Yoga Poses for the Lumbar Spine

A common ailment for pregnant women starting from the 4th-5th month is lower back pain. This is logical because the fetus gains weight, moreover, the flexibility and mobility of the pelvic joints change, and the stress on the spine increases significantly. Yoga for lower back pain has a good reputation, especially since there are entire complexes of asanas and individual asanas for back pain – they gently affect the muscles and are adapted for future moms.

Asanas for the Back and Lower Back

Yoga exercises for the back can be done in a gym, yoga center, or at home: they do not require special preparation or constant supervision by an instructor. The main thing is to learn and properly align the technique and start practicing.

1. Take the Cat Pose: straight arms and bent knees support the body’s weight, standing perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other.
2. Inhale and round your back.
3. Exhale and arch your back, directing your ribs towards the floor.

Your head and neck are relaxed and directed downwards between your arms.

4. Make rolls: move your body down to the palms, return back with a rounded spine, and do the same backward – repeat five times forward and back.
5. Lower yourself onto your forearms, join your palms together.
6. Shift your weight onto the left knee, extend the right leg back and lift it up, as if trying to reach your head with your toes.
7. Lower the leg and bring it forward towards the head (for pregnant women, place the leg slightly to the side of the body, bypassing the abdomen).
8. Shift your weight onto the right leg and repeat the exercise for the left leg.
9. Now straighten your arms, shift your weight onto them and repeat the same exercise, but with straightened arms.
10. Sit in Dandasana and straighten both legs parallel to the floor.
11. Grasp your right foot with your right hand and pull it up so that your arm and leg are straight
12. Repeat the exercise with your left arm and leg

Try to maintain balance, but slight swaying is permissible for beginners.

13. Return to the Cat pose and repeat the rolls forward and backward, also try to make wave-like movements with the spine: it’s easiest to do this by imagining you are drawing an imaginary circle in the air.

What are the benefits of yoga exercises for the back?

The most important aspect of back exercises during pregnancy is to relieve tension in the lower back and sacrum. Yoga has proven effective for lower back pain, and with our video lessons conducted by professional instructors, you can perform these exercises at home while observing the correct technique. Thanks to yoga poses, muscles are stretched, blood flow is normalized, which helps relieve possible muscle spasms and strengthens the back. Moreover, correct posture is formed – and this is very beneficial during pregnancy, in the initial months of motherhood, and let’s be honest, good posture benefits everyone at any age!

Are there any contraindications?

There are contraindications that are both general and specific to the pregnancy period. The first group includes spinal injuries, dislocations, and fractures. During pregnancy, it’s not advisable to practice yoga if you have diastasis, risk of miscarriage, or polyhydramnios. It’s also recommended to avoid overly dynamic poses and serious strength loads, and of course, inverted poses—it’s better to leave those for the postpartum period. In any case, if you experience discomfort while performing a pose, calmly stop the exercise, and if you have any concerning pains, consult a doctor.

If the technique of performing poses is mastered, the exercises will bring efficiency, comfort, and a good state of well-being. And if you add breathing practices and relaxation techniques, you will learn to quickly relieve tension from your back and lower back.