Yoga For A Healthy Spine

This 30-minute gentle yoga for spine mobility is designed to help keep your spine healthy, supported, and moving well.

In this session, we gently move the spine in all directions — including flexion, extension, twists, and lateral bends — to support mobility, function, and overall wellbeing.

This practice may help you improve spinal mobility, reduce stiffness in the back, support posture, and keep the spine healthy and functional.

It is perfect if you experience back stiffness or discomfort, live with arthritis or joint sensitivity, want to support your spine in a gentle way, or are looking for a slow, mindful practice.

Move within a comfortable range and avoid forcing any movement. Please note that this practice is not a substitute for professional medical advice or care.

Transcript

Hello friends and welcome to this yoga for a healthy spine. We are going to be moving the spine in all the different ways that we should to keep our spine nice and healthy and functional. So forward bends, Backward bends, Rolling the spine, Taking those little side bends as well and then some twists. Most of this session is going to be done down on the floor, So not really standing up in this session today. Okay so whenever you're ready grab your mat and let's get started. So we're going to begin today's session in tabletop, So coming into all fours we're making sure that the knees are underneath the hips and the wrists are underneath the spine. So let's just wake up the spine first, Start with that nice flat back and then when you're ready inhale we drop the belly, Chest comes forward, We're pressing the floor away from us, Little gaze up, Kind of really focusing on your spine in this practice today, Notice how it feels. Exhale, Round out the spine into cat, Pressing the spine towards the sky, Chin towards your chest, Again just noticing how it feels. Inhale, Drop the belly, Little gaze forwards, Exhale into your cat. So just do a couple more rounds here, Just waking up the spine, Starting to get a little bit of blood flow to it. Let's do one more round, Drop the belly into cow pose, Exhale letting it go. Perfect, Nice and gently come back to tabletop, We're going to tuck the toes and then when you're ready lifting the hips, Downward facing dog. So take a few moments here, Let the back of the body gently stretch out, Spread those fingers nice and wide, Have your feet always about hip distance apart and remember that you can always bend your knees in a downward dog if you need to, Sometimes it feels nicer just to bend the knees. Just let the back of the body stretch, Itself out, Let the legs stretch out as well. Let's take a little pedal of the knees, Just so that those legs get a little bit of blood flow too, Even though we're concentrating on the spine, Other areas will be worked in this session. Lovely, Keep breathing. Excellent, Let's come back, Downward facing dog, We're going to do some little downward dog rolls now. So when you're ready, You're going to roll the body forward into a bit of a high plank position, We're not going to stay here, So just holding the position for a second and then taking a big breath, You're going to arch the spine up towards the sky, Lifting the hips and then pressing back into your downward dog. Press, Press, Press, Inhale, Roll it forward, Forward, Lovely, Hold for a second and then exhale, Lift and send it back. Wonderful, Roll it forward, Lovely, Maybe you gaze forward and then lift the hips, Sending the spine up and then pressing back into that downward dog. A couple more of these, Roll it forward, Lovely, Lift and send it back. Roll it forwards, Perfect, Then lift and send it back. Excellent, Wonderful, Last one, Bring it forwards and then we lift and send it back. Take a breath here, Inhale, Exhale. Lovely, Nice and gently lower your knees down to the floor. So now we're back in table top, We're going to come into a little cobra pose now, So we're going to walk the knees back a little step, Maybe you walk your hands forward, You're going to lower the hips down to the floor, Let the belly come down and then just having the hands underneath the shoulders, Elbows tucked in, You're bringing your chin or maybe your forehead down to the floor. Wonderful, We're going to press the tops of the feet down into the floor and then take an inhale, We're going to roll the head and the neck up and then lift the chest, Little baby cobra. Keep those elbows tucked in, Exhale, Roll it down nice and gently. Perfect, Inhale, We roll it up, Press the palms into the floor, Baby cobra, Exhale, Roll it down. Inhale, Roll it up, Are you focusing in on your low back here, This is a low back bend, Lumbar region of that spine. Exhale, Lower down. Now