my lower back is aching very bad. im not sure if its just sore...or i did an exersise wrong?
anybody have an idea and advice? also it may be that im overexercising...how many times should u practice yoga during the week. i love it so much that ive been doing it 2 times a day and just because i have a lot of free time. You have strained your back.
You need to stop doing whatever activities you have been doing which caused and are now exacerbating that strain. You need to stop now.
Yoga can have many wonderful, positive benefits to your health, many of which will help you to reduce your risk of injury and reduce or even eliminate body aches and pains. If not practiced with care; however, it is possible to injure yourself -- particularly your back -- very seriously, simply through the execution of yoga asanas.
Without seeing you move and knowing more about your particular injury, I am not able to advise you as to specific poses you should be practicing or avoiding at this time, but I can offer you the following general guidelines:
1. If your backache is so severe that you are taking pain killers or muscle relaxants to reduce the pain, do not practice ANY yoga asanas (poses) at this time.
Pain exists for a purpose. It's purpose is to tell us when we are hurting ourselves, so that we know to stop activities which are damaging. The best indicator of whether or not you are executing a pose safely and effectively is your own body's response to that pose. If you cannot feel what your body is telling you because you have done something to numb your pain receptors, it is not safe to engage in any physical activities which are new and relatively unknown to you.
2. For the same reason as above, do not practice yoga asanas if you are very tired, have been drinking alcohol or have taken any medications which make you drowsy. All yoga is practiced mindfully. You need to be alert in order to be fully aware of the feedback your body is providing to you regarding your yoga practice. This is true at all times but especially important when you are injured.
3. Similarly, do not practice yoga asanas when you are wired on stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine. A calm and centred mind will enable you to better focus on your yoga practice.
4. Try to begin each yoga session with some pranayama (breathing exercises) and/or some other form of dharana (concentration exercises) or dhyana (meditation).
Based on the details you have provided in your question, I am guessing you are (like me) a very driven person. This is a wonderful quality to have for many things in life, but it can lead to injury in yoga practice if we do not learn to slow down.
By focussing your mind at the beginning of your practice -- before you start any asana work -- you will relieve yourself of distractions and therefore be better able to "hear" what your body is trying to tell you during your workout. This will lead to a safer and ultimately more effective asana practice.
5. Become an expert on the asanas you are performing. Learn about the areas of the body they are designed to effect. Learn about suitable modifications for each of the poses. Most importantly, learn which poses are good for strengthening the core and which poses are contraindicated for back injury.
Yoga Journal has excellent information on their web site regarding a large selection of common yoga poses. You can search their poses section by anatomical focus, therapeutic focus and contraindications. Try these links for starters:
Poses with a therapeutic focus to relieve back pain:
http://yogajournal.com/poses/finder/ther...
Poses which are contraindicated for people with back injuries:
http://yogajournal.com/poses/finder/cont...
(You will notice that several poses appear on both lists. This is because the same poses which strengthen our backs can also cause injury if we push too hard in them or perform them with a back already weakened from injury. Please read all of the information you can, try the poses with modifications where appropriate, and, above all, listen to your own body.)
6. If any particular asana is painful for you, don't do it. Yoga poses should never be painful to execute. (There may come a time when you are able to do these poses safely, but now is not that time.)
7. In conjunction with the special considerations you will be making for poses which focus on your back, practice as well poses designed to strengthen your abdominal muscles.
In a healthy and balanced body, our core muscles work together to stabilize and support our bodies in motion. In an unbalanced body, weak abdominal muscles can lead to or exacerbate back injuries because the smaller abdominal muscles simply "give up" and force the back muscles to do all the work, leading to strain.
Try this link for a large selection of poses which help to strengthen the abdominals:
http://yogajournal.com/poses/finder/anat...
8. The fact that you have injured yourself is evidence that you have been doing too much; however, you do not necessarily need to decrease the frequency of your yoga practice. You do, however, need to make some adjustments to what you are doing in each practice session.
It is safe to do some form of yoga practice every day and even twice a day if that is what works for you, but you should not engage in intensive asana workouts that often.
Your body needs time to recover after any intensive muscle conditioning work. A good rule of thumb is to wait 48 hours between strength training workouts. Therefore, try to limit your intensive asana practice to three or four times per week, on non-consecutive days. On the "off" days, and for your second daily session (if you choose to continue doing two per day) , concentrate on breathing, meditation and gentle stretching exercises.
9. If you do not experience a noticeable lessening of back pain within one week, please consult with your physician or another qualified health professional.
10. Be patient with yourself. Back injuries can take a long time to heal.
Namaste. It definitely sounds as if you are having some issues with some of the yoga you are doing, and may be doing it wrong or your back may just not be up to some of the positions. It is very important to have strong core muscles to help support the back, and in my experience, weak core muscles have led to back injury. It is also very likely you have tight psoas, the muscles that go from the spine to the front inner part of your pelvis. The psoas is important for lifting the leg when the body is stationary, or lifting the body when the legs are stationary. Most people have tight psoas.
Keeping this in mind, yoga is about learning to listen to your body, and learning what works for YOU specifically, as your body is not put together like anyone elses.
Start paying close attention when you are doing your yoga. In which positions do you begin to feel discomfort in your back?
Avoid putting strain on the back in standing backbends, you may want to avoid them altogether. This is alright, there are many yoga exercises that benefit the spine and you don't have to begin with backbending. Some backbending exercises (like the bridge, for example) may feel good, and you may not feel any strain doing them. Listen carefully to your back, avoid positions that bring discomfort (don't wait for pain!) and enter with joy those positions that feel good to your back.
Try to focus a little more on yoga that will strengthen your core without straining your back. There are modifications you can also do to help keep strain off your back.
When doing cobra, or upward dog, don't push up too far. Spread your legs wide, as this takes the pressure off the low back. Only go up as far as is comfortable. Any little twinge in the low back, let yourself down a little. There is no need to push up high. You are gaining the benefit of the pose as long as you are attempting it. Be patient with your body, see it as a healing experience, and a great learning experience for you to become more aware and in tune with your body.
Good luck!
Also, read yoga magazines such as yoga journal and yoga plus, they are very good and have very much information. You can also visit their websites. You MAY have done the excercises wrong. However, if you're doing backbreaking things, like trying to touch your head with your toes, it will most likely hurt your back the first few times you do it.
Also, yoga has a relaxing purpose. If your back hurts, don't do any extreme excercises. Yes you are not doing it right and you need to talk to your teacher some aches and pains are expected because you are building new mussels but if you are in pain you are doing it wrong 1-You did an exersise wrong
2-You over excersised
3-Your not used to yoga |
