Last week I introduced you to Raymond (not his real name), whose lifestyle of air travel, poor office chairs, and ‘weekend warrior-ing’ has caused him to experience debilitating back pain. Lower back lengthening and hamstring stretching poses such as Leg Stretch #3, mobilize his pelvis away from the compressed lumbar spine. This is also my favorite All-In-One Pose that I recommend when you only have 5 minutes to practice.

Here’s the video clip of Leg Stretch #3 below, which can also be found on the 10 Minute Quick Fix for the Lower Back video.

Read Raymond’s Back Pain Relief Pose:2

Read about our back pain relief solutions.

Learn about Yoga Tune Up at home.

Jill Miller

Jill Miller, C-IAYT, ERYT is the co-founder of Tune Up Fitness Worldwide and creator of the self-care fitness formats Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model® Method. With more than 30 years of study in anatomy and movement, she is a pioneer in forging relevant links between the worlds of fitness, yoga, massage, athletics and pain management. She is known as the Teacher’s Teacher and has trained thousands of movement educators, clinicians, and manual therapists to incorporate her paradigm shifting self-care fitness programming into athletic and medical facility programs internationally. She has crafted original programs for 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox, YogaWorks, and numerous professional sports teams. She and her team of 500+ trainers help you to live better in your body with an emphasis on proprioception, mobility, breath mechanics and recovery. She has presented case studies at the Fascia Research Congress and International Association of Yoga Therapy conferences. She has the rare ability to translate complex physiological and biomechanical information into accessible, relevant moves that help her students transform pain, dysfunction and injury into robust fitness. Jill is the anatomy columnist for Yoga Journal Magazine and has been featured in Shape, Men’s Journal, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, Yoga Journal, Self, and on the Today Show and Good Morning America. Jill is regularly featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network. She is the creator of dozens of DVD’s including Treat While You Train with Kelly Starrett DPT and is the author of the internationally bestselling book The Roll Model: A Step by Step Guide to Erase Pain, Improve Mobility and Live Better in your Body. Based in Los Angeles, CA, she is a wife and mother of two small children and is currently writing her second book.

10
Leave a Reply

 
10 Comment threads
0 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
9 Comment authors
Deepa Dravid

I am so loving the wisdom that is coming from YTU blogs..life is changing…for better..Thank you!!! Love what this pose does to the lower back.

lulu yen

HI, Jill
My boyfriend has lower back for a while, and few months back. He actually hurt his upper back and refused to do any twist whenever we practice yoga. now he had been doing a lot of spinning, and the lower back pain start to appear, I am going to work with him tonight with yoga tune up ball. we will see how it goes!!

Jenny Buchanan

Yes. Raymond’s lower back pain relief Leg stretch #3 – is a well known, simple ticket that can be done on i’t own. I love that Yoga Tune Up provides health quick fixes.

A Yoga Tune Up Pose for Back Pain Relief | Yoga Tune Up

[…] Tune Up® Blog « Raymond’s Lower Back Pain Relief: Pose 1 To Stretch Or Not To Stretch, That is the Question… […]

Murray Arnott

Thanks, Jill. I agree. Leg Stretch #3 has been my go-to for a quick stretch for my lower back for a long time. It is good to see that you find the same thing! Lately, I have found at asymmetrical Uttanasana has been good. And Prasarita. I suspect this is because the pelvis tends to widen at the sacrum due to the internal rotation.

Melissa

i love this stretch! i’m so very tight in my lower back after a long day of sitting at a desk and schlepping to and fro in nyc. the strap really helps me isolate the movement without causing added strain on my lower back, particularly the QL when i move into the pose. i don’t yet have the strength and flexibility to position properly without the aid of the prop, so i’ve found that adding the strap enables me to really focus on the target area and relax into the pose comfortably and gain the benefit for which it’s intended.

Roselea

Hi Jill, I taught leg stretch 3 tonight and followed on with moon rises, my fellow yogis were amazed by the difference they felt when the focus of external rotation in moon rises was changed from the extended leg to the hip joint and surrounding muscles of the standing leg, I feel like I should teach moon rises every opportunity I have.

Amy Sosne

I love twists, but had never really thought so much about using a strap to enhance the pose and stretch. The difference is unbelievable and the cues to pull the hip downwards really do allow for enhanced space. Thanks!

Bridget Ingham

I was always sort of afraid of twists because I felt that I would actually hurt myself and I have. Knowing how to align the pelvic bones makes all the differnce and this pose has now become one of my favs. It really highlights where I’m tight and need the stretch and I can feel the balance of where I am also strengthening and moving from my core to perform this rather that just doing the shape of it.

adan

the traction ideas, and cues for getting more out of this stretch are clear and, well, really nice shown 😉