So you have overcome severe back pain, visited several back specialists and you are now committed to keep looking after your back so that you will never suffer such pain anymore. You were told to keep your abdominal muscles strong and were given a few other exercises to keep doing at home. If you want to maintain the health of your back, its strength and flexibility, this yoga movement is for you, a great one to add to your exercise regime and do a few times a week.
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One of my dear, long-term students is leaving; she is moving to another country. Amaia’s story is an example of how debilitating back pain due to a herniated disc can heal over time. It shows how back health can be maintained with the right help and life-style changes. Before moving, Amaia agreed that we write her story. We hope it can encourage anyone who is recovering from a herniated disc or severe lower back pain…

So you find that your hamstrings are tight, and when you bend forward with straight legs there is no way you can reach your toes? You have never found a great need to stretch them regularly, but when you hear that tight hamstrings may contribute to a tight and possibly painful lower back, it does make sense to give them more attention. 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…

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How do you sit while watching TV? What body position do you take when you are at your computer, reading a book on the sofa, in a café with friends, while driving? There is a chance that you are slouching in all these situations. Your back is rounded in the most comfortable position, your shoulders are hunched and your head is held forward of the neck. I am the same, except I am trying to do it less and less, the more I learn about the negative long-term effects of slouching for my back.
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You don’t have serious, crippling back pain, but your lower back often feels achy, tight and heavy. It is bothersome because it prevents you from enjoying your usual exercise, and from sitting or standing with ease for a longer time. The tightness may also be there when you get up in the morning. It worries you that nothing you tried so far has given lasting relief.
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You have been moving around for most of the day, maybe decorating the house, gardening, lifting boxes, playing sports … and by the afternoon your back aches. It worries you because you don’t know how to shift this dull and heavy pain.
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Do you sometimes wake up in the morning and you immediately realise something is seriously wrong: your neck gives you stabbing pain on one side and you can hardly move your head? It may even be so bad you can hardly lift your head off the pillow… You must have ‘slept wrongly,’ with your head on the ‘wrong’ pillow. It can take a week before turning your head to one side becomes easier. What is causing this??

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If you feel worried about your posture and find that your shoulders are rounding forward, if you would like to stand tall and straight, this blog is for you.

In our time many people sit for long periods, slouch in comfortable sofas or car seats, stay hunched over phone or computer, and then suddenly discover their back is weaker and less straight than they would like it to be.
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If your muscles feel tight and they do not seem to respond sufficiently to stretching, you may be stretching in a wrong way.
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