How to keep yoga from being a pain in the back

This is the moment that Bob has been looking forward to with mixed emotions.   The class is about to do Downward Facing Dog.

Today Bob is looking forward to doing the pose for the first time ever. In the past he has dreaded doing Downward Facing Dog.  It has always caused him pain in his lower back.

Bob finally got feed up with the pain and asked his yoga teacher what he could do about it.  Bob’s teacher had a couple of suggestions for him.  The suggestions seemed to work when Bob’s teacher helped him incorporate the suggested changes into the pose after the last class.

Today is the first time that he will be incorporating the changes during a regular class.

What is Downward Facing Dog

Downward Facing Dog which is know as Adho Mukha Svanasana (pronounced AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna) in Sanskrit is one of the standing poses.  It is part of the Sun Salute Series of poses and can also be done on its own.

Downward Facing Dog helps to relieve headaches, mild depression and relives stress.  It also relieves headache, insomnia, back pain and fatigue.

But in Bob’s case it is not relieving back pain it is causing it.  Before we look at what is causing Bob’s back pain let’s first look at how to do the pose.

How to do Downward Facing Dog

Start in Tadasana, standing tall with your big toes touching at the front of your mat. Exhale, fold forward and bring your hands to the floor beside your feet with your fingers spread wide.  If necessary bend you knees so you can place your hands flat to the floor.

Now lift your head up, walk your feet back until there is a straight line from your shoulders through your hips to your ankles and your shoulders are directly above your wrists.

Next lift your hips up towards the ceiling,  move your shoulders back towards your feet and lower your heels towards the floor.

To finish entering the pose bring your gaze towards your navel and engage Uddiyana Bandha which is the lower abdominal muscle lock.

When you are fully in the pose your legs are straight with your heels on the floor, there is a straight line from your hips through your shoulders to your wrists and the top of your hips are tipped down towards your toes.

Getting those straight lines in place from the hips to the hands and feet is the reason why Bob’s back is hurting.

Why is Bob’s back hurting?

Bob’s lower back is hurting in Downward Facing Dog because his lower back is rounded up instead of downwards.  The natural curve of his lower back is gone and this is causing the muscles in his lower back to hurt.

The curve in his lower back is gone because the top of his hips are not tipped down towards his toes instead his hips are tipped up towards the ceiling.

And the reason his hips are tipped up instead of down is because Bob’s hamstrings are short.  Bob can not straighten his legs in Downward Facing Dog and get his heels on the floor.

The hamstrings extend from the back of his hips to just below his knee.  When they are short they prevent Bob from straightening his legs and tipping his hips downwards towards his toes.

There are modifications that Bob can make to the pose that will protect his lower back.

How to fix the problem

Bob’s teacher told him after the last class that he needed to modify how he did Downward Facing Dog to accommodate his short hamstrings.

Bob’s teacher recommended that he:

• Take pressure off his hamstrings by lifting his heels and bending his knees.  This change will let Bob’s hips move downward towards the floor and allow some of the natural curve to return to his lower back.
• Lift his shoulders above the straight line from the ankles to the hips through the shoulders.  By lifting his shoulder further from the floor Bob is allowing more of that natural curve to return to his lower back.
• Engage Uddiyana Bandha, the lower abdominal muscle lock.  Bob draws his belly button in towards his spine and up towards his ribs. This movement will firm the muscles of his abdomen and his lower back providing some support and protection to his lower back muscles.
• Finally Bob’s teacher tells him to walk his feet a little closer to his hands. This makes it easier for him to lift his shoulders up from the floor.

All of these modifications will take pressure off of the muscles in Bob’s lower back and allow his back to return to its natural curves.

But how will Bob get better at the pose if he is doing all of these modifications?

After Bob incorporates all of these modifications and the pain has gone away from his lower back he is ready to move forward in the pose by using the Edge.

Pay close attention to the feedback from your body.  Start to move your body closer to the alignment described in the How to do the pose section.  As soon as your body starts to complain back off slightly and hold in that position.  Each time you exhale let your body move very slightly further into the pose and with your next inhale move back to your starting position. Over time you will discover that your body is comfortable with being a little further in the pose than it was before.

Continue this slow and slight movement forward and back and you will move your edge further and further towards the final alignment of the pose and you will avoid causing pain in your lower back.

Summary

Bob enters Downward Facing Dog with the same caution as he always does waiting for his back to start to hurt.  He incorporates all of the modifications that his teacher recommended after the last class.  His shoulders are above the straight line from his wrists to his hips.  His heels are lifted and his knees are bent more than usual. He engages Uddiyana Bandha firmly and holds in the pose.

Using the feedback from his body, Bob slowly approaches his Edge and holds there.

Bob is overjoyed!  There is no pain from his lower back. This is the first time that Bob has done the pose without any back pain.  His teacher’s suggestions worked.

Next Steps

If you are suffering from lower back pain when you are doing Downward Facing Dog talk to your yoga teacher about incorporating these modifications into your pose.

Additional Readings

You can learn more about the Edge by reading Goldilocks and the 3 bears find the edge.

There are many more Downward Facing Dog articles that you can read.

Uddiyana Bandha is an important part of protecting your lower back. Read How to do Uddiyana Bandha and Ujjayi Pranayamato learn more about it.

Check out the Injury Free Yoga website to learn more ways to protect yourself from injury while you are doing yoga.