Release for Lower Back & Hips
Office Yoga® Release for Hips & Lower Back
TEACHER FEATURE: One of our very own Office Yoga® Instructors, Tierra, teaches you how to do reclined pigeon pose. This is a great release for the hips and lower back, which is a common request in Office Yoga® classes. You can do this at work either lying down or sitting in your desk chair.
Office Yoga® Reclined Pigeon Pose
- Come on onto the back and bring soles of feet to the floor
- Cross your RIGHT ANKLE to your LEFT KNEE, flex the RIGHT FOOT
- Left your LEFT FOOT off the floor, bring your RIGHT HAND in between your legs and interlace your fingers.
- Hold there for a breath. If you want to go deeper, on the exhale bend your elbows and pull your leg in towards your body.
- Hold for 5 breaths and change sides.
To give you a little more content about spinal anatomy- the spine is a combination of solid bones, flexible ligaments and tendons, large muscles and highly sensitive nerves. It is designed to be strong, mobile and flexible which allows for movement in all planes (sagittal, frontal, transverse) and directions. It’s easy to take the spine and it’s instinctual movements for granted until something goes wrong. Then we think about the spine all the time, everyday. This is typically what drives us to start paying attention.
How the Spine May Produce Back Pain
By Peter F. Ullrich, Jr. MD, Orthopedic Surgeon
Many different structures in the spine can cause back pain, potentially when:
- The larger nerve roots that go into the limbs get inflamed
- The smaller nerves that weave through the spinal disks get inflamed
- The large paired back muscles (erector spinae) are strained
- The bones, ligaments or joints themselves are injured
- The disc space itself is a source of pain.
Therefore, understanding spinal anatomy and practicing specific movements designed to strengthen the spine to prevent injuries or alleviate symptoms is incredibly important. To have a certified Office Yoga® instructor come to your work, contact us at info@officeyoga.com.