Have you heard about back bends in yoga? Back bends are great for relieving back pain because they create space between your vertebrae and they strengthen the muscles that support your spine. However, for some, bending your back can be a scary feeling. The main reason back bends are scary is because we simply aren’t used to doing them. However, bending your back is incredibly healthy and will go a long way toward making your vertebral column long, healthy, and pain-free. There are all kinds of back bends and not all of them are difficult to do. Besides relieving back pain, back bends have a great number of benefits including:

Stretches the chest, neck, and spine
Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression
Stimulates abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid
Rejuvenates tired legs
Improves digestion
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
May reduce anxiety, fatigue, headache, and insomnia

I recommend bridge pose as a simple back bend that is easy to do yet comes with all the benefits listed above. Here’s how to do bridge pose.

Step by Step

1. Lie on the floor on your back, and if necessary, place a thickly folded blanket under your shoulders to protect your neck. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to your hips as possible.
2. Exhale and, pressing your inner feet and arms actively into the floor, lift your butt off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Clasp your hands below your pelvis and extend through your arms to help you stay on the tops of your shoulders.
3. Lift until your thighs are about parallel to the floor. Keep your knees directly over your heels, but push them forward, away from the hips.
4. Lift your chin slightly away from the sternum and, firming the shoulder blades against your back, press the top of the sternum toward your chin.
5. Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Release with an exhalation, rolling your spine back onto the floor, one vertebra at a time.
   
   

Give bridge pose a try and if you feel you need help, be sure to give me a call at 303-987-1004. I’m happy to help. Be sure to join us for “All Levels” yoga at the Roxborough fire station community room, Tuesday mornings, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. We have a lot of fun and we’d love to have you join us! Cost is $15 per class.

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Yoga at Roxborough with Drew Overholser

Intermediate Yoga – Tuesday mornings, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Beginner Yoga – Tuesday mornings, 10:45 to noon.

Feel free to contact me by email (drew@rcyoga.com) if you have questions about yoga. My yoga studio is in south Lakewood. Our website is rcyoga.com.

303-987-1004

drew@rcyoga.com

The entire contents of roxborough info and shopper's square™are copyrighted by Angelika Koehne, and no part may be reproduced in whole or in part in any form, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the Publisher Angelika Koehne, P.O. Box 270 312, Littleton, Colorado, 80127-0312

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