MINDBODY
YOGA THERAPY TIPS FROM DR. MARK URIDEL
Maintaining a strong, integrated core is one of the best ways to have a healthy spine. Two key muscles are integral to core strength – the transversus abdominis and the multifidus. The transversus abdominis is the deepest abdominal muscle that wraps around your waist like a corset. The multifidi are a series of deep back muscles that stabilize your spine. Research has shown people with back pain may have weaknesses in these muscles. These vital muscles can be strengthened with the help of Yoga Therapy! Yoga Therapy is a wellness treatment that integrates the body, breath, and mind in a holistic experience.
YOGA THERAPY POSTURES FOR A HEALTHY SPINE
Follow this sequence of yoga postures to engage and strengthen these muscles. These movements are very gentle, but if they cause any discomfort, discontinue them.
FIRST POSTURE
The first thing to do is make sure you are activating the correct muscles. A common misconception about core strength is that certain exercises automatically strengthen the core. The truth is that the correct core muscles have to be engaged.
The first posture begins with sitting cross-legged. Bring your awareness to your breath. Deepen your inhales and lengthen your exhales with a deep diaphragmatic breath. Inhale, breathe down into your lower ribs, and on the exhale, draw your navel in. Feel a contraction that wraps around your waist into your deep lower back. Visualize the muscles engaging like a corset.
You’ll now proceed with challenging the core in different ways to strengthen these muscles. Make sure to engage the muscles before you move in order to keep your spine stable.
SECOND POSTURE
On your hands and knees, draw the navel in, inhale, and slide your leg back. During your exhale, accentuate the navel drawing-in, and lift your leg. Only your leg should move – keep your pelvis and lower back still. Visualize the corset of muscles engaging all the way around into your lower back. Inhale, lower your leg, and repeat with the other leg. Do 3-5 repetitions on each side.
THIRD POSTURE
Lower your knees so you are in a knees-down plank position. Inhale and rock forward with your shoulders over your hands. Exhale, draw in your navel, and hug around your midsection, feeling the muscles engage all the way around into your lower back. Visualize the muscles contracting. Inhale, lengthen your spine, exhale, and rock back, moving your hips towards your heels. Exhale and rock back forward into a knees-down plank position. Repeat 3-5 times.
To make this more challenging: Rock forward on your inhale, then exhale, engage your core muscles, and lift your knees into a full plank. Inhale, lengthen your spine, exhale, lower your knees, and rock back, hips towards heels.
FOURTH POSTURE
Turn on your side with your forearm against the mat and knees down. Place a block between your knees to keep them approximately hips-width apart. Press down through your forearm and lower leg and lift into a side plank with your knees down. Visualize the muscles contracting around your wait and into your lower back. Lower down, and repeat 2-3 times on each side.
FIFTH POSTURE
Now, you’ll move up to standing to challenge your core strength in a more functional position.
With hands on your hips, inhale and shift your weight into one leg. Exhale, engage your core muscles, and lift your opposite knee. Feel the activation and visualize the contraction around your waist. Inhale, lower your foot, and shift the weight to repeat on the other side. Do 3-5 repetitions on each side.
SIXTH POSTURE
The next and final posture is a forward fold, another functional movement to challenge your core. This is a great way to do a forward fold with core awareness and less stress on your back.
While standing, inhale and lift your arms upward. Exhale, engage your core muscles by drawing in your navel and hugging around your midsection into your lower back. As you exhale, sit back into a medium squat, then continue to move your torso and arms down into a forward fold. Inhale, sit back as if sitting in a chair, and lift your arms. Exhale and engage your core. Then inhale and come up through the chair pose back to standing.
STAND STRONGER AND TALLER
Incorporate these movements into your regular routine, and experience the benefits of a stronger core and spine!
Our Yoga Therapy services offer one-on-one work with a certified professional who will apply yogic tools and techniques to address your personal physical mental, and emotional short and long-term goals. Yoga therapy can help manage, relieve, and improve single or multiple chronic or acute health conditions or disease processes.
Learn more about how Yoga Therapy can help you at the button below!
Mark has 35 years of training and experience as an ACSM-certified Health and Fitness Instructor, personal trainer, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Board-Certified Bodyworker. Starting in 1985, he began his path to holistic health when he began practicing Yoga. He soon earned a Massage Therapist certification, Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, and a Master’s, then Doctorate, in Physical Therapy. In 2016, Mark became a Certified Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
