Pregnancy Yoga Poses for Back Pain

Hey Mama! How’s your back holding up? I’m guessing, since you found your way here, not that great. Firstly, know that you aren’t alone - back pain during pregnancy, especially the first and third trimesters is super common.

In fact, a few months back, I wrote a post that addresses some of the common causes of back pain in pregnancy and how to go about caring for your back whilst you’re growing a human. That post got a lot of love, you can read it here, and I realised then that so many women are struggling and need actionable advice for daily back care. So today I want to share a few, easy yoga poses that can help you find both immediate and long-lasting relief from back pain.

6 Best Pregnancy Yoga Poses for Back Pain

You can practice these poses individually (you may well find that one or two feel amazing, but others don’t do much for you), but they are designed to be practised in a sequence too. If you choose to practice them in a sequence, move slowly, allow lots of space for your belly and stay as long as you’d like in each depending on how good they do or don’t feel for you.

1. DEEP BREATHING

Find a comfortable seated position and take full, deep breaths right into the base of your base of your belly and top of your chest (place your hands here as shown to track the breath). Deep, full-body breathing can help you find better posture and relieve tension in your back. Deep breathing is also a great way to work the core, and a having a strong core will support your spine as you get further into your pregnancy. Read more about the power of the breath in pregnancy here.

Deep Breathing

2. CHILDS POSE

A favourite, and for good reason. I like to grab a bolster for extra support and visualise the tailbone drawing back and down as the crown of the head pulls forward. This creates a feeling of lengthening in the space between the vertebrae and ribs which can relieve compression in the joints.

CHILDS POSE ON A BOLSTER

3. CAT POSE

Find a neutral spine first of all, in table-top pose then, on the next exhale, round through your shoulders, tuck your chin to your chest and press into the floor with your hands. Do a few rounds moving between a flat back on the inhale and cat pose on the exhale before moving on to the next step.

4. LOW LUNGE

From your table top position you can wiggle one foot forward to the outside of your hand and make your way into a low lunge. You can keep your hands on the floor or, if your hips are really tight, take additional support from a block or book as shown. This is a great way to gently stretch the hip flexors, which originate in the lower back and can cause back pain when they are too tight.

LOW LUNGE WITH A YOGA BLOCK

5. PUPPY POSE

Puppy pose is another great way to find some space in the spine and especially the upper back. I like to take deep, full breaths here, visualising and even activating the pelvic floor muscles as I breath. Read more about the role of the core and pelvic floor in pregnancy, here.

PUPPY POSE

6. SUPPORTED FISH POSE

I do this one pretty much every day because it feels AMAZING on the upper back. Use a firm (but not hard) bolster or cushion underneath the upper back to elevate it slightly and take extra support underneath your head too if you’d like (as shown).

SUPPORTED FISH POSE

That’s all for now. I hope you’re feeling heaps better after that - drop me a line and let me know.

Kat xx

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