Warming Up for Backbends

Brag time: I’m blessed with a strong back. But even the strongest backs age over time. I’m reaching an age where I need to put more effort into maintaining that health and strength. There will be a day when I can no longer touch my toes in a Wide Legged Forward Bend Twist, so I’m taking care of my body for as long as I can and trust that God will continue to give me strength in other ways.

A lot of my back strength was developed over summers of endless swimming in my youth, followed by periods of light weight lifting in high school and into adulthood. Nearly twenty years of yoga have also helped keep my back strong, flexible, and healthy. A strong back cannot be developed overnight, and I’ve come to appreciate this particular strength over time (especially during pregnancy and later when juggling a laptop, a diaper bag, a gallon of milk, a small dog, and a toddler all at once).

I’ve never been comfortable diving right into Camel, Dancer, Wheel, or Bow, although I love all four poses. It’s nice to warm up the spine before diving into these or similar backbend poses. I find that a little warm-up lets me go deeper into the backbend, hold it longer without discomfort, and practice longer before tiring.

Many backbends open the heart, expanding the chest and opening the lungs. This is a lot of expansion for any body, so warming up helps us make the most of this gradual expansion and deeper inhalation without shocking our bodies. Have you ever held your breath for a long time underwater and then taken a sudden, deep inhale upon reaching the surface? That’s a lot of work for the lungs, and we want to offer our bodies a gentle, gradual, sustainable expansion rather than a shock. Backbends are not beneficial if you break your back doing them.

This warm-up series may be enough for your body. Always be gentle to your body when trying any yoga practice, and never bend further than your personal comfort spot. A good backbend should lengthen the spine, not crunch it.

Ready, yogis? Let’s warm up the back!

Warming Up the Back

Begin in Mountain Pose. Lengthen your spine from tailbone to the top of your head, expanding your chest gently with a deep inhale and then drawing your shoulders down and away from your ears on the exhale. Take a few slow, deep inhales and exhales in Mountain Pose.

On an inhale, raise your arms above your head and bring your palms to meet. On the exhale, bend gently to your left into Crescent Moon Pose. Stay in Crescent Moon for five breaths, lowering your shoulders away from your ears and keeping your chest open. Find length in your spine like you did in Mountain Pose. After five breaths on the left, come back to center on an inhale, then bend to the right into Crescent Moon on the other side. Stay here for five breaths, keeping your breath slow and even and keeping your chest expanded.

Come back to center on the inhale, keeping your arms above your head and palms together in Mountain Pose with Arms Up. On the exhale, lower your arms in ninety-degree angles into Mountain with Cactus Arms. Bend your back only slightly, lifting your chest and lengthening your spine. Inhale and release the slight bend in your back, lifting your arms above your head to return to Mountain Pose with Arms Up. Exhale and return to Cactus Arms with a slight bend in the back. Inhale and return to Mountain Pose with Arms Up, releasing the bend in your back. Repeat this pattern of Mountain Pose with Arms Up and Cactus Arms with a slight back bend for five rounds. Be gentle, slow, and intentional in your movements, matching them to your breath with control.

Find Mountain Pose with Arms Up on an inhale, then exhale and gently lower your arms to your sides in Mountain Pose. Stay in Mountain Pose for five breaths, lifting the top of your head to the ceiling and finding length in your spine.

On the inhale, raise your arms above your head and lift your gaze to the ceiling. Exhale into a Forward Bend. Inhale and lift halfway up, keeping your hands on your shins or knees and looking forward (not up at the ceiling). Exhale and return to your Forward Bend, tucking your chin slightly to gently lengthen your spine. Inhale and gently return to Mountain Pose with Arms Up, then lower your hands to prayer position on the exhale.

From Mountain Pose with hands in prayer position, repeat the entire series above two more times, observing any new length or strength in your spine with each repetition.

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Like this warm-up? Want to add or modify poses for your personal needs? Sign up for a Quick Yoga Consultation to walk through the routine together one-on-one, or request an Individual Yoga Plan to have this routine expanded to include additional poses specific to your needs.