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Chapter 7. Lumbago And Sciatica

IN the previous chapter I discussed backache and aching legs due to bad posture and long hours of standing. The antidote was based on limbering up the spine and keeping it supple, bending it this way and that to relieve tired muscles, and putting the feet up above the head to combat the pull and downward drag of gravity. The antidote in this chapter is based on toning up the sciatic nerve and the muscles of the lower back to relieve the pain of sciatica and lumbago.

The first Yoga asana I would like you to try combines the two processes. I warn you it is not one of the easier ones but because of its value you should persevere and try to master it. Yoga is a perpetual challenge for thinking people. Anything easily gained is lightly prized, so when you have mastered THE FORWARD BEND or PASCHIMOTTANAS AN A you will feel that you have really achieved something. As usual I will describe the easiest variation first.

Forward Bend

1. Lie flat on your back, hands at your sides and feet together. Keeping your legs straight and your heels on the floor slowly raise your trunk from the waist until you are in a sitting position.



2. Stretch out your arms, bend forward, and grasp your toes with your fingers. If you cannot reach your toes grasp your calves or ankles until you have limbered up your spine enough to be able to bend it more fully and reach your toes easily.



3. Bring your forehead down until you can press it against your knees. Did I hear you say “'impossible”. Most people say that but if you take a quick look at figure 20 you will see that it is not only entirely possible but actually rather easy when you can once do it. But your spine is too stiff at the moment is it not, to perform this kind of bending so be content, at this stage, to bring your forehead as close to your knees as you can even if this means only a slight inclination of your head. If you proceed slowly and gently you will find that your spine will gradually loosen up, your head will be able to go lower, and soon you will be able to press your face to your knees.



4. Remain in this position for as long as you comfortably can and then very slowly bring your arms down to your sides, straighten up, and lower your body to the floor again until you are in the starting position. Lie there and relax for a few moments and attempt the Paschimottanasana only once more. Twice a day is enough at first. As you gradually become used to this exercise try to extend the period when your head is on your knees in which case you need only perform this asana once.

Once you get used to the Forward Bend and can do it tolerably well, proceed as follows which incorporates the Yoga breathing as well.

1. Lie fiat, take a deep breath, and at the same time sit up.



2. While exhaling bend forward and grasp your toes, ankles, or calves. (Fig. 19.)



3. Bring your forehead on to your knees without inhaling again. The extreme bend will force all the air out of your lungs.



4. Lower your elbows to the floor as in figure 20 and remain thus for as long as you can without breathing.



5. When the impulse to inhale appears do so while straightening up slowly.



6. When you have completed your inhalation slowly lie down until you are in the starting position. Remain relaxed for a few moments and take a few deep recovery breaths.

This exercise is a more advanced form of the Head to Knee exercise, which I described in chapter five. If you can perform the Head to Knee successfully the Forward Bend will not give you too much difficulty. Its benefits are many. It gives the maximum of bending capacity to the body and at the same time imparts a stimulating pressure on the viscera. In stretching the spinal column to the greatest degree it helps to relieve and prevent sciatica and lumbago. Like the Head to Knee posture it tones up sluggish bowels and helps to promote better elimination, thereby being a cleansing and purifying exercise, which will help to rid the body of the impurities, which cause pain and disease. For this reason it is practised in the higher stages of Yoga for its spiritual values for spiritual purity is closely linked to physical purity.

There is a standing variation of the Forward Bend which some of you might like to try. It is possibly slightly more difficult for the beginner as the support of the floor is removed from the legs but the value of the posture is greatly enhanced by the extra effort involved.

1. Stand up straight with your hands at your sides. Inhale deeply; slowly raise your arms above your head but without joining your fingers. Remain thus until you have completed your inhalation.



2. While exhaling bend forward from the waist and place your palms just below your calves.



3. As you complete your exhalation press your head against your knees as I have demonstrated in figure 35. Remain thus until the impulse to inhale appears.



4. Straighten up as you inhale, and complete your inhalation with your spine erect and your hands at your side. Perform this asana only once or twice at first and do not under any circumstances try to force your muscles in any way. The FORWARD BEND is one of the Yoga exercises, which helps to keep old age at bay. Many Yogis live to be well over a hundred years old yet still look young and remain active. When asked their secret they will tell you, 'A man is only as old as his spine'. Keep this saying in mind and vow to remain supple and active for ALL of your life and not just for a third of it!

FIGURES 19, 20 BENDING FORWARD

Before we leave the FORWARD BEND I would like to describe the advanced form of it used by really enthusiastic students. They do not catch the toes with their fingers; instead they rest their forearms on the toes with the elbows straight. The hands are held palm to palm, and the head is then pressed to the knees as before.

