Maintaining spine health is crucial for overall well-being and yoga can help to align the spine and promote flexibility, strength, and relaxation. Below are a few of our favorite yoga poses specifically designed to support spine alignment, helping you find balance and harmony in both body and mind.
Cat/Cow
- Kneel on your hands and knees, looking straight ahead.
- Place your knees hip width apart with your hands below your shoulders. Keep the elbows slightly bent.
- Inhale while arching your back up like a cat. Your head should be facing down, chin to chest.
- Exhale while sloping your back in reverse. Your head should look upwards. Turn the head from left to right looking over the shoulders, getting a deep stretch in the neck.
Cobra
- Lie down on your belly facing the floor. Press your hands on the floor under your shoulders with the tops of your feet on the floor. Keep the elbows back and close to your body. Press the lower body firmly into the floor.
- Inhale and begin to straighten the arms to lift the chest up. Keep the lower body pressing firmly into the floor.
- Press the shoulder blades together while lifting the ribs up. Lift through the top of the chest. Feel a slight backbend throughout the spine. Keep the neck long and your shoulders away from your ears. Fix your gaze forward.
- Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Release back to the floor with an exhalation.
Seated Spinal Twist
- Have a seat on your mat with your legs criss cross. Keeping the right leg in criss cross (heel tucked near the left buttocks), bend the left leg up and place the left foot to the outside of the right knee.
- Hook the left elbow over the right knee, palm up and facing forward. Inhale, then on your exhalation, press the left elbow into the right knee further, creating a twist. Continue to twist as you press your left palm into the ground near your left buttocks.
- Hold the pose for 5-10 breaths. Release by unhooking the elbow, lift the left foot off the ground and unwind the rest of the body.
Bridge (WARNING: Do not perform bridge pose if you have a neck or shoulder injury.)
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Extend your arms along the floor, palms flat.
- Press your feet and arms firmly into the floor. Exhale as you lift your hips toward the ceiling.
- Draw your tailbone toward your pubic bone, holding your buttocks off the floor. Do not squeeze your glutes or flex your buttocks.
- Roll your shoulders back and underneath your body. Clasp your hands and extend your arms along the floor beneath your pelvis. Straighten your arms as much as possible, pressing your forearms into the mat. Reach your knuckles toward your heels.
- Keep your thighs and feet parallel — do not roll to the outer edges of your feet or let your knees drop together. Press your weight evenly across all four corners of both feet. Lengthen your tailbone toward the backs of your knees.
- Hold for up to one minute. To release, unclasp your hands and place them palms-down alongside your body. Exhale as you slowly roll your spine along the floor, vertebrae by vertebrae. Allow your knees to drop together.
Downward Dog
- Kneel on your hands and knees with your hands beneath your shoulders and your knees directly beneath your hips. Your hands should be spread wide apart. Your feet should be flat and hip width apart.
- Inhale as you lift your body up, keeping your shoulders back and pushing backwards into your hips. Push your buttocks upwards. Keep your heels down as much as possible. Keep your knees bent as needed, ultimately straightening the legs and bringing the chest to the thighs. Lift one foot then another back and forward (peddling to get the effect of the feet being flat, which is the goal). You are forming a V with your body.
- Exhale relaxing slowly lowering the body, relaxing the arms and legs.
Legs Up
- Raise the legs up and lie the back of your legs in the air or flat against a wall. Position your buttocks as close to the wall as possible.
- Lay the arms along the sides of the body.
- Relax and breathe deeply for 5-20 minutes.
