Yoga for Back Pain

Course details

The vast majority of yoga classes do more harm than good for back pain sufferers, and there's a concrete scientific reason for this:

The middle of the spinal disc is made up of a liquid gel called the 'nucleus,' and the nucleus is surrounded by rings of collagen.

As you repeatedly bend and collapse into spinal flexion (forward bends), as you so often do in yoga class, you create hydraulic pressure in the disc nucleus.

Every bending cycle causes the collagen fibers to loosen.

The ground substance that holds the collagen fibers together delaminates.

Spinal flexion produces hydraulic stress of the nucleus, posteriorly, on the fibers that are slowly delaminating.

Repeated flexion will slowly pump the nucleus through the delaminating fibers, to create a posterior bulge in the disc.

Leading back pain researcher, Dr. Stu McGill, says that "life isn't fair" and one's ability to withstand repeated cycles of flexion depends greatly on the discs you inherited from your parents. Some people can get away with this behavior for longer, and under much higher loads, than others. As a yoga teacher, I got away with it for years, feeling no ill effects. Then, when I felt it, it was too late.

YOU DO NOT FEEL THIS DELAMINATION PROCESS HAPPENING. YOU ONLY FEEL IT WHEN IT'S TOO LATE.

When the disc material bulges through the collagen and impinges a nerve root, that's when you feel it. And by then the damage has been done. 

If you are ALREADY experiencing back pain, this process has probably already begun (from too much sitting, driving, slouching, etc.) and most yoga classes will only make a 'bad back' situation much, much WORSE.

I taught yoga professionally for over a decade, and my career left me with back pain so bad that I could hardly walk. My back is sensitive to forward-bending, but I also don't do well with spinal extension ... those deep, sexy back bends. Which means that during the 10 years of my yoga teaching career, I was slowly but surely wreaking havoc on my back health.

Figuring out which yoga postures would help me rather than hurt me wasn't easy —most yoga poses are seriously contraindicated for back pain — but after years of research I developed a challenging yet conservative approach to yoga that eliminates most of the problematic issues that link yoga with chronic back pain. 

I believe my approach to back-friendly yoga is unique. Instead of focusing on arbitrary "flexibility," my focus is on strengh, stability, and appropriate mobility (meaning that some areas of the body are great candidates for yoga-style mobility work--ball and socket joints like the shoulders and hips, for example--NOT the spinal joints, which need to be 'locked down' in those of us with back pain).

The Zen concepts of Beginner's Mind, forgetting everything you've been taught and think you know about yoga, and Mastery of Simplicity, which really just boils down to patience, are concepts I encourage my students to embrace when starting my course. I think it's also vital to remember that when you're suffering from back pain and starting a new movement practice: it's not just about starting something new, it's about  HALTING any current yoga or exercise practice that obviously isn't serving you. Otherwise, your pain will probably not get any better.

Yoga can, if practiced wisely, offer you a path out of debilitating lower back pain, but unfortunately most yoga teachers aren't educated about the science of back pain, ergo most group yoga classes and most established forms of yoga will do nothing but make a bad-back situation much, much worse. This course will help you shred fat and build muscle,  while arming you with all the tools you need to become your own best teacher.

Here's all you need to get started: 1 yoga mat, 1 kettlebell (OPTIONAL, 8kg to 16kg, depending on your size), and 1 back that's ready to get stronger and become pain-free!

UPDATE 6/1/17: In addition to the Beginner's Sequence for low back pain, I have begun adding more "advanced" postures for practitioners who have been able to use the Beginner's program to "wind down" their pain, and are ready to integrate more intense strength work into their practice.

UPDATE 8/31/17: Today I received the reviews from my practitioners on the "Early Access" program...

4/5 stars from Sky Nicholas...

I think he did a great job of presenting the material. He focused on a specific therapy (yoga for the low back) instead of trying to teach all yoga for all body parts to everyone and that was a wonderful thing because it delivered exactly what was promised in the title of the course. The wide shots were beautiful with the landscape in the background. The video camera was also close enough to see details. He seems to CARE about the practitioners too which is nice. He gives reasons why you should do things a certain way and he gives advice as to how to approach the practice and what to do for your back pain when you're not practicing. His goal really seems to be helping people in pain. There were some non traditional moves that were new to me and that says a lot because I'm always studying exercise and constantly searching for variety. I find anyone who can inspire me with something new very refreshing!!!

Audio was slightly too low. Color of the video is a little red and maybe its just the warm light and color of the desert area he was shooting in. That made it a little "home movie" looking but it wasn't off putting. I'd say try brightening a little but if you like it better the way it is....fine. It's a well done course either way.

5/5 stars from Patricia Smith...

This feels revolutionary. I think with continued practice this could help relieve lower back pain for many people familiar with yoga. It might be a bit difficult for people who are not flexible, but they would most likely gain flexibility by doing these exercises. The instructor is obviously very knowledgeable and yet also has a gentle, encouraging tone. He is a joy to watch and listen to.

I don't think this course needs to be changed in any way. It does exactly what it says, and I believe it would provide great results over time for dedicated students who proceed with the caution the instructor recommends.

5/5 stars from Lovely L. Jones...

I don't know anything about yoga but this helped me and it's one I'll watch again and again and take notes.

I wouldn't change anything.

Thanks to all my Early Access students for your feedback!