What You Need To Know About Practicing Yoga With Back Pain

Got Back Pain? Try This Softer Approach

If you’re dealing with back pain, it's not fun. I know, you’ve probably tried a few things—painkillers, rest, distractions, maybe even physical therapy or considered surgery. Those might help in the short term, but they often miss one key ingredient: you.

Your awareness, your breath, your ability to listen to your body.

This is where Joint Renewal Yoga is different.
It’s not about stretching hard or pushing through pain. It’s about restoring natural movement, calming the nervous system, and giving your spine the space it needs to heal—from the inside out.

I teach Joint Renewal Yoga, based on the Kaiut Yoga method from Brazil, combined with over 25 years of experience teaching various yoga styles. This approach invites you to inquire deeply into the area of pain, especially around your spine. You’re not trying to fix anything or rush toward a solution. Instead, you're being asked to explore—with open curiosity.

And importantly—don’t assume you “know” what your back pain is.
You may have been told you have a herniated disc. That’s common, especially as we age. But here’s the thing: many people over 55 have herniated discs… without pain.

So, being told that’s the cause doesn’t always mean it is.

Labels can close doors.

Exploration can open them.

Two Simple Moves to Try Today:

1. Legs Up the Wall
Lie on your back and rest your legs up the wall. Keep a little space between your hips and the baseboard. Let your legs be straight, feet relaxed, and just do nothing. Breathe. Feel the floor support your spine. Stay for a minute or two—or longer if it feels good. This position gently decompresses the lower back and calms your whole system.

2. Gentle Seated Rotations
Sit in a wide cross-legged position (Sukhasana), supported on a cushion. Slowly rotate your spine side to side, just a few millimeters if that’s all you can do. Don’t "twist"—think turn. Then try gentle side bends. Repeat the sequence, this time sitting directly on the floor. Move softly and breathe deeply. The key is curiosity, not force.

And remember to approach any back pain very gently. Don’t go in with an attitude of:

“Back pain, I’m going to tackle you head on. I don’t want you. You have to go now!”

No no no… it’s a dialogue that’s much softer, quieter, and more gentle. There’s an inner game, a playfulness and kindness:

“Hello back pain… what have you got for me today?
What can I learn from you?
What sort of pain are you?
I’m just going to sit here with you for a little while, move a little, and see what happens.”

Many students and teachers of my Joint Renewal System have found that this mindful approach—staying with discomfort in a safe, curious way—can transform their relationship with pain.

Not always, not completely—but 9 times out of 10, if you stay with your back pain with complete focus and curiosity, it will change, even if just a little. And those small shifts, over time, add up.

If you give that area of your body your full attention for even a few minutes, you may be astonished at how the pain begins to soften. Consider this a kind of meditation with your spine—a gentle, embodied awareness practice.

Move with kindness. Breathe with presence. Watch what you can learn.

Let the pain move through you, not define you.