How To Do Pilates For Back Pain

We are going to look at a hamstring stretch which is the osteopath's favorite. "Bottoms Up" and then a nice stretch to do whenever you are feeling your back. Have your feet a comfortable distance away from your bottom, not too close, and not too far, so your back feels very comfortable.

Try to relax and open in this joint in the hips, your tail relaxing down. Use your pelvic floor gently, breathing out, and allow your pelvis to tilt slightly. Stay and breathe in and breathe out, and relax your pelvis back down to its natural position. Don't try to get a big arch in your back, just a natural, relaxed back position, and then we'll go a bit further.

Slowly, bone by bone and stopping where your back feels relaxed. Be careful that you peel and you don't just lift your bottom. Think of the knees going away and on the way down, think of your head going away.

So, you breathe out, tummy, pelvic floor, think of your knees going that way. Stop before your chest gets tense, just stop at about this height, and think of your head going the opposite direction as you return down. Only go as far as it feels comfortable, try to breathe, and if possible, breathe out as you move. A little bit of pelvic floor.

Now, we're going to do a hamstring stretch. Think of your opposite hip heavy, the knee that's moving light, use your tummy, use your pelvic floor, float the leg up. Include all your toes in the band. Take your leg as far away from you as you can and have your bottom relaxed down on the floor. Flex your foot. Bring your leg up without lifting your bottom off the floor, trying to stay relaxed in the front of your hips. Stop when you feel your bottom is still on the floor but you are getting a little bit of stretch at the back of your thigh and in your calf. Keeping the thigh still and the knees still, that's quite difficult, bend, breath in, and straighten, breath out. So, your back is in the same position, same height as before, feeling the stretch in the back of the thigh. Bend breathing in, straighten, breathing out, trying the keep the knee in the same place.

Each time you straighten, pause and feel your stretch; relaxing your bottom down onto the floor, relaxing the chest, arms wide and open, and keep trying to breathe and you take the band off. Think heavy on the opposite hip, light with your knee, relaxed foot, tummy, pelvic floor, breathing out, slowly down. Toes land, and then your heel.

And that is how to do Pilates for back pain.