Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back (48 page)

  1.  
Fire Meditation

  2.  
Shining-Skull Breath

  3.  
Bellows Breath

  4.  
Free-Your-Sacrum Pose

  5.  Reclining Hand-to-Foot Pose

  6.  Reclining Spinal Twist

  7.  Seated Lower-Back Side Stretch

  8.  Revolved Wide-Legged Seated Pose

  9.  Noble Warrior Pose

10.  Half-Moon Pose

11.  Flying Locust Pose

12.  Reclining Bolster Twist

5 (FIG. 3.8)

6 (FIG. 4.3)

7 (FIG. 4.4)

8 (FIG. 4.19)

9 (FIG. 2.11)

10 (FIG. 4.11)

11 (FIG. 4.13)

12 (FIG. 4.14)

Stretching Sequence for a Sedentary Day

Have you ever had one of those days when you realized you didn't do much moving? We all have. Maybe you were nursing a cold or other illness and were sacked out on the couch. Maybe you were behind the wheel all day, carpooling, errand-running . . . but mainly sitting in traffic. Or maybe you got absorbed in a work project and became a little too closely bound to your desk chair.

After a sedentary day, resist the temptation to dive into big movements—you could injure your stiff, tired joints and muscles. Instead, try the following poses to reawaken and reactivate your musculature—especially that of your hips and lower back, which tend to tighten the most after a period of inactivity. You will find in these poses mobility for your hips, spine, and shoulders, allowing them to release their stiffness and tension. But most importantly, these poses should reenergize your body and mind, bringing them back to that place of healthy, consistent movement and activity.

  1.  
Standing Sacral Meditation

  2.  Extended Puppy Pose

  3.  Downward-Facing Dog Pose

  4.  Low Lunge Pose

  5.  Supported Deep Lunge Pose Variation

  6.  Proud Warrior Flow: Proud Warrior (a) to Balanced Warrior (b)

  7.  Alternate Arm/Leg Prone Backbend

  8.  Flying Locust Pose

  9.  Full Bow Pose

10.  Flowing Bridge Pose

11.  Forward-Bending Hero's Pose, Actvie Variation

12.  Head-to-Knee Pose

2 (FIG. 4.5)

3 (FIG. 4.6)

4 (FIG. 2.10)

5 (FIG. 3.12)