this time, Option to go for full cobra pose but if you'd prefer to stay baby cobra, Then keep it as a baby. Inhale, We roll the head up, This time we're lifting the belly off the floor. Full cobra, Elbows stay bent here, Exhale, Gently rolling it down. Two more, Inhale, We roll it up, Nice and gently. Always be mindful of your low back, Especially if you suffer with back issues here, Roll it down. Perfect, Inhale, Last one, Roll it up and exhale, Roll it down. Wonderful, When you're ready take a little tuck of the toes and then take a big breath. We're pressing ourselves up into our tabletop. Let's take a couple of little rounds of cat cow here, Just to counter the spine. So dropping the belly, Lift the chest, Exhale, Round it out, Chin to chest. Inhale, We drop the belly and exhale, We let it go. Wonderful, Nice and gently back to centre. Now just walk your knees towards your hands, You can swing the legs around to one side, Come to sit on your bottom. We're going to take ourselves into a little half butterfly. So begin with your knees bent and then just extend the left leg out and then we're just letting that right knee fall out to the side. Bring the sole of the right foot anywhere on the inside of the leg that feels comfortable. We want to extend the left leg through this left leg, So press your heel away, Flex those toes towards you and then take an inhale, Reach the arms up into the air, Find some length through your spine. You're gazing at those left toes, Exhale, Nice and gently start to hinge forward, Keeping the back nice and flat. Once you feel that stretch in your hamstring, You're going to lower the arms down, Grab your leg or your foot. Wonderful, Then we take an inhale and we get really long through the spine again here and then as we exhale, Lowering the chest down, Any amount is good. You're going to feel it in the low back as well here and then what we're going to do is we're going to take a bit of a rounding through the spine, Maybe dropping the head towards the knee or chin towards your chest and we're going to hold this position. I'm going to take some nice deep breaths here. You're definitely going to feel it in your hamstring as well as your back and the half butterfly is just mild flexion of your spine, So just gently stretching out those vertebrae. Let your shoulders fall away from your ears. Really notice where you feel it here, You might also feel it on that right side of your body, Nice big stretch there. Perfect, Last breath in, Let it go. Wonderful, Inhale, Let's rise up, Sweep the arms up, Up, Up. Perfect, Exhale, Drop the arms down. Wonderful, Lift up the right knee, Foot comes flat to the floor. We're going to go full butterfly now, So we are going to bring the soles of the feet together, Let both knees fall away. Again, Feet can be close to you, Bit further away, Wherever's most comfortable. Hands around the front of your shins, We take an inhale, We're going to find some length through the spine with a nice flat back. Exhale, We are lowering down. Maybe your elbows press on the inside of your legs or maybe you move your hands, They might grab your feet or you might walk your hands out in front. See what feels good, What feels better for your body. Lovely, When you get to that point, You're going to feel it in the inner thigh. We're getting a slightly deeper flexion now in the spine. We're going to take that rounding again and same again, Chin to chest, Just letting all of the spine gently round itself out. Shoulders are away from your ears, We're going to hold this position again for a few breaths. So just settle down into the pose, Try and let your legs relax. Imagine that you're breathing into your spine here, Breathing into each of the vertebrae one by one. The more you kind of draw your chin towards your chest, The more of a stretch you feel in the neck, So that's your cervical spine. Breathing deeply, Sighing out tension. Lovely, Last breath here, Let it go. Wonderful, Then take an inhale, Roll your head up first, You can use your hands to push you into an upright position. We take our time, We grab the legs, We draw them together. Lovely, Then taking half butterfly to the other side, So right leg extends, Then we let that left knee fall out to the side, Left foot anywhere on the inside of the leg. We're extending, So pressing the heel away, Curling the toes and then sweeping the arms up. We inhale, We find length, Reach, Reach, Reach and then exhale, We hinge it forwards. You're going to feel that stretch in your hamstring, We lower the arms down, Grabbing the leg or the foot, Whatever feels the most comfortable. Then once we get here, Inhale, Get really long through your spine, Again looking over those toes and exhale, We lower