Yoga Health Secrets

Yoga for lumbago and sciatica

This exercise is a more advanced form of the Head to Knee exercise which I described in chapter five. If you can perform the Head to Knee successfully the Forward Bend will not give you too much difficulty. Its benefits are many. It gives the maximum of bending capacity to the body and at the same time imparts a stimulating pressure on the viscera. In stretching the spinal column to the greatest degree it helps to relieve and prevent sciatica and lumbago. Like the Head to Knee posture it tones up sluggish bowels and helps to promote better elimination, thereby being a cleansing and purifying exercise which will help to rid the body of the impurities which cause pain and disease. For this reason it is practised in the higher stages of Yoga for its spiritual values for spiritual purity is closely linked to physical purity.

There is a standing variation of the Forward Bend which some of you might like to try. It is possibly slightly more difficult for the beginner as the support of the floor is removed from the legs but the value of the posture is greatly enhanced by the extra effort involved.

1. Stand up straight with your hands at your sides. Inhale deeply, slowly raise your arms above your head but without joining your fingers. Remain thus until you have completed your inhalation.

2. While exhaling bend forward from the waist and place your palms just below your calves.

3. As you complete your exhalation press your head against your knees as I have demonstrated in figure 35. Remain thus until the impulse to inhale appears.

4. Straighten up as you inhale, and complete your inhalation with your spine erect and your hands at your side. Perform this asana only once or twice at first and do not under any circumstances try to force your muscles in any way. The FORWARD BEND is one of the Yoga exercises which helps to keep old age at bay. Many Yogis live to be well over a hundred years old yet still look young and remain active. When asked their secret they will tell you, ‘A man is only as old as his spine’. Keep this saying in mind and vow to remain supple and active for ALL of your life and not just for a third of it!

Before we leave the FORWARD BEND I would like to describe the advanced form of it used by really enthusiastic students. They do not catch the toes with their fingers, instead they rest their forearms on the toes with the elbows straight. The hands are held palm to palm, and the head is then pressed to the knees as before.

Advanced students, or the more supple among you, might like to try another forward bending exercise which brings the maximum flexibility to the lumbar region and its ligaments. It is called Oopavishta-Konasana, or in English the PRISM POSTURE.

1. Sit down on the floor with your legs outstretched. While inhaling deeply move your legs as wide apart as possible.

2. Catch your toes with your outstretched hands and while exhaling very slowly bend your head until it is touching the floor.

3. Remain thus for as long as you can without breathing. When the impulse to inhale appears do so and at the same time raise your head and bring your legs together again.

After this exercise lie down on the floor and relax.