5 yoga poses to help relieve back pain during pregnancy

7/17/2017

I taught prenatal yoga for 9 years before becoming pregnant myself. I knew low back pain was a major part of pregnancy for most people. I knew anatomically why this was and I even knew ways to help prevent it. Let me tell you, I was still not prepared for the achy low back that showed up for me toward the end of my 2nd trimester and into my 3rd (and oh by the way, continued postpartum!).

Low back pain can be triggered by a myriad of things in pregnancy, one of the most common causes is the added load in the front of the body, courtesy of baby combined with the loss of abdominal of support (also thanks to baby) which causes the low back to have to work much harder and also get more exaggerated in its curvature. Not to mention all the bad postural habits we get into as our posture shifts that can further aggravate this issue.

The good thing? I had yoga to help guide me through this time. The great thing? You don’t need a whole yoga class to help your back feel better (I’ve got some short online yoga videos to address back pain) and you can also introduce these poses into your daily routine to help your back stay healthier and happier through your pregnancy and into your postpartum recovery:

Cat/Cow
A staple of any yoga practice. Let your focus be on the cat spine (we already spend most of our day in a cow spine). As you round into cat do the following to help deepen the stretch for the spine:

Push the floor away with your hands.
Curl the chin toward the chest.
Hug baby in toward your spine.

Cat/Cow Flow
Build on your cat/cow by widening the knees to allow room for baby and flowing from cow to cat and then from cat back to prayer pose. As you flow from cat to prayer, do the following:

Maintain the back rounding of cat the entire time.
Sit back only as far as feels comfortable for your knees.
If anywhere along the way you feel a nice stretch for your back, pause and take a few breaths there.

Prayer Pose
A great place to rest and also find length for the low back. Make this a place to stay even longer by placing a bolster or pillow under your head and chest (take it to the bra line to allow room for baby as you fold forward). Make sure your knees are wide to allow room for baby and take the hips toward the heels to lengthen low back.

Opposite Limb Extension
Part of addressing low back pain is also helping to strengthen the low back. Use opposite limb extension to help strengthen the back and the glutes and safely strengthen the core. To explore this pose:

Start in table with one leg extended the toes on the floor.
Before you lift the leg, push the floor away with the hands and hug baby toward spine to help flatten low back, then float the toes off the floor.
If it feels available lift the opposite arm.

Legs Up the Wall
One of my favorite restorative poses during pregnancy, this pose can also provide some relief for a tired low back (and those poor swollen feet). Here’s the trick for coming into the pose:

Start with a bolster, pillow or folded blanket against the wall.
Sit with the side of the body against the wall on the edge of the prop, leave the whole prop open behind you.
Bring the outside arm to the floor and rotate the hips so that your butt and feet touch the wall. Stay on the prop.
Now bring the head down and scoot back toward the wall if you came away.
Use the bottom arm to then help push you up as you swing your legs up the wall.

Cat Cow