Ok maybe it wasn't so instant.
I went to my yoga studio one time telling my instructor Ryan that my lower back hurt like a sonuvabitch.
He asked me to go inside the heated room with him as he'd want to do something that may help.
I'll need you to use your imagination. I'll try to describe what Ryan did to me as best as I can.
First I was sitting on his shoulders. Kinda like how kids do it on their dads as they walk around wherever.
Next, Ryan asked me to lean back. He was holding me by the thighs.
As I was leaning back lower he was slowly letting my thighs go until my knees were on his shoulders.
Then he asked me to grab on to HIS shins. For the life of me, this guy is a foot taller than me, you do the math. So instead, he asked me to do bow pose.
Bow pose while I was upside down, my back against his.
So I reached back for my ankles and did it. I did a bow pose while I was upside down. And YES it was difficult because I had no base to lift off from. I couldn't use Ryan's back as a base. SO essentially, I was using just my leg strength to kick into the pose.
Afterwards, I asked him how I'm supposed to get out of the position. I was starting to slink down to the ground and laughing my ass off the entire time. Until he said I was supposed to sit back up onto his shoulders. Huuuh??!?!
Oh well, yeah, I did it anyway. It wasn't as hard as I thought. =)
And when I stood up again, BAAAM! My backpains were miraculously GONE! Geez! My lower back was aching the entire day , I even had a hard time doing my Forma class because of that. And with just that little exercise Ryan did with me, it was gone! Damn! The wonders of yoga, I swear I love it!
Now for those like me suffering from the chronic lower back pains, I really encourage you guys to practice yoga. It's gonna be painful, it's gonna frustrate you that you can't do some of the poses involving your back muscles, but seriously, that's only at the start. If you keep practicing, it's gonna go away. I used to have chronic lower back pains, it was insane. But honestly it all went away with yoga. It was ironic that the strongest part of my body was my back (at first) and yet it was always aching. But I really felt the difference. Not only did my back become stronger than it already was, my back pains was healed as well.
I don't get back aches as much as I did before. In fact that incident I just shared with you was a first this year. Eversince this year started I've been regularly practicing yoga again, going at least 4 times a week after my forma classes. I've been putting a lot of stress on my spine all these months, I'm actually surprised my lower back didn't act up as much as it did before.
Of course , don't expect as instant relief as the one I shared right away. You have to know the right poses to do to relieve your back aches, and to balance it off with a counter pose just so you don't strain other parts of your body. Hey, I've been practicing for a year and a half and yet I've only learned now bow pose actually helps lower back pains .. I thought it was only rabbit. Precisely why home-video yoga isn't advisable unless you've been coming to class regularly and you know exactly what to do. Yoga is a practice. It doesn't give you instant results. You have to give the practice and yourself patience.
Another tip Ryan gave me: The Yoga ball.
I asked him what I can do at home in case my lowerback aches like that again and I'm not going to class. He asked me if I have a yoga ball and of course I said yes... He told me if the back pain happens again, I should just lie down on the friggin' ball. Literally just let my back flop onto it.
That I did. And boy did it work! =D
You don't need to do anything else. You just stay there. You don't need to rock or whatnot. Just stay there. But when I say flop onto it, I mean really just be dead weight on the damn ball. Which means that your head will be upside down. You can't hold your neck up, you're gonna strain it. (Yeah, believe me, I tried ) . It might be uncomfortable for some of you (or us) who aren't really comfortable being upside down. But we're talking about your back, so just flop and let the ball take the shape of your spine. Don't fight it. You're gonna end up hurting yourself more if you do. Just as they say in yoga class, just let it all go.
Ok another caveat: Don't fall asleep in that position. For very obvious reasons. You will wake up on the floor. Hopefully not on your face. =D
Before I end this.. another tip (but for yogis like me):
When the instructor says "suck your stomach in," DO IT! It's not for any vain reason, it's not just to tone your tummy, but primarily, it's to protect your lower back. Otherwise the stress will go to your lower back, hence the lowerback pains later on. Try going about your day sucking your stomach in, you'll notice your lower back won't hurt as much as it does (I guess that goes for non-yogis as well).
SO anyway, hope that helps anyone out there who may be suffering lower back pains like me. And if you're even more like me who's so averse to taking medicine, yoga really is a great alternative. =)
Stay healthy,everyone! =D
Namaste.
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