Lower Back Support

Welcome. Thank you for joining me for this class to support the lower back. This practice is all about the counterbalance of our daily lives, and we'll really look at posture that open and release any tension that you may be holding in your lower back. So let's begin on our backs. We'll roll on down. And just take a moment to find constructive rest So, step the feet as wide as your yoga mat.

Let your knees knock into touch. Rest your hands anywhere on your body or out to your side. And then close your eyes. Take a moment to just arrive here to land, scanning through your physical body, notice what has your attention, And any areas where you might be holding any tension, start to allow your breath to begin to deepen. Feeling a big full breath in through your nose, feel the expansion.

And then maybe open up your mouth inside out, let something go and soften, release a little bit with the ex hail. Again, big full breath in through your nose, fill up. And then as you exhale, let that be a softening, a release, and a letting go. One more like that cleansing breath in through your nose, feel the expansion on your inhale. And that softening, that letting go quality, has you exhale.

Beautiful. And start to reach your arms all the way up over your ears and let both knees drop to the right. A nice easy spinal twist here. On an inhale draw your knees through center, exhale drop them to the left. Windshield wiper your knees side to side, letting that warm the hips, the body, the spine, feeling into your lower back. Starting to link your breath to the movement as you inhale draw the knees through center.

As you exhale, let them drop off to one side, smoothing out any tension, any stuck energy, letting the knees drop to the left one last time, and then come back through center. Step your feet about hips distance, letting your knees land over your ankles, and then start to let your arms fall on either side of your body down by your sides, rolling bridge poses. As you inhale, just start to scoop the low belly and sweep your arms up over your ears. And at the same time, press into the soles of the feet to lift your hips. Any amount.

Coming up into bridge pose, feel the opening in the front of your body. And then reverse that as you exhale lower your hips and lower your arms on either side of your body. And we'll do that few more times with the breath. Inhale, arms sweep up, press through the soles of the feet to lift your hips, exhale, release, lower your hips, lower your arms, and one more time. Inhale arms lift, hips lift, and exhale one vertebra at a time. Just lowering on down good. Then gather your knees into your chest.

Give them a squeeze. Rock a little side to side massage your lower back. Maybe take your knees in circles in either direction. You could take your knees wide and together, and then wide and together. Good. And then hands behind your knees rock up and down along the length of your spine, maybe do that a couple times to build momentum to come to child's pose.

We'll cross at the ankles, coming through tabletop, bring the big toes and heels together, knees wide, let your hips sink back towards your heels, reach your arms forward actively, and then let your forehead rest on the earth. Send the breath all the way through your lower back. Feel the expansion in your back body as you breathe in the ribcage, the hips, the low back, that grounded quality as you exhale, breathe out, ground. And then start to crawl your hands to the right side of your mat. Let a little weight shift off towards your left hip.

Send the breath all the way through the left side body, the ribcage, you might reach that left hand a little further, really feeling that opening. Good. And then hands back through center, walk them over to the other side, reach the right hand, a little bit further. Let a little weight shift off towards your right hip. Breathe into the right side body. The spaces between your ribs.

Beautiful. And then back through center up to tabletop, cat cow, shoulders over wrists, hips over knees, so you inhale, drop the belly, lift the heart in the gaze, exhale navel to spine, tuck the tailbone, tuck the chin. Good. Two more like that. Inhale. Feel that opening through the front of the body as you arch your back. Exhale rounding, tuck the tailbone, tuck the chin, really press the earth away and feel the opening in the back body. And one more like that in how as you come forward.

Cow pose, exhale rounding back, tuck your toes, lift the hips up and back downward facing dog. And as you come into this downward facing dog, pedal it out, bending one knee, straightening the opposite leg, feeling into the entire back body. Feel free to step your feet a little wider than your hips or soften your knees and allow your torso to drape back toward the top of your thighs. Letting your spine be nice and long, finding this inverted v shape as your sitting bones reach up to the sky. Pressing through both hands.

Allowing a very big full breath in and releasing something on your exhale. Beautiful glide to plank pose and take a slow, lower all the way down to the belly hug your elbows and setting up for cobra, untuck your toes. Let your shoulders draw away from your ears as you lift up and lengthen. Big full breath in. Engage your core to protect your lower back.

Good, exhale, release, press back through tabletop, tuck your toes, and lift your hips all the way up and back. Start to walk your feet to the front of your yoga mat, finding a forward fold as you get to the front. Take your feet about hips distance. Bend your knees. Nice generous bend in your knees.

Let everything melt down. Maybe hold opposite elbows. Maybe you sway a little side to side hide or shake out your head. Yes. And no, rock your weight forward and back a few times. Office at elbow on top for a few breaths, balance it out.

Good. And with soft knees, release your arms, roll up slow, vertebra by vertebra. Oh, and just taking a moment up at the top. Maybe roll out your shoulders. And just taking a brief pause here to draw hands and tension in front of your heart center, tadasana. Beautiful. And then as you're ready.

Sweep your arms all the way out and up. Catch hold of your left wrist and tilt up and over to the right. Nice side body stretch here. Really rooting through that left foot. Come back through center on an inhale, hold your right wrist, reach up and tilt over to the left. Get heavy in your right foot.

Breathe into the right side body. Good inhale back through center. Ben your elbows cactus your arms feel the opening across your chest lean back a little, and then inhale sweep your arms up, dive forward with soft knees coming back to your fold, uttanasana. On an inhale lift halfway and maybe walk your hands up onto your shins and lengthen your spine. And then hands to the earth, step your left foot to the back of your yoga mat coming into a lunge, let your left knee come down to the earth. You can keep your fingertips down.

