Teaching Yoga to Prevent Back Injuries

By Kimaya Singh

As any chiropractor will tell you, improper posture or spinal injuries can create a host of seemingly unrelated physical issues. For example, misaligned cervical vertebrae might be related to headaches and sore throats while problems in the lumbar region of the spine could also lead to tingling in the feet or to persistent knee pain. Basically, the back and neck have a lot of responsibilities; they support lifting and carrying, walking and running, turning and sitting still and any other type of physical activity a person is involved in. The majority of the population suffers from or will suffer from moderate to severe back pain, and many with weak or chronic back injuries use yoga to build strength and flexibility and improve symptom management.

Yoga for Back Pain

Yoga is one of the few strength building or fitness activities that can claim respect for the spine and all it does. In fact, rather than putting stress on the back like weightlifting does or putting it at a high risk for injury like many dynamic sports do, physical forms of Yoga practice tend to stretch out weak and tight back muscles, align the spine and build core strength to improve overall back health.

Deep relaxation poses like the corpse pose or the child's pose are particularly effective in relaxing the neck, shoulders and lower back, areas of the body that many adults never experience a full release of tension in. Other poses like the cobra pose or the cat pose stretch the spine and neck and strengthen the muscles associated with these areas. This combination of tension-release and strength building can completely eliminate back pain in some people and prevent further aggravation of old injuries in others.

Teaching Yoga to Prevent Back Injuries in Classes

It is clear, however, that though yoga is an effective practice for improving spinal alignment, core strength and back pain symptoms, some yogis have experienced back injuries that are related to their yoga practice.

There are several scenarios within a yoga session where back injuries tend to occur more frequently, and instructors should be extra vigilant during these occasions to ensure their students come away injury-free.

1. Students are at risk for injury when practicing poses they have not mastered yet. Yoga teachers should keep an eye on pose technique and provide corrective feedback as often as needed.

2. Injuries tend to occur when students are distracted or unfocused, and any student whose mind looks like it is wandering should be guided back into the concentration required, if possible.

3. Back bends and inversion poses can place strain on the spine, so movements within poses should be slow, fluid and as correct as possible. Students with back problems may need to modify these poses or avoid certain advanced ones, like headstand, completely.

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Yoga Therapy For Chronic Back Pain - The First Step Toward Relief

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

When considering Yoga therapy for chronic back pain, you should have the endorsement of your physician or medical specialist. Reducing the back pain in your life can be a team effort. It is important to realize that many forms of therapy work well in harmony with medicine and each other.

In the case of Yoga therapy for back pain, one should feel a reduction in pain, but this does not mean you should discard your prescriptions, or the advice of your doctors. Most people, who constantly suffer from back pain, try medical or chiropractic solutions, prescriptions, and a variety of physical or alternative therapies.

After trying a variety of solutions, most people tend to continue with anything that helps them manage, or eliminate, pain. With that said, Yoga therapy sessions, or Yoga classes, are often part of a larger solution for pain management; and in some cases, the complete elimination of back pain.

Does this mean that every Yoga teacher has solutions for backaches and serious back pain? No, because there are a variety of Yoga styles, and many of them address mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Mental, emotional, and spiritual health are important in any healing process, but you want to be sure treatment of the physical body is included in your Yoga therapy.

A smaller, but very popular, group of Yoga styles are off shoots of Hatha Yoga (union by physical mastery). Does this mean that Hatha Yoga is purely physical in nature? No, because depending on the teacher and the sub-style, Hatha also covers mental, emotional, and spiritual health, in various degrees. The variation among Hatha Yoga's sub-styles covers a wide spectrum of knowledge and approaches toward health.

From the Hatha style, modern Yoga therapy has sprung. Among the therapeutic Yoga systems are: Viniyoga, Iyengar Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and other forms of Yoga therapy. This short list is where a person in chronic pain should begin to seek pain management solutions.

This will also require an extensive search for the right teacher, school, or Yoga therapist. The right teacher, or therapist, is knowledgeable, competent, gentle, understanding, and has time for you. You can easily make an assessment in one consultation, private session, or over the phone.
Generally speaking, Yoga schools do not have group therapy sessions for the same ailment.

There may be a specialized workshop for back pain, but these are rare. Therefore, it would be wise to schedule a private Yoga session with the most qualified teacher or therapist you can find.

© Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga.

He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at:

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