Yoga for Psoas and Lower Back Relief

People often ask me how I got started on my journey with yoga and I often tell them my beginner’s yoga experience in the San Francisco Bay Area of California started at a one of many large gym chains, purely as an experiment with an exercise class I hadn’t yet tried. While this is true enough, it wasn’t until I was finishing my Bachelors degree and living in the Mission District that I began really devoting myself to a regular practice and experiencing benefit beyond those one might notice in the gross physical body.

Yoga actually has roots and purpose which are closer to those of meditation than pilates, believe it or not. It is common knowledge among the international community of yoga teachers that the people in India who started the tradition of yoga did so as an attempt to observe and more deeply understand the human psyche along with it’s relationship to the body, emotions and soul.

Another common piece of knowledge in the wellness field is that illness can begin as a result of any multitude of factors beyond viruses and bacteria such as emotional distress, diet and general lifestyle habits not conducive to vibrant living. One of those habits is leading a majoritively sedentary lifestyle. Psoas and lower back pain in extremely common, in fact it is estimated that 80% of adults experience lower back pain in their lifetime! 

Now let’s go back to my journey with yoga. When I was almost nineteen, I had back surgery for a herniated disc in my lumbar spine which is a very rare occurrence in someone as young as I was. A combination of things were likely to prompt such an injury, and unfortunately, a team of doctors could not successfully address my sciatica problem to prevent it from taking the course that it did. It was, however, through a yoga practice that I began to notice therapeutic relief and a change in my posture. Beginning yoga simply made me feel amazing physically, and then I realized it also relieved my anxiety, helped me cope with the stress of completing a very demanding Bachelors program while also working in a busy city and had the added benefit of assisting me in developing my ability to focus.

It has now been over ten years since I took my first yoga class at that big gym. I became so completely amazed by the practice and the art of living the yogic way that I became a teacher after studying tantra in Rishikesh, India and hatha in Bali, Indonesia. My studies and practice both continue to evolve, especially in the areas of managing and healing lower back and hip pain and the holistic sister science of ayurveda, although I mostly only dabble in the latter.

Lower back pain and psoas issues continue to pop up in my life, either through my own challenges of balancing regular travel with the proper amount of physical activity or through irritation that sometimes comes up through stronger physical exercises, not to mention the yoga students who come to me for assistance on a consistent basis.

So, How Can Yoga Help You with Lower Back Pain and Psoas Issues?

There are a variety of ways to address the problem of a tight psoas muscle, which is more often than not the culprit behind persistent lower back pain. In just 45 minutes a day, it is possible to both stretch and strengthen the hips for a long lasting restorative impact on this region of the body which can help correct your posture and relieve and discomfort or pain you might be experiencing. Most of the stretches are too complex to put into written word, however a simple “figure four” stretch is a great start.

How to safely get into the “figure four” stretch:

The figure four stretch is best done while laying on your back, bending one knee with the foot flat on the floor, directly below the knee joint and both in direct alignment with the hip joint. From here, you can take the opposite ankle and cross it over the bent knee, flexing the toes which are in the air to protect the knee joint. While in the pose, in order to deepen the stretch, you can push the knee which is in the air away from your body, towards the bottom of your yoga mat

For a visual reference, check out the image third from the top on pharmaca.com’s blog linked here.

Another way of strengthening the lower back in order to relieve pain and build core strength is through practicing “bridge pose,” or setu bandha sarvagasana. This pose encourages a gentle stretch of the spinal column while engaging the lower back muscles & glutes and opening the front body for a deeper stretch.

But rather than doing it in the traditional way with the feet and knees spread hip-distance apart, in order to target the lower back muscles, it is best to actually keep the knees and ankles tightly together, activating the inner thigh muscles in order to do so. This creates a strong center line which supports a weaker core while is develops strength and recovers.

How you can safely get into bridge pose?

The sanskirt name for bridge pose is setu bandha sarvagasana, setu meaning bridge and bandha meaning “lock.” We speak a lot about using “locks” or bandhas in yoga as doing so is especially supportive of a strong and balanced yoga practice.

The first step in engaging in a back bend like bridge pose is to activate what is called the mula bandha, or your pelvic floor muscles. This acts as a seat of support for the rest of your core muscles while creating stability in the posture. In fact, you can try using this bandha in virtually any pose and see how doing so allows your focus to intensify because your body feels more supported and balanced.

The next step in setting up your bridge, specifically for restoration of the low back muscles, is to bring the ankles and knees tightly together. Keeping them together throughout the entire pose can be challenging but it is an essential part of the strengthening process!

Bringing the shoulders to a relaxed position and even squeezing the shoulder blades together a bit will help you in raising your upper body while simultaneously raising your hips off the ground. This requires a squeeze of the glutes and a pushing of the heels on the ground. Don’t forget to inhale and exhale deeply, expanding the belly and chest with each inhale to assist in giving your front body a good stretch, too. From here you can leave your palms flat on the mat beside your body or interlace your finger behind your back on the floor to reinforce the posture and stabilize further.

I recommend holding bridge pose for four inhales and four exhales and doing so four times. Follow this asana up with an equally long squeeze of the knees into your chest (basically, hug yourself!) to lengthen the spine and balance out the back bends you just did.

If this feels too intense or if you cannot begin to lift the hips from the floor yet, try a supported bridge pose using a yoga block like this one. Simply follow the same steps until it’s time to lift your hips and replace the active lift with a more passive experience by placing the yoga black on your sacral spine (just above your tailbone). This is help relieve any pressure in the low back and give you the front side stretch without too much exertion. It is a great step towards developing the strength necessary for lifting you hips yourself!

Because yoga is a complex scientific system and because lower back pain and psoas issues can be quite delicate, I do recommend hiring a professional teacher or therapist to assist you in going through some exercises that can be beneficial to you. If you are looking for yoga teachers in Northern California who specialize in lower back or restorative practices, I may be able to help you further. Click here to be in touch!