Yin Yoga · Back · Hips-lower-back · Flexibility · Beginner
Every direction the spine goes — back, round, sideways, twisted, long
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A back class that takes the spine in every direction it goes, in a sensible order.
Extension first. Sphinx for three minutes, elbows shoulder-width, sliding them further forward if the lower back objects — and cushions under the belly or pelvis are fair game. Crocodile to rest. Then Seal for two minutes if you want the deeper version, and Crocodile again, looking the other way.
Then rounding. Child’s Pose for three minutes with the knees close together, which is what lets the back actually round. Followed by side bends — hands walked over to the left, then the right, six breaths each — for the side of the ribcage.
Then rotation. Dragon on each side, then coming up out of the lunge into a prayer twist with the elbow hooked outside the front thigh. It wobbles. Pick a spot on the floor, and falling out of it doesn’t matter.
Then length. Dangling for two minutes, knees soft, head heavy. Tight hamstrings pull on the pelvis and leave the lower back doing the work, so this belongs in a back class more than it looks like it does.
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It's gentle, general care rather than treatment, and Katie repeatedly offers ways out — elbows further forward in Sphinx, cushions under the belly or pelvis, or simply lying flat on the front, which is still a backbend. If a doctor has given your back problem a name, check with your physiotherapist first. Nothing here should feel sharp.
Because a stiff back is usually a back that's spent all day rounded forward. Sphinx and Seal take it the other way, and they're held on the front of the body where you can't brace much. The rounding comes later, in Child's Pose, once the spine has been the other direction.
From Child's Pose with the knees a little wider, you walk both hands over to one side and let the forehead land where it lands — about six breaths each way. It opens the side of the ribcage, which almost nothing else in a back sequence reaches.
It's meant to be a bit wobbly — Katie says so, and tells you to pick one point on the floor to focus on, and that falling out of it is fine. If you'd rather not balance at all, stay low in Dragon and twist with a hand on the thigh instead.
Katie makes the link during Downward Dog: tight hamstrings can leave you with a tight back, because they pull on the pelvis and the lower back picks up the difference. That's why Dangling closes the class rather than another spine shape.
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