Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back by Liz Owen

Author:Liz Owen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala Publications

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Reclining Lower Back Meditation with Ocean Breath

Fold one blanket lengthwise and lay it down on your mat. Sit in front of the short end of the blanket with a few inches between the blanket and your hips. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands on the floor behind your hips and slowly lie down, elongating your entire spine as you do so. Support your head on a second folded blanket. Take time to scan your body, especially your lower back, and make sure it’s completely comfortable. If it is, straighten your legs along the floor and relax (fig. 4.1).

If your lower back isn’t comfortable, however, lie down as you did in Deep Hip Meditation with your back flat on the floor, your knees bent and your feet flat on floor. Support your neck and head for extra comfort.

Direct the flow of your breath down through your chest into your lumbar spine and all the way into your hips as you inhale, and let it softly flow up from your hips to your chest as you exhale. Let it energetically caress and massage your lower back. Visualize your psoas and lower back muscles releasing tension and relaxing with each breath. Simply rest here for a few moments with mindful focus on the flow of your breath.

Visualize the flow of prana into your lower back, helping it come into its natural alignment—a long, gentle, natural upward curve free of clenching or muscular gripping.

Deepen the flow of your breath into your lower back by bringing Ocean Breath, which you practiced in chapter 1 into your practice on both your inhalation and exhalation. Ocean Breath, you may remember, is a soft, resonant, vibrational breath that comes from gently constricting the back of your throat.

When you practice it in this pose, remember the rule of thumb I use for breathing in my classes: “soft breath for a soft pose, strong breath for a strong pose.” Since this is a soft pose, create a subtle, soft vibration in your breath. Feel your deep inhalations lengthening and expanding your lower back, elongating the muscles, increasing the mobility in your joints, and gently stretching the myofascia. Visualize the soft, resonant vibration of your exhalation moving deeply into the muscle fibers, untying the physical knots in your muscles and allowing them to absorb fresh, new energy.

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