Fitness
Flow your way to a happier spine.
If you find yourself twisting and turning in an effort to alleviate a twinge-y cramp in your back, why not plop onto the floor instead and try a yoga workout for back pain? After 20 minutes of cat-ing and cow-ing, stretching and breathing, you very well might be cured — or at the very least temporarily relieved.
One of the best places to look for quick videos on the matter is the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel, created by certified yoga instructor Adriene Mishler. She has playlist after playlist featuring targeted workouts for pretty much anything that ails you, including upper and lower back pain. You’ll also find Yoga With Adriene back pain videos that incorporate hip and neck stretches, as well as ones meant to improve your posture.
What’s extra cool — and Mishler even says this in her videos — is that it’s often possible to alleviate back pain with nothing more than a yoga mat and 20 minutes of your time, especially if you make stretching a regular part of your routine.
There really is something to be said for practicing a yoga flow on a regular basis in order to keep your muscles happy. Want to give it a try? Here are 11 Yoga With Adriene back pain workouts to get you started.
1
Yoga For Overall Back Pain
This 30-minute video is where it’s at when you need to improve back pain. It aims to help you connect with your breath as you move through various stretches, like figure-four and supine twists, that zero in on every area of your back.
2
Yoga For Your Hips & Lower Back
This video is ideal if your goal is to target your lower back while also stretching your hips. It starts off in a seated position (one of the comfiest, let’s be honest) before moving through various twists and squats. By the end, your hip flexors will feel nice and loose and your lower back less stiff and sore.
3
Yoga For Lower Back Love
This nearly 30-minute lower back video focuses on flexibility, core stability, and healthy alignment through gentle spinal flexions, extensions, and twists. Doing it on a regular basis could also provide preventative care, making it the perfect lower back practice to add to your routine.
4
Yoga For Your Upper Back
Have 23 minutes exactly? Try this video, which is designed specifically to stretch out your upper back using yoga asana to “counteract the effects of daily life (like hunching over your computer) that contribute to upper back aches, pain, and tightness,” Mishler writes. If that isn’t all of us...
5
Yoga For Lower Back Pain
This 15-minute sequence is another winner when it comes to stretching out your lower back, especially if you’re short on time but still want to feel your best. Get ready for fun positions like cobra and bridge pose.
6
Yoga For Your Neck, Shoulders, & Upper Back
Another short one, but this time the video focuses on your upper back, including your shoulders and neck, through movements like neck circles and a shoulder-opening child’s pose variation. Try it after a long work day if you’re feeling tense — before you know it you’ll be feelin’ like your old self again, AKA someone who isn’t constantly begging for back rubs.
7
Yoga For Healthy Posture
Feel like each and every one of your life’s problems comes back to poor posture? Then bookmark this workout and do it on the regular. In it, Mishler focuses on yoga postures that “expand your awareness of the spinal column,” like supported side angle and triangle pose, so you’ll remember to take good care of your back.
8
Yoga For Upper Back Pain
This simple video focuses on improving upper back tension that’s typically caused by hunching, a poor posture habit that people often do when stressed. In it, Mishler guides you through various levels of yoga sequences to create space in your back and relieve pain. She also demonstrates helpful breathing techniques — as always — so you’ll feel less stressed, too.
9
Yoga For Your Spine
This video focuses specifically on your spine by combining stretches with deep breathing, or a Pranayama breath practice. It’s perfect if you need to slow down, stretch, and work out a few kinks — all under 30 minutes.
10
Yoga For Your Back
This video is part of a 30-day challenge, of which Mishler has many. She recommends modifying the postures in any way that feels good to you in the moment. And when it comes to relieving back pain, what could be better than that? Sometimes all you really need, whenever you’re feeling stiff, is to spend 20 minutes rolling around on a mat.
11
Yoga For Your Lower Back Hamstrings
“Super stretchy, low to the ground, and sure to make you feel good,” Mishler says in this video, which is *the* one to try if you’re looking to gain full body awareness — and also to relieve back pain. Tight hamstrings, in particular, have a way of pulling on your lower back muscles, which is why focusing on both areas at once — through moves like happy baby and supine tree pose — is ideal. By the end, you’ll feel loose yet stable, relaxed yet ready to take on the day.
