Yoga has always represented the best of Indian culture in the global scale. It has been comfortably adopted in the western sphere and praised for the role it plays in keeping the body and soul fit. Our routines have changed drastically in recent times with the advent of computers and a slew of gadgets. This has led to a situation where our shoulders and back has taken quite a beating. So, here let us take a look at few Yoga exercises that will keep you fit and get rid of the back pain and also enhance your fitness and mental finesse.
- Seated Forward Pose (Paschimottanasana) – This is an exercise that is pretty common in warm up among a medley of sports. It involves bending your back while sitting down in the mission to touch your toes. It is perfectly ok if you fail to touch the toes. Take a break and breathe deeply. In addition to stretching your hamstring, it strengthens your back. Ideally, this pose can be done for 1-3 minutes.
- Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) – An exercise that is pretty common among the yoga aficionados. Bow pose has a multitude of benefits in addition to easing your back pain. They are effective in digestion, gives flexibility to muscles and improves your posture. Before starting, lie on your stomach and keep your hands backward touching the ankles. Now try to lift your chest up and hold it stable for about 15-20 seconds. Take deep breaths while doing this asana. This pose is a bit acute but works wonders on your back. Avoid this exercise if you have serious lower back problems or a high blood pressure.
- Cat/Cow Pose (Marjaryasana) – This is a breath-synchronised pose to strengthen your spine. Initially, you need to adopt a pose similar to that of Cow with your legs and hands on the mat and shoulder in par with the wrist. Then, when you inhale, look up and bend your spine and when exhaling, adopt the cow pose. Bonus points if you manage to meow while doing the Cat pose. It is used as a warmup yoga asana and is known to create a pleasing effect and stimulates the organs in the belly. It also improves posture and balance and can be practised very easily.
- Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana and Supta Matsyendrasana) – This pose treats the pressure in the lower back and helps in stimulating digestion and circulation. It also plays a role in strengthening those abdominal muscles. There are practised in two ways, one by sitting on the man and one while lying down. The goal is to twist the upper part of the body to strengthen the spine. In the first type, you sit down in the mat and try to twist the spine by turning backward. It has grown quite popular to the simple nature of the pose. While on the later asana is done while lying down and twisting backward.
- Child’s Pose (Balasana) – This pose is done usually before or after a Sirsasana. This is a calming pose that is great for digestion and elongates the lower back. It acts as a relief from the long hours you sit at the desk and is really simple to practise. You need to rest your bottom in the ankles and bend forward. It can be repeated a few times or for a considerable amount of time.
Health benefits of Yoga
Yoga is such a stress reliever and has a multitude of health benefits to your body. We have gone sedentary over decades and humans never evolved to be sedentary. We were the marathoners, a species which was long used to chase animals and make them give up. We were near the top of the animal chain. Somewhere along the line, we lost the plot and have forgotten to take good care of our body and lead unhealthy lives. Yoga is like the nostalgic habit which we always knew deep down in our heart. It is time we practise it regularly and bring back our body to fitness. In addition to keeping you fit, yoga is known to aid blood circulation and is very healthy for our organs. So start doing Yoga without procrastinating.