Yoga To Relieve Lower Back Pain in Pregnancy

Lower back pain is a topic that comes up frequently in our opening circle chats at pregnancy yoga.

During pregnancy we release a hormone called relaxin, which helps soften the ligaments (and also our minds) in preparation for birthing our babies.

This, coupled with the natural postural changes and extra weight necessary for growing a baby, can create instability in the pelvic girdle, affecting the lower back.

Focusing on creating stability in the hips and being mindful of our shifting posture, as well as releasing tension, can be really helpful in relieving lower back discomfort.

Here are five things I love to include in class to alleviate lower back pain:

TVA ACTIVATION

Our transverse abdominis, or TVA, is a deep core muscle. It’s like a corset that wraps around our waist, and one of the most important muscles to prevent back pain. 

Try this: Come onto all fours, hands under shoulders, knees under hips, padding the joints as needed. Place a block or pillow between your thighs. Inhale into your back ribs, and as you exhale, make a ‘ssshing’ sound and imagine you were drawing the two front hip bones towards each other. Repeat a few times, then once you feel comfortable, start to add in raising alternate arms, keeping everything else as still and stable as possible.

HIP STABILITY

Relaxin does an incredible job creating the softness necessary to birth our babies but the added mobility can impact our sacroiliac joints. Doing work to stabilise and strengthen the hips can make your body sing again!

Try this: Stand with the feet hip width apart, place a block or pillow between your thighs. Inhale and come into chair pose, exhale press the ground away and return to standing. Repeat 5-10 times, inhaling to lower, exhaling to return to standing.

THORACIC ROTATION

During pregnancy we want to avoid any deep twists that compress the growing uterus, but that doesn’t mean we want to avoid twisting altogether as it is a movement that is vital for spinal health. Restriction in the mid or upper back is often felt further down the chain in the lumbar – taking time to do gentle rotation can make the world of difference.

Try this: Come to a comfortable crossed legged or kneeling position, elevating the pelvis on a cushion or block. Inhale, lift the arms overhead, exhale take a gentle rotation to your right, lifting up and out of the lower back, keeping the belly soft and pointing forward, and turning from the chest upwards. Repeat on the other side. This isn’t about coming into a deep twist, but instead getting gentle motion through the middle and upper back.

PSOAS RELEASE

Your posture changes in pregnancy to accommodate your growing belly, with the curve of the lower back becoming more pronounced. This increased anterior tilt of the pelvis can create tightness in the hip flexors and tension in the mid back as the body compensates. Releasing the hip flexors can be so beneficial in freeing the spine.

Try this: Stand on a block or low step with one leg, holding onto a wall or railing for support. Let the opposite leg dangle down and swing it back and forth, like a pendulum. Do for about 30-60 seconds, then switch sides and repeat.

CALF RELEASE

Our heels connect to our sitbones, and tension in the backs of our legs can pull on the sitbones and SIJ, creating discomfort. Releasing your calves can be really helpful if you’re suffering from lower back pain and also aids restless legs.

Try this: Stand on a low step, holding onto a wall or railing for support. Keep the balls of the feet on the step, then lengthen one heel towards the earth. Hold for 30-60 seconds then switch sides.

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only. Please check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise during pregnancy.

Enjoyed reading? Practice pregnancy yoga with me every Tuesday, 6-7pm, at the Lifecare Centre in Stockbridge. Book here.

Pelvic Girdle Pain In Pregnancy? Try This...

Are you experiencing Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) during pregnancy? Here are some ways you can adapt your yoga practice…

While not harmful for baby, PGP can cause a range of uncomfortable symptoms, such as pubic pain, hip pain, groin pain, and lower back pain. 

It can be worse when standing on one leg, walking, going up and down stairs, or moving the legs to get in and out of the car.

I would always recommend a pregnant student experiencing PGP sees their GP and a physio first to get a proper diagnosis and treatment, there are still many ways we can support them in class, focusing on creating stability in the pelvic girdle to offset the impact of relaxin, which the body produces to soften the ligaments in preparation to birth our babies.

Here are five ways I like to support my students with PGP in their yoga practice:

1: Less External Rotation

Swap poses with a lot of external rotation, such as sukasana and baddha konasana, for those with more internal rotation, such as virasana, kneeling on a bolster, hugging the bolster with the legs to connect to the midline for stability in the pelvis.

