Stretching has become a little controversial. Sports scientists have proven that stretching is counterproductive before exercise, for example. On top of that, specialists argue that long-term stretching can lead to injuries and muscle weakness. And yet, people generally associate yoga with becoming more flexible. Many yoga classes still emphasise static stretching and the implicit goal seems to be touching your toes or doing a lotus position. Unfortunately, long and strong stretching disturbs the body’s harmony between strength and flexibility. Stretching can certainly feel good, but passive or static stretching will actually weaken muscles. In this blog about stretching vs. releasing muscle tightness, I explain how short-duration stretching can still be safe, and argue that the emphasis should be on releasing muscle tightness rather than stretching.

Hamstring tightness can have different causes. You may be exercising frequently or sitting most of the time, without ever releasing your muscles. Alternatively, there can be a muscle imbalance, an incorrect positioning of the feet or a knee issue that keeps the hamstrings chronically contracted. Not surprisingly, hamstrings can also be tight as a result of back pain. In the last four examples, the hamstrings are tight to protect your body. While releasing your hamstrings, it’s important to find and correct the cause of your tight hamstrings as well. In this blog, I describe three ways of stretching these muscles in a safe way for your back, and bending forward to reach your toes isn’t one of them…

Several of my lower back pain students suffer from sacroiliac joint pain, and I’ve experienced it more than once myself. Like all back pain, it takes a lot of energy to deal with. The nagging, throbbing or sometimes stabbing pain in the lowest part of the back can be caused by the misalignment and/or inflammation of the sacroiliac joints. Even when slightly out of alignment, the sacroiliac joints can give you a dragging-down, heavy feeling in the lower back. My last blog demonstrated yoga therapy practices that can help relieve this pain. This blog discusses what can exacerbate sacroiliac joint pain in terms of movements and postural habits. Read on if you’re prone to this kind of lower back pain. It will tell you what to avoid and how to adapt.

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Back pain can be draining and upsetting, especially if it’s always there and you have to be careful with every move. It’s not different with this particular lower back pain. Caused either by the misalignment or wear and tear of the sacroiliac joints, it usually presents as dull pain or a heavy feeling in one or both sides of the lowest, bony part of the back. Occasionally, the pain can be intense and acute, with possible referred pain to the groin, hip or even the back thigh. In this blog about yoga therapy for sacroiliac joint pain, I demonstrate a few yoga practices that can ease the pain and tightness. My next blog will focus on how certain stretches, movements and daily habits can make sacroiliac joint pain worse.

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Healing lower back pain requires a broad approach. It would ideally include daily practices to relax and strengthen muscles, attention to posture and stress reduction. What conventional approaches often overlook is the power of the breath and the importance of a relaxed diaphragm. Using the breath to heal lower back pain may sound surprising. In yoga therapy, however, relaxed breathing is central to healing lower back pain, as it is to healing other health concerns. In this blog, I explain the connection between the diaphragm and the back. The importance of a freely moving diaphragm for our wellbeing cannot be emphasised enough.

Have you ever wondered why your back starts hurting on holiday? The opposite could of course be true, as happy times have been known to relieve pain. However, if your back pain gets worse on a trip, it could be caused by carrying heavy luggage, different mattresses you’re sleeping on, long car journeys and even emotional tensions with your travel companions. When it comes to car journeys, sitting still for a long time in a slouchy position can indeed cause the back muscles to tighten and hurt. Because we can’t always avoid long-distance driving, it’s good to know some tips and yoga stretches to prevent back tightness and pain. Read on if you would like to know some back care tips for long car journeys.

I republish this blog every summer, to remind you how effective these simple yoga practices are during hot weather. Hot summer days can make us feel heavy and tired. We end up sweaty, red in the face, exhausted and with leaden legs. This is the result of the body working hard to keep its temperature and internal conditions in equilibrium. Our body is trying to keep the optimum inner temperature by raising the heart rate, dilating blood vessels and sweating. The dilated blood vessels bring more blood nearer the skin so it can cool down as the sweat evaporates. Help your body by avoiding extreme heat and drinking plenty of water. You can also try these two ‘hot days, cool yoga’ tricks: a breathing technique that can help you feel refreshed, and a yoga position that is a miracle cure for heavy legs.

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Lower back pain, buttock pain, extreme exhaustion, stiffness after inactivity, pain that doesn’t ease with rest, difficulty breathing deeply … all these are symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis, also known as radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. Because this form of arthritis typically starts in teenage years, it’s not easily diagnosed and sometimes dismissed as “growing pains”. It’s more common in men, which can make it even harder for women to receive the right diagnosis. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic condition for which there’s no cure at the moment. Therefore, managing AS is all the more important: the right medication can relieve the pain and control the symptoms. Also the right exercise and a healthy lifestyle are crucial. This blog about yoga therapy for ankylosing spondylitis and axial spondyloarthritis discusses how yoga can help with the physical symptoms as well as the emotional stress associated with this chronic condition.

There is a correlation between tight hamstrings and back and neck pain. Similar to other muscle groups in the body, the hamstrings don’t function independently. Firstly, they are connected via tendons to bones. This means they can cause skeletal misalignment when tight. Equally important, they are enveloped by fascia, connective tissue that runs along the whole back of the body. The particular fascia of the back body is called the superficial back line or superficial dorsal line and runs from underneath the feet to the top of the skull. In this blog, I describe what causes the hamstrings to be tight and how hamstring flexibility can impact back and neck health. The hamstring stretches that are suggested below are generally safe to do when you have back pain. They do not include bending forward to reach your toes!

If you have scoliosis, a sideways curve of the spine, you probably don’t have severe back pain. Nevertheless, you’ll want to look after your spine in the best possible way. With age, the lateral curve may increase and restrict your breathing mechanism. The growing tightness with age can also lead to neck, shoulder and back pain. Yoga therapy for scoliosis offers specific and tailored practices that target the two sides of your spine separately. The aim is not to straighten the spine, as this is impossible in many cases, but to keep your spine in an optimal condition. If you look after your back well with the appropriate practices, you are more likely to prevent pain and restrictions in the future.