tight lower back. Help?

TheGoblinRoad

For at least a decade now, my lower back has been tight. Even when I lie down in corpse pose, my lower back aches. Any suggestions for improving this? My committed yoga practice is still relatively new. I'm coming up on 2 months of daily practice, which is a lot for me. (15 minutes average, low-intensity yoga)

yoginimary

I don't know where your lower pain really is or what is causing it, but you could try the following a see if any help.

In corpse pose, have something under your knees - a couple of pillows is nice or a bolster if you have one - a chair to rest the calves on is pretty good too. I would say this helps most people who have lower back pain while lying on the floor.

If that doesn't work, try raising the other end. Roll a beach towel really tight (you can put rubber bands around it to keep it steady) or use a bolster here - some bolsters are too big for this though. If you have the yoga blankets (usually Mexican blankets) - you can fold them in a certain way (I can explain how to do this if you like, but it will take some time). You want to lie on the towel so it starts at your lower ribs and extends to support your head. If you forehead is higher than your chin, have a second towel supporting your head.

Of course, your lower back shouldn't be in pain while lying flat. So you might want to keep a log of which poses you do and how your back feels afterward. Do an entire practice of twists only, forward bends only, hip openers only, backbends only etc. and see how your back feels when you lie down. Now there are guidelines in certain styles that say if you do this pose, you need to do this counter pose - which I totally agree with - but it won't help you figure out how to stretch your back.

Hope that helps