Yoga has become a global fitness phenomenon, offering benefits to people of all ages and athletic abilities. It improves flexibility, strength, and balance. It also helps relieve back pain and stress.
Resting poses such as child’s pose and cat-cow are essential for the back muscles. They’re often performed between more strenuous stretches in yoga sessions.
Downward-Facing Dog
A foundational yoga pose, downward dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) stretches and strengthens the shoulders, hamstrings, back, and hips. When performed correctly, the posture improves balance and stability. It also increases leg strength and helps the thighs and glutes develop more tone.
The downward dog is an excellent posture to relieve lower back pain, and it helps with breathing and digestion. Its regular practice energizes the body and relaxes the mind, relieves stress, and helps alleviate mild depression.
It is important to note that this pose is not suitable for people with wrist or shoulder injuries, and should be avoided by those with high blood pressure. It may be helpful to practice this pose in front of a wall to help with the alignment of the hand-to-foot distance. It is also possible to perform this pose in a standing position, though this variation requires a lot of hamstring flexibility.
Janu Sirsasana
Janu Sirsasana, also known as Forward Bend Pose, is an effective yoga pose for relieving back pain. It stretches and lengthens the back muscles, reducing stiffness and improving posture. It also helps to decompress the spine, preventing spinal injuries and helping with spinal alignment. Additionally, it stretches the hamstrings, helping to reduce tightness and improve flexibility. It also stimulates the liver and spleen, improving digestive function.
If you have trouble reaching your extended leg’s foot with your hands, you can use a yoga strap to help you do the pose. Just put the strap around your foot and pull on each end, pulling the back of the leg forward. This version of the pose is more challenging and enhances the stretch. It also increases stimulation in the root chakra, which promotes balance throughout the body. It is also a great pose for releasing emotions such as stress and anxiety. This can be particularly helpful for people who suffer from back pain or sciatica.
Chaturanga
The Chaturanga, also known as four-limbed staff pose (chaturanga dandasana), is a powerful strength-builder and core-stability move. It’s essential in a flowing vinyasa yoga practice and helps prepare the body for challenging arm balances such as crow or scorpion pose.
This low plank poses strengthens the wrists, arms, shoulders and abs. It improves posture, stability and balance while strengthening the arms and improving shoulder and elbow joint mobility. It is the foundation for more advanced inversions such as headstand and handstand.
This pose is not suitable for those with a shoulder injury or carpal tunnel syndrome or those who are pregnant. In these cases, it is better to practice Plank Pose or Half Chaturanga and build the strength needed to support the weight of the body correctly. Practicing the full version of this pose incorrectly can lead to injury. For beginners, lowering the body to knee height is a good modification to this pose that prevents shoulder and elbow strain.
Savasana
Savasana, or corpse pose, is a final resting posture that is often practiced at the end of a yoga session. It offers mental, emotional and physical recovery.
Incorporating this simple relaxation into your routine can help you lower stress levels and promote sound sleep. It also helps you to deepen your body awareness and cultivate mindfulness and present-moment awareness. Practicing savasana prepares the body for meditation practices as well, as it allows you to let go of the thoughts that pass through your mind and experience true serenity.
However, savasana can be challenging for students with hyperactive minds. Despite the restful nature of this position, some students might find that it is hard to stay conscious, particularly kids and teens with highly active monkey minds. In this case, the teachers can introduce soothing music and sound or guided meditation to improve the overall experience of this relaxation. Moreover, they can also use props to support the body in this position.