2: Build Hip Stability

Swap deep squats (malasana) for chair pose with a block between the thighs, or if you’re still comfortable on your baby, bridge pose pulses with a block between the thighs. Again the block helps generate midline stability, and chair can help build strength in the legs for labour and birth.

3: Adapt Your Core Work

Swap bird dog for ‘block’ dog arm raises: instead of lifting alternate arm and leg at the same time, get creative. From all fours, place a block or cushion between the inner thighs. Inhale to prepare, exhale squeeze the block, lifting pelvic floor and gently hugging baby to spine, while lifting alternate arms. This is a great one for challenging the core and pelvic floor: try to keep everything else as still and stable as possible!

4: Shorten Your Stance

Shorten your stance in standing postures. Relaxin can make us feel like we can go deeper into poses, exacerbating instability. Keeping the feet closer together can help mitigate this.

5: Embrace Chair Yoga

Use a chair for support during standing postures such as warrior 2 and side angle. Adapting our practice during pregnancy doesn’t make it less valid; it means you’re learning how to truly listen to and honour your body, which is a skill that will serve you so well during pregnancy and postpartum.

Enjoyed reading? Practice pregnancy yoga with me every Tuesday, 6-7pm, at the Lifecare Centre in Stockbridge. For more information and booking, click here.

5 Poses To Prepare Your Pelvis For Birth

Did you know your pelvis is designed to expand during childbirth? 

Our pelvis is this incredible bowl-like structure comprising four main bones: the ilium (hip bones), which meet at the pubic bone, the ischium (sit bones), sacrum, and the coccyx. 

Relaxin, a hormone released during pregnancy, softens the ligaments, enabling the joints to widen and creating even more space in the pelvis.

When we labour in upright, active positions (think supported standing, swaying, all-fours, squats, lunges), the sacrum and tailbone are free to move, maximising the space available for baby to rotate and descend through the pelvis.

These are 5 of my favourite yoga poses to help prepare your body for birth. We practise these regularly during our pregnancy yoga classes so that when the time comes to birth your baby, you can instinctively move into the positions that feel right for you.

1: Hip Circles

A wonderful way to balance the pelvis, releasing tension and increasing mobility. Come onto all fours, padding your knees with a blanket. Start to circle the hips clockwise, the circles can be as big or small as you desire, and get creative. After a minute or so, change direction. Close the eyes or soften your gaze to really drop into your body and breath, and connect to what feels good for you and your baby.

2: KIKO Hip Rocks

KIKO, or Knees In Calves Out, is a wonderful pose to lengthen and release the pelvic floor. The internal rotation of the thighs here also helps increase the diameters of the pelvic outlet (bottom of pelvis), creating more space for baby to be born. To do it, come onto all fours, keeping the knees under the hips, but take the heels wide. Inhale to rock back, sending the sit bones towards the heels, exhale to rock forwards. Again, close your eyes, get into a rhythm, and if you notice a lot of pelvic tension feel free to linger where you get a release.

3: Rocking Lunges

These are great from lengthening the inner thighs and pelvic floor, which are connected. The asymmetrical nature of the pose can also help create space for baby to engage and journey down during labour. To do these, from all fours step the right foot to the outside your right hand, turning the toes out about 45 degrees. Bring the foot far enough forwards so that it is fully grounded. Inhale to rock forwards on a slight diagonal, bending the front knee, exhale to rock back. I like to have my hands on blocks for this to keep the chest lifted and create a bit more length in the front of the hips, but you could also rest the hands on a chair for support.

4: Rocking Squat

This helps lengthen and release tension in the pelvic floor, and open up the pelvis for birth. Come into a squat, placing cushions under the heels if they want to lift, and have the hands on blocks. Rock side to side, relaxing the jaw and sighing deeply as you go.

Disclaimer, please do not do deep squats if you have been diagnosed with placenta previa or a low lying placenta, and avoid after 36 weeks.

5: Calf Release

Tightness in the calves can create tension further up the chain, around the sit bones and sacrum. Releasing them can help mobilise the sacrum for birth and help alleviate lower back pain. To do this one, simply find a step, stand on it, and lengthen one heel towards the earth. Hold the stretch for 60-90 seconds, then switch sides.

Enjoyed this post? Practice pregnancy yoga with me every Tuesday, 6-7pm, at the Lifecare Centre Edinburgh. Click here to book.