YOGA FOR BACK PAIN 

 

YOGA is a very popular and safe form of exercise. Many people think of yoga as just a good way to relieve stress and tension, but it can also help you reduce back pain and maintain a healthy spine. Yoga poses, called asanas, are important because they help stretch and strengthen important back muscles.

Although there's more to yoga than the postures—breath control and meditation are just as essential as poses are in yoga. 

The goal of yoga poses isn't about bending and forcing your body into certain positions—that could actually cause more back pain. Instead, yoga poses teach you proper alignment, such as how to maintain good posture. You may also become more flexible and be better able to maintain your balance.

When you do yoga poses—you can do them standing, sitting, and lying down—you should feel comfortable in them. But before getting to the more advanced poses, you have to practice the easier versions of the poses.

Think about it: If you've never trained for a marathon before, you wouldn't just force your body into running 26.2 miles, would you? Why would you want to force your body into certain yoga poses if your body's not ready for them?