OK, I’ll admit it. My back bends are shocking! The truth of it is, my back isn’t naturally flexible, and back bends are hard work. I don’t feel my back in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog) or Ustrasana (Camel Pose), but I do in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose, Backbend, Bridge, Crab or Wheel). The problem is, bridge is really tough on my wrists.
Over the last year, one of my friends has made some great improvements in his back bends just by plugging away at it. I’ve decided finally to bite the bullet and follow suit. Since Christmas this year I’ve been using the following program more or less every day:
- Lie over a swiss ball with my feet on the floor and my shoulders and head dangling until I get bored.
- Lie over a swiss ball with my shoulders on the floor and my feet dangling until I get bored.
- Lie over a swiss ball with both my hands and fee on the floor, in a full bridge position, and attempt to lift off the ball a few times. In between lifts I attempt to squeeze the ball between my shoulders and heels by tensing my hamstrings and back.
- Lie in an Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog), with my body supported by the swiss ball. Sometimes I leave the arms in the conventional position, sometime I bear-hug the ball.
- Do a bridge, with my feet raised on something, like a step, so I can move into my shoulders a little more.
- Do a regular bridge, without the ball, for a few seconds, come down to my head, move my hands closer and repeat. On the last hold I do a few press ups in the bridge position.
Essentially, it’s just doing lots of bridge, but the ball takes the weight off my hands and lets me hold the posture for a lot longer than I would be able to without it.
My back bend is still shocking, but it’s improving. I’m going to try and get some progress shots done over the next few weeks, so you can see if it’s working. 🙂
Cheers
Tim…