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Back bends
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Jivete, sounds good! Post pics when you’re done.
I was thinking of spray painting the inside but was too impatient to wait for multiple coats to dry and turn it over and stuff… So I just found patterned duct tape. I still had to wait for the spray glue on the yoga mat to dry and that was hard enough. 😛
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Let us know if you get results from that. I am ordering a yoga wheel. All stretches hurt me because I have back problems and I want to see if the wheel helps painlessly.
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Luvlee, I just got my yoga wheel, I love it! however, it can actually be a little painful. kind of the way a foam roller can be painful, just from pressure. I would recommend warming your back up a little bit before using the wheel. But seriously, I love it and want to roll around on it all the time. you can control how much or how little pressure you want to put on it. I have a very stiff upper back and I find it very useful for opening my shoulders and upper back. sometimes I just wanna lay on it.
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also, maybe roll with the foam roller before you do the wheel? if your back hurts from stretches I wonder if this might be too intense of a stretch? it is like the foam roller on steroids. I guess it just depends on what’s going on with your back.
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I just got drift trike, aka a piece of white PVC, last night, and laid on it plain. Wowzers. It’s intense but in a good way. Luckily I’ve been working up to a similar stretch in aerial, so my abs at least are getting used to it. I really this this may be the trick to finally opening my upper back/shoulders. Can’t wait to get it all put together.
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Things like a back bend hurt and my shoulders are so bad that I can’t stay in one. Then my back hurts for days. I have a long torso and pinches nerves in my lower back and stretching for back bends pinches those nerves more I have been told. I love foam rolling though. I just got a Rumble Roller too and it doesn’t hurt, so i bet I would be ok.
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Also a big inflatable fitness ball might be good for you to lay on too. 🙂 if you are having pinchy nerve pain I would just start very slow and gradual. Your back might be quite flexible but you may not have the strength to support the flex and that can cause lingering pain after backbends. Maybe start small and focus on back strengthening more so than flexibility at least initially. Veena will probably have good suggestions for you. I have several Herniated discs and I’ve had spinal surgery, I can relAte to what you may be feeling. 🙁 hope your back gets strong and healthy! 🙂 it can happen! I’m proof , hehe
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A big fit ball is great and I used it a lot when first starting back bending. I would suggest using the 30 day’s to Flexy program, because it does focus on building the appropriate strength needed for back bending. I was never very naturally flexible when it comes to my spine so you’ll be learning what I’ve used to train myself.
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I want a ball as well. Just laying on one helps my back feel way better. I have ben told by chiropractors that most stretches that normal people can do with no pain are actually bad for my back and the shape and that is why I have been getting hurt and no progress for years. I have tried since I started poling to get a more flexible back, but then I get injured and have to stop. It has been a viscious cycle.
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the big fitness balls are nice too cuz theyre more forgiving and since they are big they don’t overexagerate the lumbar curve. Plus there are seriously endless exercise possibilities. Such a good investment and so much cheaper than the wheel. I would do a fitness ball before the wheel esp with low back problems and ask your doctor what he thinks about the wheel cuz it seems like it may reverse your progress :/
I’ve wondered about the dharma wheel and how it could possibly be a one size fits most situation. It def looks like it fits some peoples back better than others. Wonder if lulu lemon sells them/let’s people demo sizes in store…
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For me personally, I would be using it to open my upper back since my lower back is where the issue is. My chiropractor says that there is a natural curve in my lower back and that is why I get the pinched nerve, so I should not try to get more bend in that area because it just crushed my nerves. Working on my upper back would help even what bend I have out.
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luvlee, you always want to focus on the spine as a whole, so yes, focusing on just the lower back is usually not necessary as this is often the easiest (not best) place to find mobility. I also have a curve in my low back and training has been wonderful for it. I use to have chronic back pain as a teen, in 20s and after kids, until I started training properly. I would ask your chiro why he feels training is not recommend because often it can help, then ask for suggestions for exercises that are appropriate for your back!
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something that has been very helpful for my back and backbending has been to also work on stretching out my quads and hip flexors. when those are tight it puts a lot of pressure on your lower back. also work on opening the shoulder and strengthening my upper back. that way I am able to distribute the arch of my backbend more into my upper back. it has been a slow gradual process. so if I’m working on my backbends I make sure to stretch out my splits first. it helps to open my hip flexors for backbending.
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She just said that bending my lower back is why I have punched nerves and that I should avoid bending my lower back to avoid the nerve pinching worse. Every time I would do any back stretching, I would be crippled and at the doctor the next day and it would hurt for weeks just from doing camel stretches and such. She just said we are all different and I can not bend like that without making my condition worse. Good to know because I have been injuring myself trying so hard and wondering why I would never progress and get worse every time.
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Camel pose is still one of the trickiest for me. I have to be very careful doing it. it is the worse on my lower back. couldnt even do it till my hip flexors got much better and my abdominal muscles were alot stronger. I wouldnt even worry about camel pose for you right now. that one is tough! i still skip over that one some days. that one can screw up my back and I can barely walk for days. atleast it used to be that way. it used to suck pretty bad. so sorry you are going through that. that may be something you will need to build up to much later. also, I have to come out of a stretch very very very very very, did I say very, very slow. if I come out of any back stretch at even a normal rate of speed I can easily get that pinched nerve that lingers. there is lot of thinking when it comes to back bends. seriously so much concentration and strength. I had to relearn how to lengthen and support my spine throughout any back bendy stuff I do. when I was younger I would just collapse into my back bends because Im very bendy in my lower back. cant do that no more. I’ve had to really change my approach to flexibility as a whole and think of it more from a strength based approach
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