Manage Lower Back Pain - Yoga With Abi

The aim with the type of yoga I teach is to relieve various aches and pains by working out which muscles are tight, which are weak and where joint mobility is restricted. Obviously this is an over-simplification of everything that is going on when you experience pain, but when you add in some of the other benefits of a consistent yoga practice — increasing body awareness, improving breathing patterns, enhancing neuromuscular coordination, practicing barefoot, relaxing the body and calming the mind — it turns out to be a good formula for pain relief.

Muscular imbalances associated with lower back pain

The most common type of lower back pain experienced by mountain bikers is caused by holding an ‘unnatural’ posture for long periods of time, excessive repetition of a specific set of movement patterns and a lack of movement diversity (‘use it or lose it’).

This is how it typically shows up in the body:

- Lower back: over-stretched and weak—needs to be strengthened (not stretched). 
- Core (abs, obliques and lower back): weak—needs to be strengthened.
- Hip flexors: short and tight—need to be stretched. 
- Hamstrings and groin: tight—need to be stretched. 
- Glutes: weak and tight—need to be stretched and strengthened. 
- Mid back (thoracic spine): stiff—need to increase mobility. 

The 1-hour routine

Due to popular demand and breaking tradition with my 15-minute series, I have just finished editing a 1-hour yoga routine that addresses each of these areas in turn. Since we are not optimising for time, the pace is slower than in many of my other videos — increasing the length of time spent in each stretch and allowing for deeper relaxation of the body and mind.

If you are experiencing significant pain at your lower back, please check with your doctor or physical therapist that it is safe for you to practice these poses.

How the routine breaks down:

Seated Sidebends increase lateral spinal mobility.



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Cat-Cow increases spinal mobility in flexion and extension.

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Thread-The-Needle increases rotational spinal mobility.

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Puppy increases spinal flexibility in extension.

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Downward Dog stretches the calves and hamstrings.



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Side Lunge stretches the hamstrings and groin.

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Low Lunge and Lizard stretch the hip flexors.

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Plank strengthens the core.

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Baby Cobra and Locust strengthen the lower back.

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Side Plank strengthens the obliques and glutes.

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Boat strengthens the abs, lower back, obliques and hip flexors.

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Bridge strengthens the lower back and glutes, and stretches the hip flexors.

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Wind-Relieving pose stretches the hip flexors and adjusts the pelvis.

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Dead Pigeon stretches the glutes and external hip rotators.

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Half-Reclining Hero stretches the quads and hip flexors and re-aligns the pelvis.

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Reclining Hand-To-Big-Toe stretches the calves and hamstrings.

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Happy Baby stretches the hamstrings, glutes and groin.

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Reclining Spinal Twist releases tension at the lower back and increases spinal mobility.

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Final Resting Pose activates the parasympathetic “relaxation and healing” nervous system.

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Access to the video

I'm going to make the full video available to everybody on my site for a week, so give it a whirl and let me know how it goes. Here is the link: 1-Hour Yoga For Lower Back Pain