Everybody does yoga, right?! Not really, but for those that do, here are the best poses hand-picked by me. I also have a few that I don’t like at all. I won’t describe the actual movements because I don’t make myself out to be a yoga expert in any sense. Rather, I will discuss these poses from a physical therapy and back health perspective that I collected at https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/best-cbd-oil-for-pain-top-5-brands-and-buyers-guide as I was learning more about these different Yoga poses.
Read on… First, the good ones: Downward Facing Dog Lifting your hips and buttocks straight up into the air teaches you how to properly hinge your hips. Recommended because this is the safe way to use your hips and back. The hip hinge is such an important movement to learn for real-life lifting and bending. I like this one a whole lot. Forward Bend This too teaches the all-important hip hinge. I like this a lot.
Just be sure not to curl your back if you lack the needed hamstring flexibility on this one. Double-Leg Forward Stretch Hip hinge again, this time seated. I like it a lot, just don’t round your back. Chair Nice one for the core, hips, thighs, and trunk. This also works your balance. As long as your trunk muscles stay contracted at all times, this is a home run in my book.
Dolphin This is like a modified plank position just angled at the hips with the all-important hip hinge. A winner in my book! Plank You want to add endurance to your abdominal muscles? A+ in my book. Keep this one in your daily yoga routine and you are setting the stage for a healthy, strong back. Reverse Plank Now you want to add endurance to the glutes and lower back muscles. You earn another A+!! This is a nice one, just be careful if you have any shoulder issues, as you are in quite a bit of shoulder extension with this one. Now for the ugly ones: Cobra I don’t hate it, but don’t love it. You are putting your back into some serious extension here, although it is a passive movement with theoretically little back muscle activation, I am not always a fan of compressing your facet joints here. Stay away if you have back problems.
Locust The worst I’ve seen! This is the same as the dreaded “superman” exercise. This puts tremendous shear and load on your intervertebral discs. Highly highly highly NOT recommended! Yes, you will get fantastic muscle activation of the back extensors, there is no arguing that. But you will pay the price, believe me. Camel Meh. Not a huge fan of this one, again due to the extension position of the lower back. Like the cobra, not the worst, but not the best for back health.
