Posture and habitual movement patterns contribute hugely to back health. The way you walk, stand, sit or sleep can influence whether you develop back pain or not. My four blogs this summer will analyse different elements of posture, and how posture relates to managing and preventing back pain. After all, doing yoga once a week is not enough if during the rest of the week you slouch on a sofa or car seat, round your shoulders forward over a computer, or stand out of alignment so your muscles have to work harder to keep you upright. Together with the right exercises, this focus on postural habits can hopefully help you correct bad posture and shape lifelong, sustainable wellbeing. This first blog in the series focuses on good walking habits.
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Unless we keep our spine mobile, moving it through its full range of movement, which includes twisting, sideways extensions, forward and back bends, the upper spine may tighten and round forward with age. This is even more so when our work demands long hours of focusing forward and down over a desk, workbench or computer. There are many ways to counter a tight upper back, but the yoga crocodile rest is easy, effective and soothing.
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Millie came to me two years ago with a recent diagnosis of osteoarthritis in one hip. She had visited a chiropractor and an orthopaedic consultant and the prognosis was a hip replacement in the next 15 to 20 years if the osteoarthritis of the hip continued to progress. Millie, who is just over 50, wanted to try yoga therapy because she was interested in a holistic approach that would give her increased flexibility.
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When you wake up with a tight and achy back, it usually eases after some movement. Rather than waiting for the stiffness to diminish by itself, you could try some targeted and gentle exercises right after waking up. This morning yoga routine for a tight and achy back is designed to mobilise your back gently and reduce the time it takes to feel more at ease. It is also lovely for those who simply want to start the day with a nice stretch.
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If there is one pose that makes me feel fabulous it is Half Moon pose. I thought that everyone would feel equally expansive and joyous in this pose. After all, extending the arms to the side has been proven to evoke feelings of positivity and confidence (as I wrote in this earlier blog). But when I asked my students which pose makes them feel “fabulous,” to my surprise the Half Moon pose was not a favourite. This blog explores how we feel in yoga poses, and we will look at a few other “fabulous” poses that my students mentioned. The poses are not necessarily difficult or acrobatic but can be simple and soothing, or strong and expansive. I would love you to try them and see how they make you feel… maybe fabulous!

If you would like to strengthen your upper arms but, like me, you are not into weight lifting and you find push-ups too hard, this blog is for you. You may wonder what arm strengthening has to do with yoga, and with yoga for back pain. Quite a lot actually: weak arms prevent us from doing yoga poses such as dog pose and plank pose efficiently. When done with good alignment, these poses benefit the back and abdominal muscles, strengthening muscles as well as bones. Moreover, strong arms assist us in carrying things, so the back and shoulders don’t have to do overwork. Our muscle mass reduces with age so if we want our body to keep functioning well it is important to give strengthening some attention.
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I was recently asked if it’s a good idea to hold your abdomen in all the time. Surely this would strengthen the abdominal muscles? It may seem reasonable to practise the abs by keeping them contracted all the time. However, how true and desirable is that really? Are you doing yourself a favour or could it have negative effects on your wellbeing? While not denying the importance of strong abdominal muscles, this blog examines the problematic results of chronically held abs for your health, and what you can do instead.
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A supple spine is the basis of a healthy and pain-free back. Whether you want to address lower back pain and tightness, or you just want to keep your back healthy, moving your spine in a gentle and careful way is key. It’s important to keep all 24 vertebrae of the spine “free” and unstuck. Age, misalignment, repetitive movements, long periods of sitting, etc. can all contribute to rigidity in parts of the spine. In order to keep our spine supple and healthy with yoga, let’s look at these 24 little bones.
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It took me years to build true confidence, to understand that I am “good enough”, that my failures are learning experiences, and that it is ok to occasionally do something that makes me cringe. I may not have arrived at rock-solid confidence levels, but I do know that what matters is not perfection, but what we have to share. In this sense, failure is keeping our talents and our love to ourselves. Yoga has helped me along the way; it teaches self-reliance, self-acceptance, and is fun in a non-competitive way.
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  I encourage my students to practise yoga at home; a mindful, daily practice, even if short, allows them to progress more quickly in the weekly class. Sometimes, when I know my student is very busy, or when I know they would enjoy this particular stretch, I tell them to do the stretches below – and the kitchen is a good place to do this because of the height of chairs and kitchen counters. To stretch the hamstrings, inner thigh muscles and glutes, these yoga-inspired ways of stretching leg muscles can be very effective.

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