You might take a couple blocks under your hands. Otherwise, just take a moment to sink into your legs. Lift the heart and the chest. Big breath in. Exhale shift back for half split, Artahanamanasana, you can lift your toes up off the earth, straightening the right leg any amount, feel free to keep as much of a bend in the right knee as you'd like.

And then maybe move in and out of those two shapes a few times. So let the inhale bring you back to your lunge, let the exhale bring you back to your hamstring stretch. One more inhale re bend. And exhale straighten any amount folding in. Good rebend through your right knee and step back downward facing dog, right foot meets the left. You could stay here or glide into plank pose, top of a push up, take a slow lower all the way down, cobra on your inhale, peel the chest up, core engaged, and then exhale back downward facing dog, big breath in, long breath out.

Walk your feet to the front of your yoga mat soften through your knees. And roll up slowly one vertebra at a time, drawing your shoulders up towards your ears, roll them down your back. Take a moment to land, then sweep the arms out and up big full breath in again, cack diss your arms, lean back, feel the opening across your chest, inhale sweep your arms up, soft knees, forward fold, uttanasana. And how to come halfway and lengthen through your spine. And this time, step your right foot to the back of your yoga mat.

Let your back knee lower down, come up onto your fingertips, allow a big full breath in. Let your weight just sink down for a moment, feel that opening, hips, so as, and then shifting back fold over your front leg. Feel free to keep a bend in that left knee. Find some length in your spine so you're reaching the chest forward, and then come in and out of there a few times as you inhale, rebend the left knee, lift the heart, lift the gaze, exhale shift back and fold. One more in, how we bend, exhale shift back and hold.

Beautiful. Back to your lunge, downward facing dog, left foot. Meets the right, come forward, plank pose, inhale, exhale, lower down, inhale cobra shoulders away from the ears, legs active. Beautiful, and then press back. Down dog, pick up your hands, walk them back to your feet setting up for yogi squat Malasana back of the mat, toes out heels in, bend your knees, let your tailbone sink down.

Maybe dry your hands together in front of your heart. Just take a moment. These squats so good for lower back, tension. That downward flow of energy as you lengthen through your spine in the crown of your head, releasing, softening, breathing, our breath can be a sweet release. Any areas where we might be holding, sending the breath there and letting the exhale be about that sense of release.

Good hands to the ground, parallel your feet, soften your knees, fold, ragdoll side to side, and then come all the way out to plank pose, top of a push up. Lower your knees down to the earth, lower your forearms down, shoulders over elbows, finding forearm planks stretch both legs back. Take a moment, reach through the crown of your head, reach back through your heels, engaging through your core, holding for five. Finding that support for three, two, lower your hips all the way down for a sphinx pose, untuck your toes. Walk your hands forward.

Just a bit. Draw the elbows back. Reach the heart forward. Again, keeping the legs engaged, engaging through your core to protect your spine. You might feel little compression in your lower back, also just a really good shape for tension in your lower back, allowing big full breath in here. Long release. Go ahead and then stack your hands, let your elbows play out to the side, and just take a moment, rest your forehead on top of your hands.

Bend your knees, reverse windshield wiper. Your legs from side to side. Letting that land. Take a moment to just pause and notice, let everything settle. And then right from here, just roll onto your back.

We'll meet there wherever you are. Flip around, hug your knees and wobble a bit side to side, massage your lower back. Go ahead, bend your knees, bring the soles of the feet to the earth, cross your right ankle on top of your left knee. Find a figure four shape with your legs for thread of the needle. You could stay right here or draw the legs in towards you, maybe interlace behind that left thigh or on top of your left shin.

And then see if you can really let your shoulders soften a little bit. Feel that right knee draw away as the left knee draws in. Maybe rocking a little side to side. Breathing into wherever you feel this the most often your eyes, your jaw, your entire experience. My left foot finds the earth cross your right knee on top of your left, like you're sitting in a chair for eagle legs, cactus your arms on either side of your shoulders, and then drop both knees to the left.

You might scoot your hips to the right a little, and maybe take your gaze over your right shoulder. Finding eagle spinal twist, if that's too much of a pull on your lower back, you might uncross your legs and stack at your knees. With every in, I'll find a little length. Mhmm, with every exhale ease into the twist a little more to ring it out to let go of tension. Alright. And then take your time, unravel, uncross your legs, step the feet down, lift your hips just enough to place them back down, neutralize your spine, and then cross your left ankle on top of your right knee, figure four shape with your legs.

Start to draw that shape in towards you, interlace, threading the needle. Wherever you are, find that opposing action of the left knee drawing away from you, the right knee drawing in, shoulders, eyes, jaw, softening. Letting go. When the right foot comes down, cross your left knee on top of the right, eagle legs cactus your arms. Let both knees drop to the right.

Gazed here left. Notice what you notice. Beautiful, and then unravel. Come on back. Step the feet down. Lift your hips.

Just enough, place them back down, hug your knees in. Little wobble side to side. Any last movement here that the body is requesting, honoring that. Otherwise, take your time. To transition into your final resting pose, let your legs go long, and then just let all of that settle and land in your body for Shivasana. Let yourself feel held here, letting go of effort, body, breath, mind, just rest.

Welcome to stay here as long as you'd like enjoying this space of integration. Otherwise, inviting in some movement, fingers, toes, ankles, Rists, maybe stretch your arms up over your ears point through your toes, full body stretch big, breath in. Let something go on your exhale. And just making your way on up to seated. Thank you so much for sharing this practice.

I hope you're feeling a sweet release.