Things You'll Need:
- Yoga ball
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Step 1
Lie on your back with the yoga ball propped against a wall so it cannot roll away. Set your heels on the yoga ball and bend your knees.
By lying back and allowing your lower back to stretch, you deactivate your dominant muscles, quadratas lumboratorum, allowing them to relax, reducing pain. Remain for 20 to 30 seconds. -
Step 2
Use the yoga ball to do a variation of Setu Bandhasana, or bridge pose.
Set the ball against the wall and this time lie back and set your calves on top of the yoga ball.
Place your palms flat by your sides and lift your hips up, keeping your calves on the ball. Point the tailbone towards the wall to lengthen the low back instead of pushing the hips towards the ceiling.
Remain for several breaths and lower down to rest. -
Step 3
Turn away from the wall and lie down flat and hold the ball between your hands as you extend your arms straight so the ball is directly above your chest.
Extend your legs to straight, flexing your heels into the floor. -
Step 4
Lift your legs and trap the yoga ball between your feet and lower the legs toward the floor, engaging your lower abdominal muscles, transversus abdominis.
Simultaneously extend your empty hands over head.
Exhale powerfully to lift the legs back towards the ceiling, transferring the ball back between the hands. Repeat for 10 rounds. Rest. -
Step 5
Place the yoga ball at the wall at the height of your shoulderblades. Stand in front of the ball, so that your back is pinning it into the wall. Start with your legs straight and then bend you knees as if you are lowering your hips into an invisible chair below you.
The yoga ball will move down your back from the shoulder blades to your low back.
Straighten the legs to return to the starting position.
Repeat several times to massage the low back and long muscles that lie on either side of the spine, the erector spinae. Rest.
