“This is very safe for people with lower back issues and can help to alleviate the pain when done regularly,” says Jean Koerner. She’s been teaching yoga for 20 years, is currently an instructor at Yoga Works in New York City, and specializes in a form of yoga called ISHTA, a Sanskrit word for “personalized practice."
1. Begin on all fours with the hands under the shoulder and knees under the hips, hip distance apart. Inhale and curl the toes under.
2. Tilt the pelvis toward the ceiling, turning the sit bones up, draw the shoulder blades down the back, open through the chest and look a little forward keeping the neck curve long.
Cat-Cow 2
3. Exhale and point your toes.
4. Round through the lower back, press into the palms of your hands and
take the top of the head down toward the floor releasing the tension
from the upper back and back of neck.
5. Repeat for 6 full breaths.
Downward Facing Dog
1. From all fours, curl your toes under.
2. Inhale and as you exhale, push your hands into the floor and lift your knees off the floor.
3. Lift your hips back and up and push the top of your thighs back so that your body looks like an inverted “V.” Keep knees bent if need be to maintain length in the spine. 4. Hold for 1 minute.
Plank
1. From Down Dog, lower the hips so your body is in a top of a push-up
position with hips between shoulders and ankles (not drooping toward
the floor). Engage the abdominals.
2. Hold for 5 breaths.
3. Lift the hips
back into a Downward-Facing Dog. Hold for 5 breaths. Go from Plank to
Down Dog 5 times to warm up the shoulders.
Tadasana
1. From Downward-Facing Dog, keep the hands planted on the floor, but walk the feet towards the hands. Hold for 5 breaths.
2. Then, start at the tailbone and move to standing by rolling up the back vertebrae by vertebrae. Keep the feet pressing into the floor and come to a standing position with feet hip-distance apart and pointing forward.
Warrior Two
1. Stand with your feet 4 to 4.5 feet apart and raise your arms out to your sides, shoulder height, with your palms facing down.
2. Turn your left foot and leg 90 degrees out to the left and your right foot in about 15 to 30 degrees.
3. Inhale, and as you exhale bend your left knee up to 90 degrees, keeping your knee stacked above your heel. To further protect the knee, center it over the middle of your foot.
4.Turn your face to the left and gaze over your left hand. Hold for 5 breaths. 5. Straighten up and repeat on the opposite side.
Side Angle pose
1. Stand with your feet 4 to 4.5 feet apart and raise your arms out to your sides, shoulder height, with your palms facing down.
2. Turn your left foot and leg 90 degrees out to the left and your right foot in about 15 to 30 degrees.
3. Inhale, and as you exhale bend your left knee up to 90 degrees, keeping your knee stacked above your heel.
4. Place the top of the left forearm on the left thigh and roll the chest open toward the ceiling. Raise the right hand straight up toward the sky, and look up at the right hand.
5. Hold for 5 breaths. Straighten up and repeat on the opposite side.
Bridge Pose
1. Lie on back, feet flat on floor, palms down. Lift hips and torso off the floor, pressing into palms and feet.
2. Interlace hands under the hips and press shoulders and upper arms into the floor. Lift hips higher toward the ceiling. As the breastbone lifts toward the chin, move the chin a little bit away from the chest.
3. Hold for 6 to 8 breaths.
4. On the way down, lower from the top of the spine to the tailbone. Lower glutes back to the floor, and separate arms. Rest for 4 breaths.
5. Repeat one more time.
Reclining ankle to knee
1. Lying on your back, place the right ankle on the left thigh right below the knee.
2. Reach your right arm through the space between the legs and the left arm around the outside of the left thigh, so the hands wrap around the back of the left thigh.
3. Gently pull the left thigh toward the chest, while pressing the right thigh away from the chest.
4. Hold for 6 to 8 breaths. Release and repeat on the opposite side.
Reclining Twist 1
1. Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, hip-distance apart and 4 to 6 inches away from the sit bones.
2. Open the arms out to the sides, shoulder height, with palms facing up.
3. Lift the hips and shift them 4 inches toward the let, setting yourself off center.
Reclining Twist 2
4. Inhale, draw the knees into the chest and as you exhale, lower the
knees to the right, keeping them at hip level.
Reclining Twist 3
5. Look to the left. Hold for 6 to 8 breaths. Return knees and hips to center and repeat on the opposite side.
Corpse Pose
1. Lie comfortably on your back on the floor. Separate your arms from your body to a 45-degree angle. Palms face up.
2. Your legs can rest apart as wide as you feel comfortable, usually 2 to 3 feet apart. Allow your feet to relax and roll open.
3. Release all tension from every part of the body. If needed, place a bolster or large cushion under the thighs or knees.
4. Stay here for 5 minutes (set an alarm clock if needed).
