Yoga for Lower Back Pain : Thread Needle Yoga Pose for Back Pain

Our next pose for helping to release and realign the lower spine, is a thread the needle pose. This pose is miraculous, so we're going to first come to lie on our backs. Make sure you're shoulder blades are on the floor. The knees are up and the heels are just a few inches away from the buttocks. We're going to take the right ankle. Cross it over the left thigh, like so. Can you see that? Then we're going to take the right hand. We're going to reach it through that little hole, the little triangle shaped hole, between the thighs, all the way around the left shin, and we're going to clasp our hands together. We're going to inhale, and as we exhale, we're going to gently pull the left shin, to bring that knee toward the chest. This stretch, as I said, is miraculous. The reason it's miraculous, is because it works to cure sciatica. If you're one of those people who suffers from sciatica, this stretch will target almost exclusively, that little piriformis muscle,that's causing you all the problems. So when you're here, and you're through the whole stretch, you're going to work at just gently, since the right leg is bent, and the right arm is through the hole, we're just going to gently tip to the right. I don't know if you can even see what I'm doing, because it's really, really subtle. But our back, the low back is flattened on the floor, and we're just going to tip to the right, ever so slightly. As we inhale, we're going to hold. As we exhale, see if you can squeeze just a little bit more, and again, you're going to stay here, as long as you feel that it's beneficial. Just see if you can get five breaths, eight breaths, twenty breaths, and then when you're ready on your own time, you're going to release as you exhale. Bring both feet back to the floor, and just going to let your knees fall side to side, like windshield wipers, easy as pie. You're going to keep the breath going, and then we're going to come to the other side, crossing the left ankle over the right knee. Pick it up. Reaching through to the other side of the shin, inhaling and exhaling, staying as long as you're comfortable, releasing when you're ready. Both feet come back to the floor, windshield wipers, and go ahead and come on up to sitting, to get ready for our next pose.