Hong Kong has one of the longest working hours in the world. Long working hours means long sitting hours. This can cause strain to the lumbar muscles – resulting in back pain.
Luckily, stretching exercises can help soothe back pain and relax your body.
Try these 5 simple yoga exercises to help reduce back pain and overall discomfort in the lower back.
1. Reclining Pigeon Pose (Right)
Lie flat on your back on the bed or ground and keep it straight. Bend your legs and put your left outer ankle onto the right upper knee. Pull your legs toward you.
Pass your right hand through the left leg and hold your right leg tight. Hold this position for about 10 breaths. Then move on to the next pose.
2. Variant Reclining Pigeon Pose (Right)
After finishing the Reclining Pigeon Pose (Right), keep this position and put down your left leg. Twist your body left, press your right hand to the bed. Then press the right knee to the bed with your left hand to hold this position. Relax your head and body.
Inhale and you can feel that your back is twisted tightly when you breathe out. Hold this position for about 10 breaths then proceed to the next pose.
3. Variant Reclining Hero Pose (Right)
Go back to Reclining Pigeon Pose (Right). Keep this pose and press your right leg on the right side. Bend back your left leg and press the ankle near your hips. Open your hand and relax, hold this position for about 10 breaths. You can feel that your left waist and muscle are releasing tension.
Then go back to Reclining Pigeon Pose (Right), put down your right leg but keep the legs bending. Relax and take a short rest for about 5 breaths. Do the same exercise on your left side. Repeat the above three groups of yoga exercises to relieve the lower back pain.
4. Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend
Find a place near a wall that you can lean on. This exercise can help myofascial release and relax the rectus femoris. People who always the sit at the office should pay attention to this exercise.
Sit next to the wall and simply cross your legs. Place your body flat along the wall and lift your leg close to the wall. When you are doing this pose, please make sure you press your hips close to the wall. Lie flat on your back and lift both legs, keep a 90-degree angle between your body and legs. Open your leg and try to do a split (just until you can – don’t force it!). Keep this position around 10 breaths or 1 minute. Take a short break and do the next exercise.
5. Reclined Butterfly Pose
This is a variant exercise on Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend. Bend your legs and put the ankles near your hips. Try to press the outer thigh close to the wall. Hold your breath in slowly until you feel the thigh muscle slowly relaxing.
Bring your legs together and put your palms on your knees to pull the legs towards you. Lie the body flat on either side and come up.
Congratulations! You have finished all the poses!
It’s encouraged to do these 5 yoga exercises every day – even if you don’t suffer from back pain or muscle exhaustion. It only takes 10-20 minutes of your time anyway!
As with any other exercise, do not force yourself to do the difficult poses. This will only put you at risk of an injury. Do warm-ups and keep practising the exercises to improve your flexibility.
If at any point an exercise seems uncomfortable, go back one step gradually. Don’t change the poses instantly to avoid injuries.
What are you waiting for? Get to your mattress now and end that back pain!