down and then start to round the spine, Drop the head, Forehead towards the knee or chin to chest, Breathe deeply. Lovely, So again mild flexion with this pose and obviously you're feeling it in a few other places as well. A couple more breaths, Inhale, Exhale. Lovely. Wonderful, When you're ready take an inhale, Roll your head up nice and gently, Roll it, Roll it, Roll it and then use your hands to just walk you into an upright position. Lift up that left leg and extend the leg out along the mat. Perfect, We're going to take ourselves into full flexion of the spine now, So this is the deepest flexion. We're going to be stretching out each of the vertebrae as, You know, As much as we feel that we can. So both legs are extended on the floor. If you've got any type of pressure in your knees, You could add a pillow or a block just underneath the knees, Just lifting them up slightly takes a little bit of that pressure and also brings your thighs a little bit closer towards your chest, So you can definitely do that to feel a little bit more comfortable. We are extending through those heels again, Curling the toes towards us, We're going to sweep those arms forward and up, Up, Up, So we find length through the spine and then exhale, Start to hinge forward, Nice flat back. We're really going to feel it in those hamstrings, Drop the arms down, Grab the legs or the feet, Hands pressing on the floor, Whatever works. Take that inhale, Find length again, Just looking over those toes, Perfect and then exhale, Lower it down, Any amount is good and then maybe we are rounding the head, Chin to chest again. We're going to hold this position, So deepest flexion of your spine here, Really stretching right from the base of your coccyx all the way to the base of your skull, Stretching it all out. So your spine will thank you for this, Take some nice deep breaths, Exhale, Let it go. So we have all these little gelatinous discs within the spine and as we get older, Maybe if we get more sedentary as we get older, These discs start to dry up if we're not moving the spine in all the ways that we should. So doing a little practice like this is so good for your spine, Keeps it healthy and keeps it functional and mobile and that's what we want. Last breath here, Inhale, Exhale, Perfect. Inhale, We rise all the way up, Reach, Reach, Reach, Lovely. Exhale, Let your arms come down by your side and then we're going to take a little roll down onto the floor. Reach, Reach, Reach, Let the arms come down. So now we're going to roll down onto our back, Nice and gently. Wonderful. Once you get down onto your back, You might want to draw your knees in towards your chest, Maybe take a little rock from side to side, Just giving your low back a little massage. As I like to say, Give your back a little bit of love. Perfect and then we're going to take ourselves into a little banana pose. So extend your legs out along the floor and then we're going to walk the feet over to the right bottom corner of the mat and then take a little shuffle of your shoulders over to that right top corner. So you're making like this little banana or crescent moon shape with your body. We're going to take the arms up alongside the ears and just take your right hand to grab your left wrist and then just give that arm a little bit of a stretch. As you stretch it out here, You feel that stretch travel down the arm, Down the side body and then what you can do is you can cross your left ankle over the right. So it's a lovely banana shape with the body. Let the whole body relax down and then of course you're getting that little lateral bend in your spine here. So let's hold it for a few breaths, Close your eyes for a moment, Breathe into that side body. Let your belly relax here, Let your arms and shoulders soften. Wonderful, Take a nice big breath in, Sigh it out. Perfect, Then nice and gently just make your way back to the centre of the mat. Arms are coming down by your sides then we're going to take a little twist here. So once you get centred, You're going to draw your right knee in towards your chest, You can give it a little squeeze first. Then your left hand is just going to take that knee across the body, Little single leg recline twist here. We're going to extend that right arm out to the side anywhere as well. You don't need to have it straight out, If it feels more comfortable bringing it a little closer to the body then do that and always an option to turn your head to look over to that right side. So again it gives you that little bit of a double twist, You're getting a twist right above the hips but then you can have that little twist in your cervical spine with your neck. So close your eyes here, Again just staying here for a