The Cobra Pose is one of the most over-prescribed and improperly done strategies for a herniated disc. I get the idea but the problem is there are too many people landing on these stupid Yoga videos talking about back pain relief and stretches to heal a herniated disc and this overextended exercise seems to always pop up.
If you do this exercise wrong you WILL hurt yourself and slow, if not stop your chances of getting long term relief.
There are BETTER ways for using extension exercises to help with a Herniated Disc and in this video, I want to share with you a simple progression you can use overtime to reverse the effects of a herniated disc.
Check it out!
William, that was awesome.
I love yoga, I do a ton of yoga, I have written extensively about back pain, posture and yoga, but the, “You have back problems? Just do yoga, it’ll fix you right up” crowd drives me nuts. Following that advice led me to nearly destroy my lumbar spine.
In particular, I liked what you touched on near the end, when you were talking about purpose, “Are you doing this stretch to be able to do the stretch, or are you doing it for pain relief?” Over the years, I have found that all too much yoga is done solely for the sake of being able to do yoga: yoga in the service of yoga, rather than in the service of the practitioner.
Andrew
Well said Andrew. You get it. I believe there is a time and a place for everything. Unfortunately, when it comes to back pain, Yoga is applied the wrong way and to be honest it’s not even Yoga as a whole. Yes, I have strong opinions of Yoga but I care more about the application of specific moves for low back pain. I think it’s wrong and not enough people are admitting that what you find online doesn’t work.