First things first, back pain isn’t so much normal as it is normalized. Did you know that approximately 80% of adults will experience back pain, which is what leads so many to (painfully) shrug it off as a normal part of being an adult? However, we’ve researched numerous Pilates classes in New York City, and we do declare that you shouldn’t stand for anything other than a pain-free spine.
If yoga and Pilates are foreign to you, don’t worry! When it comes to fitness, even when it’s to alleviate pain, late is far better than never. Unlike other forms of exercise, your first yoga class will give you a beginner’s guide to stretching and mobility. The stretches will be limited to what you can manage.
Therefore, if you’re looking for a great form of exercise to lose weight, you’re probably better off checking out the FitEngine blog or using our site to find a dance training or a fitness insanity workout. Give this piece a read to know what to look for in a weight loss workout.
Then again, yoga and meditation go hand in hand if you’re looking for something a bit more restful. If you already have an aching spine, then a strenuous routine, while good for your body, might not be what you want. Along with that, you shouldn’t be doing any exercise without stretching first. That’s why so many athletes make it a habit to practice yoga regularly.
When dealing with aches in your body, especially ones that persist all the time, you shouldn’t put it off. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right, and if you feel it in your day-to-day life, you shouldn’t ignore it. Barring a larger issue, you might be able to handle it with some basic stretching classes or a quick flexibility workout.
If you’re not someone who loves sweat, don’t worry, yoga for beginners is much more about getting in touch with your body, something everyone should prioritize.
The Cat and The Cow
The cat and the cow are technically two poses, but they’re supposed to be done together. Start in the cow position by getting on your hands and knees, with your feet on the ground and calves (no pun intended) relaxed. Then drop your head down, relax your hips, and curve your back.
Ideally, your body should look a bit like an upside-down U. It’s important to note that relaxing your neck and shoulder muscles is an important part of the effectiveness of this stretch. If you tense them, you’ll only put more strain on your neck.
The cat is the opposite of the cow. Without changing the form of your legs or arms, keep your shoulders relaxed and let your back down. Raise your head, facing straight ahead, but actively try to stretch it upward, away from your shoulders.
The Payoff
Stress can cause you to hold your shoulders close to your head. That leaves your neck muscles constantly compressed, and when you try to use them, they might even feel stuck. The constant strain on your shoulders causes strain on your spine, which by affecting your posture leads to, you guessed it, an achy back.
Along with doing this, make an effort to take note of your posture from time to time. Drop your shoulders, and stretch your neck upward. Ideally, the muscle strain caused during movement should be evenly distributed. When it’s not, that’s when you start needing yoga and pilates classes.
The Bridge…To Better Posture
Start this position by lying flat on your mat, face up. Place your hands at your sides and relax your neck and shoulders. Then bend your knees, keeping your feet planted. Scoot your butt toward your feet so your back is flat against the mat if you can. Then raise your hips, pushing them as high as you can.
Try to hold this position for at least a minute, focusing on your breathing and keeping your hips from relaxing. Avoid using your back muscles. Instead, leave them relaxed, and visualize a harness around your hips, pulling them upward.
If it feels too painful, then don’t push yourself too hard. Start with thirty seconds at a time and work your way up.
The Payoff
This stretch is great for your lower back. When we slouch in our seats, the weight shifts onto our tailbones. Ideally, our backs should be straight, and our tailbones should be perpendicular to the ground. Since we can only lift our hips so high, the stretch is kept within the healthy range of movement by default.
The Fire Log Pose
This pose is deceptively simple. Sit on a thick mat as you would cross-legged, but instead of crossing your legs, stack them. Your right ankle should be directly above your left knee, and your left ankle should be below your right knee. Sit in this pose for at least five minutes and allow your body to relax while maintaining your upright posture. This pose is great for opening up your hips.
If you find it uncomfortable, breathe deeply and focus on visualizing your stretching muscles relaxing.
The Payoff
Tight hips are amongst the usual suspects when it comes to back pain. Too much sitting, essential for everyone with a desk job, can lead to reduced mobility and hip pain that causes your spine to tense, which causes your back to hurt up to your shoulders.
To prevent aches and pains, it’s important to understand that your joints and muscles are part of an intricate system. A twinge of soreness is part of chain link reactions triggered long before you felt it. Beginner yoga classes would primarily teach you to be aware of your movements and how they affect your body’s overall flexibility.
Precautions
What you need to look out for is involuntary tensing. Many beginners start with relaxed muscles, but they get into the pose and try to correct their posture, their focus shifts, and the wrong muscles strain. The impact of the yoga routine on your flexibility and back is contingent on you relaxing certain muscles and allowing others to pick up the slack.
If you don’t do yoga, your aches and pains will likely worsen with age and could lead to quickly atrophying muscles and weak bones.
That’s why it helps to do yoga in a group or a class. If there’s something wrong with your pose, your instructor will be able to point it out, but it’ll be hard for you to notice it. This could lay waste to all your stretching yoga efforts. Your back may even feel worse than it originally did. If you ask a yogi, they’ll surely tell you that you need the right equipment for beginner yoga, preferably a workout space with a mirror.
Doing it incorrectly could cause a lasting injury, so it would be wise to start slow. You should also have a quick look at some common yoga injuries so that you can avoid them as you stretch.
Alternatively, comprehensively hazard-proof your stretching yoga with FitEngine. We’re not a New York Pilates academy; we’re an online resource designed to help you filter out the bad and find the best yoga for beginners if that’s what you’d like.
However you choose to proceed, you must find a way to manage your back pain. Not often, but on occasion, back pain is a symptom of a larger medical issue, but due to its commonality was disregarded. If you find that no amount of yoga or relaxation eases your discomfort, you should see a doctor.
Otherwise, our team’s extensive knowledge and network could connect you to hip-hop dance classes (known for being a proven way to lose weight fast with exercise) or a fitness Pilates workout.
Our blog is also filled with the learnings of expert writers who can answer all your questions, like, ” can you do Pilates and yoga on the same day?” or “what’s the difference between yoga and a stretch and restore yoga class?”. If you like stretching out your spine and investing in your flexibility and mobility for now and later, reach out to us!
We love hearing from fitness enthusiasts who take their long-term health into their own hands. Drop us a line at info@fitengine.com, and a member of our team will get right back to you.
