In my last article, I wrote about how traumatic experiences can store themselves in your psoas and contribute to back pain. My self-care routine now combines varied movement – from Pilates, Yoga, and Yoga Tune Up® to cycling, swimming and even running short distances. When there’s pain, which sometimes there is, I tell myself, “It’s just pain”, and do something simple. Even if it doesn’t seem like much – from Apanasana at the wall and leg stretches to lying down on my Coregeous ball and just breathing, every little bit helps. And when there is no pain, I make sure to give myself the full program!
Here are a few essential exercises to strengthen and stretch your entire core, from diaphragm and abdominals to obliques and your QL. Because a Yoga Tune Up® corrective program wouldn’t be complete without some therapy ball love, you can also enjoy the below sequence that will give your lower back a new lease on life. Remember that in addition to adding varied movement to your fitness routine, keep getting Coregeous – the benefits far outweigh the initial discomforts of this powerful purple ball!
Enjoyed this article? Read Abdominal Massage: What Do You Store In Your Core?
These movements are so difficult yet incredibly helpful! Understanding the different parts of the core—front, side, and back—and learning how to move and stabilize them can make a big difference in maintaining a healthy back. Plus, they improve overall body awareness, helping us move with more ease and confidence in everyday life.
I keep seeing more and more articles that hit home deeply in my tissues! I am going to do these moves with my partner tonight, thank you so much. It is truly incredible how much the core and spine rely on one another. I have a lot of work to do! Looking forward to releasing all the things I no longer need to carry within mysef! “I am the master of me!”
Thank you for the tips to strengthen and stretch my entire core, from diaphragm and abdominals to obliques and my QL!
thankyou. These videos are packed with core moves that i know will energize, well, everything and keep the back fluid and mobile.
The connection that our breath has with our bodies is so amazing! I have experienced so much relief from back pain with use of my therapy balls and specifically the coregeous ball! Thanks so much a quick, concise and informative video!
Thank you for offering a 5 minutes sequence, I’m new to YTU and it is helpful to have an example of how to put together some positions.
I just finished Day 2 of my YTU training and I love this little sequence. I work with a lot of athletes who lift – and their go to complaint is “my back is bugging me”. Most of them don’t want to take an hour to roll out or stretch to deregulate after their workouts. So anything that is quick – like these 5 minutes – and effective is gold to me!
I just finished my L1 YTU training and I am so amazed by the corelation of the breath (movement of the diaphragm) influencing the psoas as well as the lower back. It’s incredible how all parts of the body are so connected to one another. I read your post, and right away went in the living room to give a Coregeous ball to my mother in law haha, she has been suffering from back paine for a while now and I am sure the YTU balls are gonne do wonders!:)
As someone who has suffered from low back pain, this article has been very interesting and informative. I will definitely be adding these movements to my daily practice, focusing more on the strengthening elements and not only stretching. Thanks!
THIS!
Re-COREganizing… It means all you need to know in this perspective.
Love it! The back extension on the coregeous ball is amazing!
Thank you for the great information and video’s. As someone who has had back pain for sometime now, I will definitely be adding these to my practice.
LOVE sidewinder but side bending savasana is now my new best friend!
I will be adding the Coregeous work to my back routine (laying on it & lifting my torso into a slight backbend).
Yes I agree, I myself enjoy Apanasana, specially on a block but you benefit more by introducing new things like rolling your upper back or glutes which can help with low back pain by releasing it’s tension.
Thank you for the great tips and the sequences for the core and lower back pain relief.
I really love the essential exercises to strengthen and stretch the entire core, from diaphragm and abdominals to obliques and your QL, with the combination of using the balls as well!
Thanks for putting together these sequences. I will modify them to suit my body, but they will still do it´s work in strengthening both core and spine. Also, it´s great to do a nice little roll out snack for the lower back.
Looking for sale on blanket to integrate as soon as possible with my running and cycling athlete
Really excellent mixture of routines to heal the core. Thanks!
Thank you for this video. I like the idea of the blanket on the ground and using your core to sway with it. I had a terrible back injury in 2012 and just watching your movements still makes me cringe, but I know that from strengthening my core, I have helped minimize my back pain almost completely. This is great to do with my Mom, because she is suffering from her back pain. Also, I saw the other video of you bridging on a block and mentioned if your back hurts, you are not ready for that one…I thought if your back was hurting you were not engaging your core. I have to learn more of a fine line between discomfort and pain. I am sure we will address this in training! Thank You!
So important to work all the areas of the core – these are great! Many of them are also sneaky. They don’t look too hard, but you’ll be sweating! Jill makes them look too easy.
I find when I sit too long, my low back gets mad, so I got a standing desk and incorporated rolling and strengthening the low back to bring back balance.
These sequences look great for building core strength and relieving lower back pain.
With all the spinal and hip flexion that I do in my life, incorporating more lateral flexion will definitely help with my tight lower back.