Advanced students, or the more supple among you, might like to try another forward bending exercise which brings the maximum flexibility to the lumbar region and its ligaments. It is called Oopavishta-Konasana, or in English the PRISM POSTURE.

1. Sit down on the floor with your legs outstretched. While inhaling deeply move your legs as wide apart as possible.



2. Catch your toes with your outstretched hands and while exhaling very slowly bend your head until it is touching the floor.



3. Remain thus for as long as you can without breathing. When the impulse to inhale appears do so and at the same time raise your head and bring your legs together again.

After this exercise lie down on the floor and relax.

After the FORWARD BEND and the PRISM POSTURE, here is something easier. It is called the WEDGE POSTURE and it is particularly beneficial if it is performed after any forward bending exercise because it stretches the body in exactly the opposite direction and so relieves tension in the muscles.

Wedge Posture

1. Sit down on the floor with your legs outstretched, feet together. Place your hands behind you, palms down, and your fingers pointing away from your body.



2. Adjust the position of your hands according to your personal build and capabilities and then raise your body, keeping it as straight as possible until you are resting on your heels and your hands. Your body is now shaped like a wedge. Remain as this for a few seconds, and then relax. Repeat three or four times. Remember to perform the Wedge Posture if you feel any tension in your muscles after a forward bending exercise. It stretches, Umbers, and strengthens the lumbar region and its ligaments.

And now here is something new for you to try if you have sciatica. Tone up your sciatic nerve first with the Forward Bend, loosen those knotted muscles with the Wedge Posture and then sit down to do the GOMUKASANA or BULL POSTURE.

Many Yoga asanas are named after animals and it is usually easy to see why, but wherefore the Bull posture? If you will look at figure 23 perhaps it will explain. My feet are arranged on either side of me rather like the horns of a bull don't you think? This Sanskrit name is sometimes translated as Cow-Face Posture, but I feel that aesthetically it is all-wrong to give this rather graceful posture such a name. Still names are not that important. What matters is to relieve your sciatica, so let us begin.

Bull Posture

1. Sit down on the floor, spine straight and legs outstretched. Bend your right leg and place it over the left one with your right heel against your left hip.



2. Bend your left leg and place your left heel against your right hip. You are now in the position I am demonstrating in figure 23 with your right leg uppermost.



3. Hold this position for as long as you comfortably can and then change over your legs so that your left is uppermost.

You will feel the stretch imparted to the sciatic nerve in the leg, which is uppermost. If your sciatica is very painful I hope you will not try to force your legs where they will not easily go as this would cause you a great deal of pain and discomfort. Slowly and gently is the word here, practise a little each day and you will soon be able to execute a beautiful Bull posture. If any part of your leg or hip aches when you attempt this asana this can be strongly massaged with your fingers to bring relief. If you proceed with extreme caution this asana, more than any other with the possible exception of the Forward Bend, will loosen the sciatic nerve and restore elasticity.

If you do not suffer from sciatica regular practice of the Bull Posture will ensure that you never do. Your muscles in the lower half of the back will be strengthened so sufferers from lumbago will also find the Bull Posture of great value. When, after careful practice, you can perform this asana to your liking and can hold it in comfort for several minutes, while you hold it practise deep breathing with your eyes closed and your spine held straight. You will find it a valuable exercise in the calming of the mind, and this calmness should be reflected in the serene expression of the face.

The next stage of the Bull Posture involves the arms and shoulders. As you sit comfortably in this seated posture raise the hand corresponding to your leg, which is uppermost, and bring it behind your shoulder. At the same time bend the other arm backwards and upwards and join your fingers together. Proper execution of this movement will develop your trapezoidal muscles, and prevent bursitis, and arthritis of the shoulders. It may take a little practice for you to be able to join your hands together in this novel way but do go slowly and you will soon succeed. It is well worth a little effort.

The Squatting Pose which I described in chapter five will also bring relief to sufferers from lumbago and sciatica. Though not a beautiful posture it is an invaluable one. Yoga, as a general rule, is as graceful as ballet dancing in its static grace as opposed to the fleeting movements of ballet, but the ancient Yogis in their wisdom did not omit several ungraceful postures for the sake of the body's health and well being. Such a one is the Squatting Pose and there are several others scattered about in these pages. They are included for a very good reason so do not omit them because of their lack of aesthetic appeal.

But now, to make up for the ungainly Squat which will greatly help your lumbago and sciatica here is an equally beneficial one, which has all the bizarre grace of the insect from which, it takes its name.

Salabhasana or she Locust Posture

1. Lie face downwards, chin touching the floor, hands along your sides, palms either clenched or flat on the floor.



2. While inhaling deeply raise your right leg as high as you possibly can, pressing into the ground with your clenched fists or flattened palms to give yourself more leverage. I have demonstrated the correct position in figure 22.



