Phase 3 · Return to Function

Part of the 12-Week Yoga Program for Chronic Lower Back Pain

15-Minute Yoga Sequence to Keep Your Back Strong

The one to keep. Everything the twelve weeks built, in the shortest form that still works.

This is the practice that outlives the twelve weeks. Everything that made the difference, in the shortest form it still works in: a hinge, a lunge, a standing pose, a squat, two strengthening poses and a twist. Fifteen minutes, once or twice a week, is roughly what it takes to hold what three months of work built. It is much easier to keep a back than to get it back.

15 min · Level 2

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When it helps

You are in the last weeks of the program and need a third day that is short, or the program is finished and this is your maintenance practice. Fifteen minutes, standing, no props.

Physical effect

One pass through each of the patterns the program built: hinge, lunge, single side load, squat, extension and rotation.

Function

Short enough to actually happen on a weekday, which is the only property a maintenance practice really needs.

Mental effect

Knowing you have a fifteen minute answer is a large part of why the pain stops running the week.

Fifteen minutes standing

One pass through everything the twelve weeks built, in order.

Tadasana

30 sec

Mountain Pose

Feet hip width, weight even, five slow breaths.

Mountain Pose is thirty seconds of checking in. It tells you which of the poses below needs more care today.

Learn more about Tadasana

Ardha Uttanasana

45 sec

Half Standing Forward Bend

Hands on the shins, back long, knees soft.

Half Standing Forward Bend finds the hinge before anything asks for it under load.

Learn more about Ardha Uttanasana

Virabhadrasana II

45 sec per side

Warrior II

Front knee over the front foot, arms wide, trunk upright.

Warrior II is load on one side at a time with the pelvis held level. Nothing else in fifteen minutes covers that.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Utkatasana

2 sets of 8 breaths

Chair Pose

Hips back, chest lifted, weight in the heels.

Chair is the hinge under load, which is the single most useful pattern in this program.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Malasana

1 min

Garland Pose

Feet a little wider than the hips, heels down or supported, chest lifted.

Garland Pose keeps the deep squat available. It is the movement that disappears first and is missed most.

Learn more about Malasana

Anjaneyasana

45 sec per side

High Lunge

Step one foot forward, back heel lifted, hands at the hips.

High Lunge keeps the hip flexors long. They shorten again within days of sitting, which is why this stays in the short version, and it is the most demanding pose here.

Learn more about Anjaneyasana

Shalabhasana

2 sets of 6 breaths

Locust Pose

On your front, chest and legs lift a small amount, neck long.

Locust is the shortest way to keep the muscles beside the spine working.

Learn more about Shalabhasana

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

2 sets of 8 breaths

Bridge Pose

Lift, hold, lower slowly.

Bridge keeps the hips strong, which keeps the load off the lower back where it belongs.

Learn more about Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Jathara Parivartanasana

1 min 30 sec per side

Reclining Belly Twist

Knees to one side, shoulders staying down.

The supine twist is the counter movement to everything above and the fastest way to leave the practice feeling neutral.

Learn more about Jathara Parivartanasana

Savasana

3 min

Corpse Pose

Palms up, nothing to do.

Three minutes at the end is what separates a practice from a set of exercises.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 3 · Weeks 9 to 12

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Return to Function, the third phase of the 12-Week Yoga Program for Chronic Lower Back Pain. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Once or twice a week after the program ends. If your back flares, this is not the practice for that week. Go back to the gentle floor sequence until things settle, then come back here. Nothing in this program is medical advice, and the safety notes in the practice guide still apply.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

Every asana in this practice has a page of its own. You will find alignment cues, what the shape actually works on, and the energetics behind it.

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