These look great! I also have lower back pain especially when coming out of should stand I shall keep them in mind!
These look really helpful! I too have problems especially after doing a should stand I shall keep these in mine.
So many great variations and great tips to relieve lower back pain, really enjoyed the video and will definitely include in my personal practice.
great core exercises! thank you so much for the information
I really appreciate that you put an emphasis on variation. I often find when I start to feel pain or discomfort in my body it’s because I’m not switching things up enough. I love riding my bike, but my body is very clear with me when I need to get my butt off the saddle and onto a mat. Variation also keeps me from burning out or losing interest. It’s funny how now that I’m getting older, I don’t need to be the master of any one sport/activity, it just want to keep moving and enjoying being in my body!
wow!!! so many great ideas for a workout/stretches!
Those are some seriously awesome core strengtheners!!!
Bonjour!
Merci pour ce partage et de nous sensibiliser au fait que les douleurs du bas du dos peuvent la dues à plusieurs facteurs et que nous devons regarder l’ensemble du corps dans sa totalité en terme de prévention. Travailler le core est tellement important et l’on oublie qu’un core solide et en santé aura un impact direct sur la santé du dos…
Thanks for the great tips to relieve lower back pain! I recently spent a longer time than normal in shoulder stand, and had immediate tension in my right trapezius afterward. Are there any exercises or ball techniques that can help to relieve tension in the upper back?
Love this video, especially low back massage, using yogatuneup balls
Love this, especially the core strengthening. Relieving lower back pain can help us all! The quick fix is perfect for those who struggle with time. It’s all floor based which I find easier to encourage students to do these movements. Thanks for the vids!
After yoga tune up, I have learned several techniques to relieve my chronic lower back pain. Personally, one thing I love to do is to roll out my lower back – muscles such as the quadratus lumborum, erector spinae, and illiocostalis. By doing so on a daily basis, I am able to relieve almost all of my back pain and this has been so beneficial!
The video links were helpful. I loved the low back massage and simple pelvic tilts with the tune up balls. Very easy to do. Thanks.
I love rolling my core with my Coregeous ball. I particularly love stretching out my obliques with it. It’s a great way to open up that area very quickly.
très efficaces ces exercices , j’apprécie les variantes avec différents outils (ballons, balles , blocs ). j’en inclurai dans ma pratique !
J’adore la Coregeous vidéo! Ce n’était pas simple à réaliser, mais j’ai toutefois adoré les séquences!
These exercises seem really easy to do and the results are enormous!
Back pain is the worst.
Thanks!
The link to the video of Jill was great to show how to strengthen the core muscles (transverse abdomens, internal & external obliques, and rectus abdominis). This series will help clients who have back pain and don’t know how to use self care techniques to get relief. I am currently in training and look forward to
giving my clients this series along with the ball rolling. I’m wondering how someone could do this on a carpeted surface if they don’t have wood flooring?
One day at a time when dealing with chronic pain. Any way you can connect with your body and breath is progress and a win. The Coregeous ball is a lovely way to provide self care.
We can get so caught up in the pain that it can be hard to muster up the energy but, I agree, “every little bit helps” and better to do what you can, even if it’s just a gentle, brief massage with the core-geous ball. A little self-care is more beneficial than doing nothing at all. Thanks!
I love how the coregeous ball gets softly and gently into some really great places to release pain!! But also can help to strengthen you along the way!
Re-COREganizing – ha! Thank you for linking to these videos that show how to strengthen the core muscles (transverse abdomens, internal obliques, external obliques, and rectus abdominis) and by doing so relieving back pain, which everyone seems to struggle with.
Brittany,
You can use a towel on a wood floor or if carpeted try a plastic bag as the sliding surface.
I love the short low back sequence with the balls. This shows me how to put a little bit of a class together using yoga tune up poses.
Brittany,
If your workout space has no blankets and the floor is not carpeted, a good option would be a towel . Options for moving on carpet would be something plastic/slippery like a garbage bag or a folded sheet so one half slides over the other.
I battle chronic low back pain and do a lot of those exercises and am excited to try the new ones I haven’t tried yet knowing my classes will love them also.
The videos were interesting and that it teaches you how to stretch out your low when, your in pain and muscles are tight and inflamed
Is there any other options if your gym doesn’t have blankets?
“And when there is no pain, I make sure to give myself the full program!” Terrific mindset, stop being reactionary in our self care routines.
Love the videos! Where are the videos from in the second video mash-up? I’d love to see more of those exercises. Thanks!
I agree with Becky, great videos, and I plan on getting to experience how great the full program will feel. I have enjoyed apanasana on the block, and a couple of Coregeous moves, feels so good. this weekend is going to be a play w my balls weekend!
I definitely need to do these. Thanks for putting this together. I’ll also share some of these movements with my students with spine issues.
I absolutely love the videos on this article! I am going to work on my core with these- especially the ones on the block. I also liked your brief statement about your self-care routine. This is becoming new for me and I need to implement this.