Welcome to this guided restoration session to help with your back pain.
I'm going to guide you through getting comfortable in a nice rested position before we begin.
I suggest start by lying on your stomach,
On the floor if possible,
So a nice firm surface to support your back.
For example,
If you had a yoga mat on the floor,
Or a rug or carpet on the floor,
That would be a good position to lie on.
If you're lying on something really soft,
Like a soft mattress or soft couch,
Then your body may sag and bring your back into an arch.
The goal with this is to stay nice and neutral and keep a nice aligned spine to its natural curves.
So we don't want to be creating too much of an arch either way,
Into extension or arching forward.
We just want the back to settle into its nice natural position,
Nice and aligned.
If you find that lying on your stomach is uncomfortable for your back,
I suggest trying to put your hands or fists in front of your hip bones,
Just to slightly prop your hips up and see if that helps.
The other suggestion would be to bring a pillow to prop up your hips in the front as you're lying on your stomach.
And if your hands aren't under the front of your hips,
Then just bring them up,
Either to support under your chin or under your forehead,
Or bringing your head to the side and bring your hands flat under the side of your head to support your head at the top.
So finding that nice comfortable position lying on your stomach,
If you need to pause and take another minute just to settle in,
Your spine is unloaded in this position,
Your spine is neutral and it's safe.
You are safe in this position.
So it's time to surrender.
It's time to relax.
It's time to allow the body to repair,
Restore,
Rebuild itself.
With each exhale as you breathe,
Try to release any tension in your body even further.
As you exhale,
Relax your shoulders.
As you exhale,
Unclench your glutes.
As you exhale,
Just fully relax your abdominal muscles.
There's no need to brace them right now.
Relaxing your face muscles,
Relaxing all the muscles down your legs.
Now using your breath,
We're going to breathe in and out through the nose if it's comfortable.
Just allow your breath to travel all the way down to expand the belly,
The ribs,
The chest.
We want a full breath and everything's with ease.
You don't have to force it,
But just drawing in more air down to expand all through your torso.
As you inhale,
Just let it fall on the exhale,
Feeling your body just melting into the surface below you.
Breathing in and out with ease.
Now as you're breathing,
We're going to breathe out longer than we breathe in.
So just allow yourself to fully and slowly exhale all the air out of your lungs.
Exhale longer than the inhale.
If it helps,
You can count to breathe in for three and out for four.
Nice relaxed breathing,
Signaling your tissues that it's safe.
It's time to rest,
Recover,
And restore.
As you're lying in this restorative position,
Allowing your tissues to heal and rest,
I want you to visualize your spine and your mind.
Bring it to mind,
The spine running up all the way from your sacrum up into your neck.
I want you to visualize any pain,
Any discomfort,
Any tension,
And any inflammation just melting away.
As you exhale,
Visualize the spine just releasing anything that's uncomfortable wherever it is.
As you continue to breathe,
Now visualize your spine in optimal health.
Visualize your spine repairing any injuries,
Rebuilding cell by cell.
Your body is working for you.
You are healing.
You are getting better.
Resting is allowing those adaptations to occur that you've stimulated through good movement,
Proper posture.
So allow your body to rebuild,
Recover,
Restore.
Now as you've just let your back rest,
I'm going to coach you to stand up now,
Nice and slow and relaxed.
But we also want to stand up in a controlled way so that our spine stays nice and neutral.
Nice and aligned how we've just rested.
So as you're lying on your stomach,
I'd like you to start waking up the muscles in your abdomen.
If it helps as a cue,
Bring your hands,
Bring your fingers out to your sides,
Below your ribcage and just above your hip bone.
Push your fingers into that soft spot in your side.
And now activate your core and feel the resistance against your fingers.
Turning on those core muscles now,
Bring your hands back up to the sides of your armpits to push up onto your hands and knees,
Nice and controlled.
Now as you're in all fours,
Walk your hands back towards your knees.
With your hands on your knees now,
Pull your hips through to the wall that you're facing so that you're in a tall kneeling position.
Again,
We're still nice and mindful,
Keeping the spine aligned,
Core muscles are on.
Now bringing one of your legs around to step into the front of a lunge and tuck your back toe.
You're now at a 90 degrees with both legs as you push up from the lunge into a tall standing position.
Now in this tall standing position,
Just stand nice and stacked,
Keeping your ears over your shoulders,
Over your hips,
Over your toes.
Again,
Bringing your spine into your mind one more time,
Visualizing your spine aligned,
Healthy,
Thriving,
Rebuilding,
Recovering and restoring itself.
Remember that your body is always working for you,
It's trying to heal,
It's trying to rebuild.
We need to have times to really allow it to do so.
I hope this session felt good for your body,
For your mind and your spirit.
If you are having episodic or chronic back pain,
I do suggest seeing a professional for help to look at your movements,
Postures throughout the day.
But also ensure that you're resting and allowing your body to heal as well.
Have a beautiful day.