few breaths. If you can allow your belly to relax here, We want all those efforts to be in the twist itself. So just taking one more breath here, Nice big breath in, Let it all go and then nice and gently just turn your head back to centre first. If you did turn it, Draw your navel to your spine, Nice big inhale, Rotate the knee back to centre and then extend the leg out because we're going to take it to our banana on the other side. So once you're extended, Walk in the feet to the left bottom corner of the mat, Shuffling shoulders over to the left top corner. Arms are going up over the head again, This time left hand is going to grab your right wrist for that nice little pull, That little stretch. Once you feel that stretch travel down the side body, You can just let the arms relax and then option to cross your right ankle over the left this time. Just let the body relax here, Just breathing naturally. Again we're always thinking about softening up the belly, It's one of those places where we tend to grip and hold, So it's always a good idea to just check we're not doing that. Wonderful, Take a nice big breath in, Let it all go. And then nice and gently make your way back to the centre of the mat, Don't rush it, Take your time with it. And then once you get here, We are drawing left knee in towards the chest, We give a little squeeze and then using that right hand, We're taking it across the body for the twist, Extending that left arm out to the side. Option to turn the head to the left side as well, Only if that feels comfortable for you. So if you can, Just try and let your legs get nice and heavy. Remember you're not forcing that left knee down to the floor, Just holding it in position, Letting it go as far as it wants to. Belly is soft, Relax those facial muscles and breathe into your twist. Wonderful, When you're ready, Take a nice big breath in, Let it all go. Navel to spine, Inhale, We gently rotate ourselves back to centre. We're going to take one last little draw of the knees in towards the chest, Giving a nice big squeeze and then imagine that you're drawing small circles with your knees. So you do this little circular little massage on the low back, Which always feels nice after any forward bending or backward bending or just if your back is aching, This is just a nice little thing to do on the floor. Always feels good. Let's take those circles in the opposite direction. Wonderful, Come back to centre, Have a nice little squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze, Take a big breath in and then as you exhale, Release yourself out into your final resting pose. So this could be arms and legs fully extended for Shavasana or maybe you go for constructive rest. So with your knees bent, Walk your feet a little bit wider than your hips and then just allow your knees just to rest against each other. So you do whatever feels comfortable for you, Just let your body relax here. We close down the eyes, Taking a deep breath in through the nose slow, Slow exhale out of your mouth. Feel your spine getting a little heavier against the mat, Body starts to relax. Inhale deeply, Exhale, Let it all go and then just allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm. And for the next few minutes, Just staying with the breath, Follow the breath as it moves in and out of your body. Each exhale is just letting go of any lingering tension, Stiffness, Any lingering stress. Just try to enjoy the stillness. Wonderful, Whenever you're ready, Just let go of following your breath, Start to wiggle your fingers and your toes. I'm just inviting a little gentle movement back to your body, You can move in any way that feels good to you. Sometimes I like to just take a little rock of my hips, A little turn of the head, Do whatever feels natural to you. And then whenever you're ready, Maybe take a little bend into your knees and just gently roll yourself onto your side body. Staying here for a moment or two. And then when you're ready, Just pressing yourself up into a comfortable, Gentle position. Seated position. And then once you do arrive in your seat, Just taking a moment just to check in with how you're feeling. How is your spine feeling? Hopefully it's feeling a little lighter, A little bit more mobile, A little less stiff. And then let's take one last cleansing breath together. So the biggest breath you've taken so far in this practice. Inhaling deeply, Big noisy sigh out. Gently blinking open the eyes. And that brings us to the close of this yoga for a healthy spine. Thank you so much for joining me. I hope that you enjoyed this session and I hope to see you in the next video soon. Take good care. Bye.

Reviews

Fantastic! Thank you for this video. I feel rejuvenated☺️