3. Hold this position as you complete your inhalation and then slowly lower your leg as you exhale. Repeat with the other leg. Keep the raised leg as straight as you can and perform this asana six times in all, three times with each leg.

When you have practised with alternate legs for a few days try the full Locust Posture, which involves the raising of both legs simultaneously as in figure 21. This variation of the Locust Posture is much more difficult but the added effort involved greatly enhances the benefits of this valuable

Fig. 23 Bull Posture

posture. It has the added benefit of toning and strengthening the muscles and organs of the abdomen as well as bringing relief from our two antagonists of this chapter.

When you can perform the full Locust Posture hold it for as long as you comfortably can while holding your breath. Repeat up to six times a day.
The next posture I would like you to try is deceptively simple. Called the FROG POSE it is performed simply by kneeling on the floor, knees together and feet apart, and then sitting on the floor between your feet. Simple did I say? I can hear you saying it is impossible. Not only is it possible but if you look at figure 53 you will see it in its extreme form when the body is bent backwards with the legs in this position until the head touches the floor. This is called the Kneeling Bridge Posture so if this is feasible how much more easy is the simple Frog Pose. So do practise it and your sciatica will gradually succumb to its nerve tugging, muscle toning persuasion.

I would like to refer you once again to chapter five in which 1 have described the Yogamudra. This exercise has very many benefits and not the least of these is its effect on the spinal column and the muscles on either side of it. For the relief of lumbago you would do well to practise it until you can perform it to perfection and hold it for some time. Remember to do deep Yoga breathing while in this position and straighten up as soon as you begin to feel the slightest strain. In the two complaints with which this chapter is concerned it is of vital importance that you do not strain any nerve or muscle. Once again I reiterate the words 'slowly and gently'.

I cannot mention the Yogamudra twice in this book without telling you of the spiritual values it confers. Although we are primarily concerned in this book with improving the health let us never forget that the practice of Hatha Yoga cannot but have a beneficial effect on the mind and spirit. Yogamudra, one of the basic Yoga asanas, is essentially a cleansing exercise, both of the system and of the mind. Students in the advanced stages of Yoga remain in this position for as long as an hour or more.

I am not asking you to attempt such a feat of endurance but I would like you to experience the effects of just a few quiet moments spent in sitting in this posture, when you can do it, that is. I am aware that for some of you this will take some time. But as you straighten up you will experience a new clarity of vision, a new awareness, and a heigthened sense of power and well-being. You will, as you come to learn more and more Yoga asanas, adopt your own particular favourites and I have heard from many people that Yogamudra is one of the most popular Yoga asanas. Not an easy one but how worthy it is of your time, your patience and your endeavour.
And now to end this chapter I will describe one of the most beautiful and dramatic postures in the entire Yoga range. Strikingly graceful, it is worthy of a place in the most classical of ballets. Called ANJANEYASANA or in English the WING POSTURE it makes the human body into a living poem of static grace and at the same time limbers up the muscles of the lower back, the thighs, and the shoulders. But as it is one of the most beautiful so it is one of the most difficult to perform perfectly, though beginners will be able to perform it in a modified way with little difficulty. I include it in this book because it is far too beautiful to be left out, and also because to sufferers from lumbago and sciatica it is of great and lasting benefit.

Anjaneyasana or the Wing Posture

1. Kneel down with your feet together. Your body should be straight from the knees upwards. Place your right foot on the floor so that the upper leg is at right angles to the lower leg. Stretch your left leg back as far as possible, keeping the knee on the ground. Try to reach a little farther back with your leg each time you practise this asana.



2. Raise your hands above your head with the fingers touch ing, and palms together. Very slowly bend your spine and your head backwards. When performed correctly this asana requires the outstretched leg, the spine and the arms to form a semicircle. Viewed from the side this Yoga posture looks like the flight of some graceful and powerful bird.

Please exercise very great care when bending your body backwards and do not try to force any of your muscles beyond their capacity. With practice they will loosen up and you will not experience any painful cramp in your shoulders and thighs. Beginners to Yoga, particularly those of you who are not used to taking exercise, may well find that your muscles are a little sore the day after you start. Do not exercise these muscles for a day or two but give them a rest as you try something different. So if, after attempting the WING POSTURE your shoulders are a little stiff the next day, then do some other exercise, which involves another part of the body.

The study of Hatha Yoga in general will increase your natural patience so that, in time, you will be content to learn and improve slowly, and not expect dramatic results in next to no time. The study of Yoga requires infinite patience but in studying it you will gradually develop the patience you need. One cannot make this statement in connection with any other form of physical culture, which proves once again that Hatha Yoga, though its province is primarily the physical body, is very much a mental discipline as well.

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