, and clarity inside your hips. With each exhalation visualize
akasha,
or infinite inner space, within your hips as well. Stay in this pose for fifteen to twenty seconds. Come out, put your feet flat on the floor and gently sway your knees from side to side. Then repeat the pose with your left leg over your right leg.

Seated Hip Hug and Twist

Stretch | Marichyasana III Variation

Sit with your legs straight on the floor. If this is difficult, sit on a folded blanket. Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the floor outside your left thigh. Place your right hand on the floor by the side of your right hip, then lean to your right and wrap your left arm around your right knee. Give your right knee a good hug.

Now slowly lift your torso up to a vertical position while you draw your right knee as far to your left as you can. In the beginning, your right hip can lift off the floor a bit. After a few breaths, use your breath as a tool to release tension in your hip, both as you inhale and as you exhale, so your hip will descend toward the floor.

Visualize your hip muscles stretching and expanding with your inhalations, and completely relaxing with your exhalations, your hip becoming a warm, liquid flow of energy that runs down to the floor and spreads around you. Stay in this position for fifteen to twenty seconds and then release the hug to your right leg, come out of the pose, and repeat to your left.

If your lower back likes to twist, deepen the stretch in your hip as you repeat the pose and add a spinal twist. Start in Seated Hip Hug with your right leg bent, and lift your spine as you inhale, from the base of your hips to the crown of your head. With your next exhalation, start to walk your right hand around the back of your body and move into a spinal twist (
fig. 2.7
). Whenever you take your body into a twist, it's important to lift your spine as you inhale and go deeper into the twist as you exhale. Each inhalation is a chance for you to create a feeling of “meditation in action” by keeping your body still, listening for sensations and feedback. Find the coordination of your breath and your movements by repeating this pattern for three or four breaths. Proceed mindfully, and only go as far as feels comfortable.

Come out of the twist just like you went into it, slowly and mindfully. Then take your right leg straight down on the floor next to your left leg and take a few deep breaths before moving on to the opposite side.

FIG. 2.7

Deep Hip Bend

Stretch | Malasana

Stand with your feet about twelve inches apart. Take a moment to stand tall, feeling your feet grounded to the earth and your body lifting up through your legs, into your hips, and all the way to the crown of your head. Bring your hands together in front of your heart in Anjali mudra, the hand posture of offering. You are now in a variation of Mountain Pose called Equal Balance Pose, or Samasthiti. Take a moment to close your eyes and come into your center, then offer this next movement to the health of your hips.

Bend your knees and come into a deep squat position (
fig. 2.8
). (If you can't do this, don't despair. Read
fig. 2.8
on for modifications that will help you come into the pose.) Keeping your hands in Anjali mudra, bring your upper arms between your legs, with your upper arms pressing into your inner thighs to stretch and release them. Then press your thighs into your arms and feel that your hips are descending downward while your spine is lifting upward, creating traction in your lower back.