Yoga for Back Care – 6 Routines

For me, life-changing so far
After a lifetime of sleeping well, the last 10 months or so have been really difficult for me. Every night over this time, my back would begin hurting shortly after laying down and get progressively worse. My sleep would become more fitful as the night wore on, changing positions in the attempt to get comfortable, until, after 6 or so hours of sleep, I would have to get up because I couldn’t take the pain any more and could find no position that was tolerable. After visiting doctors and going for physical therapy (which, to their credit, moved the pain from the mid-to-upper to lower back!), I was starting to feel hopeless and think that this was what life was going to be like for me – at 42, a daunting prospect. Never having done yoga, I decided to take a friend’s advice and got this dvd just to see, and to give it a try. After 3 days of doing the 20-minute lumbar routine nightly, I awoke free of back-pain for the first time in 10 months. The next day, again no pain. I just finished the routine today (5th day of doing it) and wanted to post a review as I really can’t overstate the change this has made in my life. Of course it’s just been less than a week, and should things change, I’ll certainly update the review, but I’m sold. I’m pretty much planning on having a daily yoga practice for the rest of my life – it’s worth it!With regard to the content, the yoga is easy to follow, gentle enough for beginners (although there are a few poses that will challenge those who haven’t done abdominal workouts in a good while), and I found Barbara Benagh’s instruction to be excellent. It’s free of metaphysical yadda yadda, and instead includes very specific instruction on how to move specific parts/regions of the body to achieve the right position in the poses and avoid problems, and to relax various areas in which tension has been held. There is a nice blend of relaxation, stretching, and strength-building. Highly recommended.

Steady Relief
I had been having sciatic and low back pain for at least six months and finally decided to see if Barbara Benagh had something specifically for the back. I have another of her DVDs for general yoga and have loved it.I have been doing this back DVD consistently just about every night for at least three months. After about the second month, I could finally stay in bed without being awoken at 5:00 with excruciating low back pain. The routine I usually use, mostly because of time constraints, is the low back routine which is about 20 minutes.And I also now can, for the first time in my life, do the shavasana (sp?) routine without pain. This is a first, as I did yoga many years ago and never could accomplish it without keeping my knees bent.I am 62 and in fairly good shape but my only real exercise for many years has been walking the dogs a mile or so each day. This DVD has been a Godsend.

YOGA EXCELLENT
IT WAS AN EXCELLENT DVD….IT WAS EASY TO UNDERSTAND & WENT SLOW ENOUGH TO FOLLOW THE ROUTINE. BLAB BLAB BLAB

Was not a good fit for scoliosis back care.
I had high hopes when I purchased this DVD. I initially purchased it because it mentioned it would be helpful for people who have scoliosis. As someone with scoliosis, I have an S curve of my spine along with a straight neck, so I was interested to see if this would help me in any way. I quickly found that this DVD was not a fit for me. I thought it would be a routine that would provide stretches or it would be gentle enough for me to use. The exercises that were featured were more like body weight exercises and it actually caused me to experience more discomfort to say the least. I only used the DVD one time and that was enough for me. Perhaps this is a DVD that may be helpful for others or helpful for other back conditions, but for me, not a good fit.

I found the cover of the DVD to be incredibly misleading. All the fitness DVDs that I have purchased over the years features the instructor, yet when I played the DVD, the instructor was an elderly woman who didn’t seem fit at all. While I can empathize with the instructor on her life journey, I found it unnecessary for the user. I bought the DVD to help with my back issues, not to hear a biography about the instructor. When I buy Jillian Michael’s DVDs to work out my abs, she’s not telling me about her life story, she’s screaming at me to move. Furthermore, I found that the title or description of this DVD should be labeled as GENTLE yoga for back care, specifically lower back pain (scoliosis). If you’re into yin yoga, kundalini yoga, or beginner’s hatha, then this is the workout for you. If you’re like me who prefers power/flow/vinyasa yoga, ashtanga and aerial, then this DVD is definitely not for you. I work in front of a computer, so I was really hoping for something to help with my neck, shoulders and upper back. Unfortunately, this DVD didn’t do much for me. The instructor doesn’t even tell you when to move to the next position, so I’m constantly looking up to see what the next step is. Also, I find that these exercises are incredibly slow. The music is very calming, to the point where I struggled to stay awake. Perhaps this exercise routine is better suited for people who are into meditation and relaxation, not necessarily for people who have back problems. In summary, this DVD is false advertisement. Right down to the cover. I personally prefer Jillian Michael’s Killer Arms & Back, which is more dynamic and helpful with my upper back pain.(https://www.amazon.ca/JILLIAN-MICHAELS-KILLER-ARMS-BACK/dp/B0125PSL1W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1460042816&sr=8-3&keywords=jillian+michaels)

I bought this product as i wanted to help with my back problems, this is very good. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, the instructors voice is very soothing. Would be good for any level of yoga even beginners. I have previously purchased the yoga for stress relief in this series and found that very good, this back care is a good addition to my collection.