Our wonderful and amazing Yoga Teacher Ruth has some pointers on how to do backbends safely! Ruth's expertise in working with the human body is extensive, and we are so happy to have her share her wisdom with us all!
Three main points for safe back bending are:
Engage your glutes! Keep your glutes (your powerful butt muscles) firm and strong to protect your low back in backward bends.
Push your hip bones forward when backbending. You want to avoid tucking your tailbone, as that is moving the spine in a different direction than we want it to go in a backward bend (spinal extension).
Lengthen your abdominals. Lengthening your front body is how we access the backbend. When you feel abdominals all the way up to your chest lengthening on your front body ... you know you are heading in the right direction!
Backward bending can be scary, strange and uncomfortable at first, But when you follow these simple tips and approach them safely, they may start to feel heavenly! Yoga moves us in so many different ways!
Don't take our word for it...try it in your body and see for yourself!
See you at the studio and feel free to ask any questions about healthy back bending at the front desk next time you take class!
Lots of Love & Gratitude,
Sally, Amy and the Village Yoga Team