Try these simple yoga poses for
natural pain relief and a fit body
Banging headache? Bad back? You might want
to reach for a yoga mat before popping a pill next time you’re feeling under
the weather. Yoga has been used for centuries as a powerful natural healing
method for a whole range of health woes, from digestion issues to PMS, and it’s
still a useful wellness tool today.
‘This ancient holistic technique goes
beyond the physical, working with the deeper energy channels,’ explains yoga
teacher Sally Lovett (stretchingthecity.com). ‘Specific asanas [poses] can
awaken and relax areas of the body to relieve and, in some cases, even cure
certain ailments.’
You
might want to reach for a yoga mat before popping a pill next time you’re
feeling under the weather.
Sally has hand-picked eight yoga moves to
create an immune-boosting, pain-relieving workout for Women’s Fitness. You can
use these moves to ward off tension, keep your muscles relaxed, digestion
flowing and your body generally fighting fit.
Ready to give it a try? Grab your yoga mat
and get stretching
The digestion booster
Reclining spinal twist
How it heals: flushes and refreshes the
internal organs, relieving constipation and spurring a sluggish digestive
system into action
Technique
Lie on your back with your arms
outstretched in a ‘T’ shape with your palms facing upwards.
Bend your legs to a 90-degree angle, so
your knees are in line with your hips. Breathe in, and as you exhale drop your
knees to the left and turn your head to the right.
With every exhalation, let your right
shoulder soften towards the floor a little more. Repeat on the other side.
The tension buster
Neck roll
How it heals: relieves tension in the neck
and shoulders
relieves
tension in the neck and shoulders
Technique
Sitting upright and keeping your spine
straight, lower your chin to your chest. Hold for three breaths.
Slowly and gently roll your left ear
toward your left shoulder, letting your right shoulder drop away from your
right ear. Hold for three breaths.
Slowly move in a semicircle, rolling your
right ear to your right shoulder. Repeat for three breaths. Moving with the
breath, continue to move your neck in this semicircle motion, both clockwise
and anti-clockwise.
The spine stretcher
Downward dog
How it heals: lengthens the spine and
stretches the hamstrings to alleviate lower-back pain
Technique
Start on all fours, with your hands splayed
and placed about shoulder-width apart on the mat, and your knees under your
hips.
Gently push up onto your toes, keeping your
knees slightly bent as you do so, and raise your tailbone toward the ceiling.
Keeping your hands splayed, push into the
floor and gradually begin to lower your heels down to the floor.
The circulation tune-up
Boat pose with rotating wrists and
ankles
Boat
pose with rotating wrists and ankles
How it heals: warms up the body and
improves blood flow to the fingers and toes
Technique
Sit on your yoga mat and raise your arms
and legs, so that your shins are parallel to the floor and your arms are
outstretched. Keep your spine straight, dropping your toes to the floor if you
experience any discomfort in your lower back.
Holding this pose, take strong, energizing
breaths in to build heat in your body and start to rotate your wrists and
ankles in a gentle figure-of-eight motion.
Rotate your wrists and ankles in the
opposite direction. Hold boat pose for five breaths, rest for three, then
repeat three times.
The PMS reliever
Child’s pose
How it heals: naturally massages the
abdominal organs, relieves lower-back tension and calms the mind
How
it heals: naturally massages the abdominal organs, relieves lower-back tension
and calms the mind
Technique
Kneel on all fours with your legs together
and knees hip-width apart. Push back so that your bottom is resting on your
heels and your forehead is resting on the floor.
You can either keep your arms as they are,
stretched out in front of you, or for a more nurturing version of the pose,
place your arms alongside your body with your fingertips pointing toward your
heels.
Closing your eyes, take soft, deep
abdominal breaths, feeling your belly pressing against your thighs as you
inhale and letting your hips drop back further toward your heels with every
exhalation.
The immunity enhancer
Bridge pose
How it heals: breathes life back into the
lungs and energizes the oxygen in the bloodstream
Technique
Lie on your back with your legs bent, feet
hip-width apart and your heels close to your bottom. Keep your arms alongside
your body with your palms facing down.
Pressing your feet firmly into the floor,
breathe in and squeeze your bottom to raise your hips up. Your body should be in
a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
Hold for five breaths, breathing deeply to
expand the chest before slowly lowering your hips down as you exhale.
The blood pressure regulator
Meditation in a seated pose
How it heals: calms the mind, reduces
stress, slows the heart rate and stimulates the calm-inducing parasympathetic
nervous system
Meditation
in a seated pose
Technique
Sit in a cross-legged position, using a
cushion if your hips are lower than your knees.
Place your hands on your knees, close your
eyes and soften the muscles in your face.
Maintaining length in your spine, take deep
and even breaths, filling your lungs. Feel your body expand as you breathe in,
and soften as you exhale. Try to keep your focus fully on your breathing and your
body.
The muscle relaxer
Low lunge
How it heals: helps to relieve tight quads
and hip flexors, which can become shorter and tighter during runs
How
it heals: helps to relieve tight quads and hip flexors, which can become
shorter and tighter during runs
Technique
Start in downward dog position and bring
your right foot forward so that it sits comfortably between your hands and your
right knee is above your ankle.
Push up onto your fingertips as you gently
sink down into your right hip, extending your left leg and heel away from you
until you feel a good stretch in your groin.
Inhale and rock forward slightly and, as
you exhale, push back, as if you were pressing your left heel against a wall.
After five breaths step back and resume the downward dog position. Repeat on
the other side.
