How is your back?
We enjoyed a fantastic BackCare taster on Tuesday with Anji Gopal to learn more about the Yoga for BackCare Teacher Training Course coming up on 9th November. If you were unable to join us live you can view the taster recording here.
As an osteopath and yoga teacher there is one thing that Anji notices that causes a grumbly lower back. This is an inadvertent tendency to arch and extend a little too much in the lower joints of the spine. The base of the lower back is an area that is most commonly injured or contributes to back pain in yoga students and non yoga students alike.
The joints from the middle of the lower back down to the sacrum are the areas at the base of the spine where the discs and other structures such as facet joints can sometimes come under pressure if we work without appropriate balance.
When observing students Anji notices a tendency to overextend in the lower back, this approximates the facet joints and can cause strain or sprain.
Example poses // BackCare
All fours: Looking at a student on all fours we can see if there is a tendency towards a lack of strength where neither the final stabilising muscles or the belly muscles are working together to support and spine.
Lunge or Warrior I: We often see over-extension in conjunction with an asymmetry through both legs, which can again strain the low back and/or the sacroiliac joy.
If we develop an awareness of what the spine can do and what Anatomy is contained within it we can take the best care of ourselves and our students.
Join Anji for her next Yoga for BackCare Teacher Training on 9th November where you will improve your understanding of spinal mechanics and spinal conditions and be able to work with your own body and that of your students to improve spinal health and be able to offer a yoga for back care class .
