How to Heal Your Back Pain Naturally with Yoga

Julie Rader | breakingmuscle.com

Image: BP / Barcroft Media

In the United States lower back pain is one of most common complaints. The Mayo Clinic states that most people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. Lower back pain is experienced by sedentary people as well as highly-trained athletes. If you look at a typical weekday of an average American who works a nine-to-five job, it is easy to see why lower back pain is an issue.

Upon awakening one may sit to have coffee or breakfast before sitting to drive to work. When arriving at work the corporate employee will often sit at a desk or in meetings until lunch. Lunch involves more sitting, before sitting at the desk to finish the workday. Then of course there is the commute home and another sit-down meal. Exhausted from a long day of sitting at the office one may choose to sit on the sofa to watch television to unwind. If we look at it from an anatomical standpoint we realize the hamstring muscles and the illiopsoas muscles are shortened from the many hours of sitting and this causes strain on the lower back.

Athletes on the other hand are not sedentary, so why the lower back pain? Any weight-bearing sport or exercise that involves running, jumping, or rapid dynamic movements produces tension on the lower back. When these activities are repeated over time without properly stretching and releasing these tight muscles overuse injuries may occur.

For the sedentary nine-to-five worker exercise is key for relieving lower back pain as well as reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, I’m assuming you are not in that category. If you are, then add some cardiovascular exercises along with the stretches suggested below. If you have a slipped disk in the lower back or sciatica, please avoid all deep forward bends as these can make your condition worse.

Lower Back Pain Relief Yoga Sequence

For lower back relief please do the following poses daily or at least after your workout. Breathe deeply in and out of the nose while doing these poses.

1. Supine Hamstring Stretch

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your back, bend your right knee into your chest and place a strap or rolled-up towel around the ball of your foot. Straighten your leg toward the ceiling. Press out through both heels. If the lower back feels strained, bend the left knee and place the foot on the ground. Hold for 3-5 minutes and then switch to the left let for 3-5 minutes.

2. Two-Knee Twist

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your back, bend your knees into your chest and bring your arms out at a T. As you exhale lower your knees to ground on the right. Keep both shoulders pressing down firmly. If the left shoulder lifts, lower your knees further away from the right arm. Hold for 1-2 minutes each side

3. Sphinx

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your stomach, prop yourself up on your forearms. Align your elbows directly under your shoulders. Press firmly through your palms and the tops of your feet. Press your pubic bone forward. You will feel sensations in your lower back, but breathe through it. You are allowing blood flow into the lower back for healing. Hold for 1-3 minutes.

4A. Pigeon

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backFrom all-fours, bring your right knee behind your right wrist with your lower leg at a diagonal toward your left hip. Square off your hips toward the ground. Bend forward. Widen the elbows and place one hand on top of the other as a pillow for your forehead. Hold 2-3 minutes and then switch to the left side for 2-3 minutes.

If pigeon pose bothers your knees, then do Thread the Needle.

4B. Thread the Needle

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backLying on your back, bend both knees with the feet flat on the ground. Bend the right knee like a figure four, with the outer left ankle to the right thigh. Lift the left foot into the air, bringing the left calf parallel to the ground. Thread your right hand between the opening of the legs and interlace your hands behind your left thigh. Hold 2-3 minutes and then repeat on the other side.

5. Legs Up the Wall

back pain, low back pain, yoga for back pain, back pain relief, yoga for backScoot your buttocks all the way into the wall and swing your feet up the wall. This pose is excellent for relaxing the muscles of the lower back and drains stagnant fluid from the feet and ankles. Do this pose after a challenging workout and always after traveling by plane. Hold for 5-10 minutes.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Source: breakingmuscle.com

Natural Technique To Overcome Headaches

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PLEASE SHARE THE NATURAL THERAPY FOR HEADACHE !!

Image: Raw For Beauty

Natural Therapy For Headaches!
In about 5 mins, your headache will go…….
The nose has a left and a right side.
We use both to inhale and exhale.
Actually they are different.
You’ll be able to feel the difference.
The right side represents the sun.
The left side represents the moon.
During a headache, try to close your right nose
and use your left nose to breathe.
In about 5 mins, your headache will go.
If you feel tired, just reverse, close your left nose
and breathe through your right nose.
After a while, you will feel your mind is refreshed.
Right side belongs to ‘hot’, so it gets heated up easily.
Left side belongs to ‘cold’.

Source: RawForBeauty.com

The Results Are In: Gardening Makes You Happy, Smart

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“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” – Alfred Austin

Gardeners have been knowing for centuries that their pastime gives them joy and peace. Many people will say that gardening is stress therapy. There is even a group called the American Horticultural Therapy Association “committed to promoting and developing the practice of horticultural therapy as a unique and dynamic human service modality.”

As with so many things, science introduces us to the physical wonders behind what we already know on a subliminal level. There are two interesting pieces of research that give credence to the feeling that our bodies and souls are better off from gardening.

Researchers reported in the journal Neuroscience that contact with a soil bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae triggers the release of serotonin in the brain. This type of serotonin acts on several different pathways including mood and learning. Lack of serotonin in the brains is related to depression.

So basically, the things we do as gardeners—working the soil, planting, mulching, and so forth—can really contribute to happiness. We ingest the bacteria by breathing or through broken skin. The simple act of children playing outside in the grass and dirt can be a natural way for them to reduce anxiety.

In addition to increasing happiness and reducing anxiety, serotonin has positive effects on memory and learning. Research presented at the American Society for Microbiology shows that feeding live M. vaccae bacteria to mice significantly improved their ability to navigate mazes, due to the fact that the bacteria triggers the release of brain serotonin. It appears that this bacterium plays a role in learning in mammals.

Have you noticed that you feel really happy when picking those ripe vegetables, especially that first tomato of the season? Well, it turns out that harvesting fruits and vegetables triggers the release of dopamine in the brain. It is speculated that this evolved over 200,000 years of humans harvesting food as hunter-gatherers. Dopamine is strongly correlated with reward-motivated behavior.

So there we have it, two physical reasons why people can be happier and smarter through gardening. I suspect there are several other other reasons contributing to this, including the myriad of colors in plants and animals, trees swaying in the wind, birds singing, squirrels chattering, lady beetles, and fresh air. Perhaps one day we’ll have scientific explanations for all this, but in the meantime we can take comfort in our innate feelings.


Source: RealFarmacy.com