Poppy’s Yoga

Out of bed

If you back hurts, get up: staying in bed will hurt more.

Get out of bed. Stand up. Put your hands on a bench, chair, table, or counter. Rotate your torso forward from your hip joints and let your back relax. Look straight down and slightly soften your knees. Then move. Sway. Feel your way into gently loosening your shoulders, back, butt, and legs.

Morning coffee

Do these in the morning to wake up how you use your muscles and help you move better all day.

• Focus: Stand up straight and relaxed. Hold your gaze on a fixed point out in front of you. Rest your hands together at your pubic bone. Focus on how you feel without words or thought.
• Sway: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and sway from your pelvis. Notice and wake up all your muscles around your pelvis.
• Tree: Stand beside the chair and put one foot on the seat of the chair. Engage your butt and feel a gentle pull across the front of your hip. Gently extend your raised knee back and feel a pull through your groin. Focus on stability and being upright. Do 4 of these, 2 each side.
• Reach: Stand in front of the chair and reach forward and put both your hands on the top of the back. Get your arms as long as feel comfortable. You can soften your knees. With this move around and focus on your back.
• Forward fold to chair seat: stand, rotate forward from your hip joints, and put your palms on the seat of the chair. Move around and feel your way into extending your back and thighs.
• Pelvis: rock your pelvis front and back. Turn your pelvis left and right. Focus on feeling yourself against the seat of the chair and feeling you back move. This wakes up your muscles and is good for your back and circulation.
• Squat bound: sit on the chair, tie a wide ribbon around your thighs near your knees and do two squats, keeping your torso as upright as possible, while pushing your legs out against the ribbon.
• Wide forward fold: sit on the chair with your knees wide apart and rotate your torso forward from your hip joints. Rest your elbows on your thighs near your knees.

Before yard work

Do the leg extend and rotate to activate how you use your thigh and stability muscles before you go do a lot of yard work.

Sit at the corner of the chair with your knees wide and push one foot away. Tilt your torso forward from your hips and press your elbow or hand on your other thigh for support.

Feel and hold a gentle pull in your extended leg. Rub your muscles firmly while you rotate your leg.

Straighten up slowly and pause, then do your other leg. Then do both again.

After yard work

When you come in after doing yard work, as soon as you can do a couple of things to help your muscles.

Forward Fold

Sit toward the front of a firm chair without arms, like one of your dining chairs. Put your feet flat on the floor. Have your knees wider than your hips and your shins vertical.

Tilt your torso forward from your hips and keep your back straight. Press your palms or elbows on your thighs for support. Gently firm your abdomen to help support your back. And look at the floor in front of your feet.

Feel and hold a gentle pull for some part of a minute. Relax slowly and pause, then do it again 2 or 3 times.

Leg Extend

Do the leg extend and rotate again, just like you did before going out in the yard.

Back

Try one or a few of these poses when your back hurts.

Sit
Sit in the middle of a firm chair, like one of your dining chairs. Put your feet flat on the floor, have your shins vertical and your knees wider than your hips. Rest your hands on your thighs. Look straight ahead and just sit well for a few minutes.

Forward fold
Press your hands or your elbows on your thighs and bend forward from your hips. Hold a gentle pull in your back.

On 4 rest
Get down on your mat on your knees and elbows and rest your head on your crossed arms. And just let your back sag and rest toward the floor.

Knees up
Do this very gently. Do not pull your knees toward your chest. Rest your hands behind your knees or on your shins. And just rest into it.

Pyramid rest
This is the most relaxed position we have for your back. Take a couple of minutes to get into the pose well. Adjust and wiggle and get so that you feel very stable and feel that you can relax into it. Then also rub firmly into your back, pelvis, and thighs.

Next Time

How do all your parts feel?

Here are things to do together to get at where we can feel you have need. New things to try are marked with asterisks. *

We’ll also improvise and do what you show me feels good for you.