Few Simple Poses for Upper Back Pain Relief

Someone approached me recently and complained that he suffered from back sprains quite frequently and it bother him a lot. I asked him to try a simple thing. Raise the hands above the hands and join the palms and at the same time ensure that the arms touch the ears. Not to my surprise he found even this task to be difficult. The reason was his back and shoulders were too stiff.

Stiffness of the back and sometimes weak muscles in the back are one of the reasons of back sprains and it is not that difficult to avoid this problem - if you follow some simple poses regularly. These poses can be practiced even by people who are not too much into yoga practice. If you practice these poses regularly muscles in your upper back and the shoulders will get loosened and stronger which will increase the flexibility and reduce chances of injury.

Tadasana - Variation 1

Stand with legs around shoulder length apart. With inhalation take the hands above your head and join them. Pull the hands upwards and bring the awareness to the upper shoulder. Practice this 2 to 3 times for 20 to 30 breath counts.

Tadasana - Variation 2 (Tree Pose)

Stand with legs around 3 feet apart and place the hands 30 degrees from the hips. Tighten your arms and shoulders to support the hands. Practice this 2 to 3 times for 20 to 30 breath counts.

Tadasana - Variation 3

Stand with legs around 3 feet and place the hands parallel to the ground with palms facing down. Tighten your arms and shoulders to support the hands. Practice this 1 to 2 times for 20 to 30 breath counts.

Tadasana - Variation 4
Stand with legs joined together and with inhalation raise the hands above the head and interlock them and ensure that arms are touching the ears. Stretch and pull the hands above the head and stand on the toes.

Virbhadrasana - 1 (Warrior Pose)
Virbhadrasana - 1 is a great pose to strengthen the entire back including the upper back and removes all the stress from that region. For more details on the pose visit the post here.

Related Post
Upper Back Pain Relief With Yoga

Read more...

Reduce Your Waist Size With Triyak Tadasana (Swinging Palm Tree Pose)

Triyak Tadasana is one of the simple yet effective postures which will help you in keeping fighting the flab and provide relief from constipation. In this pose the body resembles as if a palm tree is swinging due to wind, hence its name. This pose is extension of Tadasana (Palm Tree Pose) and has similar effects to that pose plus additional benefits due to the way it is practiced.

This pose can be practiced for increasing the agility, increasing the height and also as a warm up pose for other difficult poses. Practicing this pose will also increase the focus and awareness can be easily be brought to the the sides of the body. usually when we do some exercise of practice some pose we work on muscles which are either on front or the back of the body and ignore the outer sides of the body. The sides of the body including the arms, area below the armpit, outer sides of the abdomen and right down to the legs are stretched.

Steps to Practice Triyak Tadasana?

1. Stand with feet around 2 to 3 feet apart.


2. With inhalation take the hands above your head and lock them.


3. Make sure that the locked palms face upwards.


4. Now with exhalation stretch to your right. Try to bend as much as possible towards your waist and try to make the arms parallel to the ground.


5. Adjust the left chest and try to bring it upwards as much as possible. This will give a slight twist to the upper and the lower back regions.


6. Stay for around 10 breaths and with inhalation come back to original position.


7. when you are in the pose make sure that the weight is equally distributed in both the legs and not only on the side where you are bending


8. Now repeat the same towards the left side.


9. Repeat the entire steps for 5 times on both sides.


10. With exhalation bring the hands down.

Benefits of Triyak Tadasana

1. It stretches the sides of the waist and reduces the fat from them. This happens especially during the Shankh Prakshalan(Yogic cleansing Technique) when it is done after drinking luke warm water.


2. The entire back and its nerves are massaged. The spinal cord is stretched which increases the blood flow in the region.


3. Intestine is stretched and improves the peristaltic movement and helps in cleaning the intestine and helps in relieving constipation.


4. Improves the body balance and keeps you mentally alert.

Related Posts
Find Your Body Balance
Vrikshasana (Tree Pose) - Yoga Asana for Balance and Strength

Read more...

Ashwasanchalan Asana(Equastrian pose)

Ashwasanchalan Asana (Equastrian pose) is the fourth pose in the Surya Namaskar practice of twelve poses. It is done immediately after the Pada hastasana. It involves stretching the groin area and the back.

How to Practice Ashwasanchalan Asana?

1. The starting position of this pose is Pada Hastasana.


2. The hands should be touching the ground near the feet.


3. With exhalation move the right leg backwards after it is straight touch right the knee and feet to the ground.


4. Now lean your upper body forwards and bring your head up.


5. Try to extend your neck as much as possible. Try to bring the groin area forward.


6. Stay in this pose for some time with normal breathing and come out with exhalation.


7. When not practicing with Surya Namaskar, repeat the pose with left leg.


8. When this pose is practiced with Surya Namaskar usually this pose is maintained for a second or two during fast practice and upto 5 seconds for slow practice.

Benefit of Ashwasanchalan Pose

1. Relaxes the back muscles, therefore helpful in upper back stiffness and pain.


2. Makes the thighs and calf shapely and stronger


3. Stretches the pelvic region.


4. Increases concentration as balance is required.


5. Opens up blocked Sinuses. For more information on Sinus problems read Home Remedies for Sinus Infection

Related Posts
Surya Namaskar - Day 30 of 30 day Practice
Sun Salutation - Day 26 of 30 Day Practice
Relieve digestive problems with Pada Hastasana - Hands to Feet Pose
Upper Back Pain Relief With Yoga

Read more...