Yoga for Beginners: Healthy Backbend Prep – Free Online Yoga Video

Backbending is a wonderful and energizing element in most yoga classes. These yoga poses take some preparation to get into, and require a lot of subtle actions to do correctly and safely. This simple sequence is meant as a safe and accessible way to begin preparing for yoga poses that bring your body into a backbend. Follow along with the free online yoga video tutorial below as YogaUOnline’s Jasmine Punzalan provides new layers of understanding and body awareness to your backbending practice.

Backbending is a wonderful and energizing element in most yoga classes. These yoga poses take some preparation to get into, and require a lot of subtle actions to do correctly and safely. This simple sequence is meant as a safe and accessible way to begin preparing for yoga poses that bring your body into a backbend. Follow along with the free online yoga video tutorial below as YogaUOnline’s Jasmine Punzalan provides new layers of understanding and body awareness to your backbending practice.

Benefits of Backbends

• Counteract rounded shoulders.

• Increase mobility of spine.

• Improves posture.

• Boost your mood, relieve stress and wakes you up.

• Opens the heart and the mind.

Contraindications to Practicing Backbends

• Lumbar facet arthritis.

• Lumbar spondylolisthesis, a condition where the vertebrae bone above slides forward of the one below.

• Chronic low back pain that worsens with backbends.

• Anxiety that worsens with backbends.

• Cervical arthritis (if you need to avoid taking your neck and head back)

• Vertigo that is sensitive to extension of the neck

• Osteoporosis. Avoid extreme backbends.

• Wedge fractures. Avoid all backbends, even shallow ones.

• Abdominal hernias or diastasis recti (abdominal wall separation).

• Untreated hypertension (high blood pressure). Avoid longer holds of active backbends. Supported backbends (such as Bridge pose on a block) or restorative backbends are fine.

Safely Preparing for Backbends: A Simple Tutorial

First a note on some basic body alignment in all backbends:

• It’s important for your legs to be in a neutral position (meaning: toes and knees point straight forward and the thighs should be parallel to one another)

• Keeping the legs neutral helps to maintain a healthy width in the lower back

• The area of the spine that you want to do the backbend is in your upper-mid back – the thoracic spine (avoid arching in the lower back and the neck as much as you can)

• When you are backbending – focus on really opening up the hip flexors (the front of the hips)

1. Start in Virasana sitting on a block in its flattest position. Make sure your heels are going straight back and not puffing out to the side

2. Check your thighs position by bringing your forearms in front of you. Place your elbows near your hip creases and “karate chop” your hands on your thighs. Your fingers should be in line with the center of your knees.

Finding Mindfulness in Hero’s Pose

3. Take a moment to close your eyes and connect with your breath.

4. Find a vertical spine. Roll your upper arms back to open the collar bones. Make sure your front ribs draw gently in towards your back.

5. On inhales find more length between your sternum and hip bones, but don’t lose the connection between the front ribs and spine.

6. Establish a smooth and steady rhythm with your breath.

Opening the Chest – Finding a Baby Backbend

7. Interlace the fingers together behind your back and extend your arms. (If you are tight in your shoulders hold a strap instead of holding hands.)

8. Lift your shoulders up a small amount in order to relax the base of your neck.

9. Raise your hands back and up – press your shoulder blades into your chest.

10. Rain in the movement in your lower back.

11. Keep drawing your ribs down towards your front hips.

12. Stay for 3 more breaths.

13. On your final exhale release your hands and repeat with the opposite thumb on top.

Sources:
Benefits source: http://www.lovelifesurf.com/benefits-of-practicing-backbends/
Contraindication source: http://yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.com/2015/12/friday-practical-pointers-who-should.html