How to Do Yoga Exercises for the Lower Back & Knees
By Chad Buleen
Even though golf can be relaxing and stress reducing, it is also easy to tweak or injure your back or knees while playing golf. Some golfers find that doing yoga that focuses on strengthening the back and knees and relieving pain between golf outings can be beneficial. It can also help golfers avoid re-aggravating injuries when they get back on the course.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Stand straight with your heels slightly apart from each other and with your big toes touching. Lift up and spread out your toes as well as the balls of your feet. Gently place them back down on the floor and stand with your feet evenly spaced apart.
Flex the muscles in your thighs and then lift your knee caps by flexing them. Next, lift the inner part of your ankles by slightly turning your feet outward on their sides and flexing. This provides strength to the inner portion of your arches.
Imagine there is a line of energy that extends from the inner part of your thighs to your groin. The line should then extend from the groin to the middle of your torso and then to the neck and head. The line of energy ultimately should exit from the crown of your head.
Move your legs so that the upper parts of the thighs are slightly turned inward. Move your tailbone slightly toward the floor, but do not move your knees. Use your abdominal muscles to point your groin area upward toward your stomach.
Move your shoulders backward so that your shoulder blades move inward toward your back. Hold this pose for a moment and move your shoulders away from your back so that they are broader and wider.
Stretch so that the top of your sternum moves upward toward the ceiling directly above you. When you do this stretch, pay careful attention to make sure that the lower front ribs are not pushed forward. Move your arms behind your torso and let them relax.
Move the crown of your head so that it is balanced directly over the middle of your pelvic area. An imaginary line should be able to be drawn from your nose to the middle of your pelvic area. Let your tongue relax so that it is wide and flat on the bottom of your mouth. Breathe easily and stay in this pose for 30 to 60 seconds.
Tips & Warnings
You can check your balance on this pose by standing with your back against a wall. Because alignment is vital to this yoga being able to work, stand with your heels and shoulder blades touching the wall.
About The Author
Chad Buleen is a Society of Professional Journalists-award winning newspaper and magazine writer and editor with more than 10 years' experience. He has been published in "Utah Spirit," "Charleston Gazette," "Idaho Falls Post Register" and numerous other publications. Buleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications with an emphasis in print journalism from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
