Our back becomes tight and painful with injury but also in response to stress and tension.
When we are tight with fear, anxiety, and stress, we try to control our lives and our body tenses. When we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed our body seizes up in responseAlways working hard, trying to do better, building up pressure to prove yourself personally and professionally takes its toll on your body and often can result in back pain.

Tension myositis syndrome - weak, painful, aching muscles that get worse over time, as a result of tension and anxiety, usually occurs between 30-60 years of age, when you have the most responsibilities and pressures to succeed.

When things feel out of control in our lives, our sympathetic nervous system activates and creates and maintains tension in our bodies. Through yoga we can gradually, step by step, shift from the anxiety, control, and physical tension to step by step trusting the mysterious unfolding of our lives. The habitual tendency to strive, grip and hold on tight only creates more of the same. Letting go and trusting is hard. But we don’t have to do it all at once. Plus we can have the support of each other. We are definitely not alone. We are all perfectly imperfect beings, trying hopelessly to control our lives.

The pain that we experience is a messenger. It is a sacred opportunity to pause, be still and listen. As Rachel Krentzmen says, pain is our body’s way of asking us to “stop forcing and start feeling.” While slowing down and being in the physical postures of yoga, we can breathe, feel, and be present to our lived experience.

Healing is not a quick fix. It is a process. Yoga is not a way to mask your pain or fight your pain. It is not like taking a “pain killer.” Instead we are present to the sensations in our body, including pain, with courage, patience, persistence, kindness, practice and acceptance.

Gentle Yoga to Relieve Acute Back Pain Sequence

Legs up the Chair
Child’s Pose
Knee’s to Chest Pose
Cobra
Back Support Breathing
Hip Release
Child’s Pose
Legs Up the Chair

Props Needed: Chair, Blanket, Block