Exercises for Back Pain

Crane Washes its Wing Tips

Begin with this first one of the exercises for back pain:

1. Inhale as you raise your hands up to the side and interlace your fingertips together behind your head.


2. Exhale as you carefully bend forward from the waist. Curl your spine down, engaging your abdominal muscles, keeping your legs straightened.


3. Inhale as you rest the tip of your Left elbow on your Left Knee. Now using your Left elbow as a pivot, Twist your upper body so that you are facing to your Right.


4. Try to point your Right Elbow straight up towards the sky, feeling the stretch along the Right side of your torso and your Right Lumbar in your lower back.


5. Exhale as you release the stretch and return back to Center position.


6. Repeat this stretch on the other side, resting your Right elbow on your Right Knee and pointing your Left Elbow towards the sky, stretching the Left side and Lumbar.


7. Repeat this lower back pain exercise for a total of 3 times to each side.


8. Return to Center position.


9. If you are going to continue into the next exercises for back pain, remain in this bent over position. Otherwise, Inhale as you slowly lift your torso back to an upright position, keeping your chin tucked into your chest the whole time in order to prevent an injury as you lift.

Crane Twists its Whole Body to Look up

In this second back pain exercise:

1. Starting from a bent over position, with both hands resting on your knees.
2. Grab your Left ankle with your Right hand so that both hands are now touching the left leg.


3. Inhale as you bend your right knee, shifting your weight onto your right foot, and twisting your upper body towards the left, so that you are looking up towards the sky.


4. You should keep your left leg straight as you do this twist. You should feel the stretch in your left hamstring and lumbar-sacral part of your lower back.


5. Exhale as you return to center with your weight evenly distributed on both feet. Bring your Right hand back to your Right knee.


6. Now repeat on the other side: This time grabbing your Right ankle with your Left hand. Both hands are now holding your Right Leg at both knee and ankle.


7. Inhale as you shift your weight onto your Left foot by bending your left knee.


8. Twist your upper body to your Right as you keep your Right leg straight with your hands holding and stabilizing the Right knee and ankle.


9. Only bend and twist just as far as your body will allow. You should not feel any pain. DO NOT GO BEYOND YOUR BODY'S NATURAL CAPABILITY!


10. You should feel a gentle stretch in your Right hamstring and lower back.


11. Repeat this lower back exercise for a total of 3 times to each side.

Crane Sharpens its Beak

In this third exercise for lower back pain:

1. With your feet about double shoulder-width apart, Inhale as you raise your hands to the sides to interlace your fingers at the back of your head


2. Keep Inhaling as you twist your upper body to your Right, allowing your Right foot to point a little to the Right.


3. Exhale as you bend down towards your Right knee from the waist, extending and keeping your your spine as straight as you can so that your nose is pointed directly at your Right knee cap.


4. Inhale as you move your interlaced hands from behind your head to straighten your arms and stretch your palms down towards the side of your Right foot.



5. Exhale as you grab your right ankle and try to pull your upper body down so far so that you can touch your nose to your Right kneecap.


6. Keep your legs straight so that you really stretch the Hamstrings, Lumbar, and Hips. Its no point to touch your nose to your kneecap if you are cheating by bending your knees.


7. You can take 3 full deep breaths as you hold this stretch, ending with an Exhale.


8. Inhale as you release your hands from your ankle and return your head position to the front and center.


9. Keep Inhaling as you slowly straighten your body back to an upright position, keeping your chin tucked into your chest so that you straighten the vertebra one by one, beginning with the lumbar vertebra, then your thoracic vertebra and finally your neck is returned to an upright position.

Exercise for Back Pain #4

Drawing the Bow Around the World

In this fourth of my exercises for back pain:

1. With feet shoulder width, INHALE as you straighten your left arm and point your left index finger to your left, focusing your sight on the fingernail of your left index finger.


2. At the same time, pull your right elbow to your right, holding your right hand in a loose fist, as if pulling the arrow back on a Bow & Arrow, with your left index finger representing your target.


3. From this position, bend your trunk laterally, bending your right side of your body, stretching the left side of your hips and ribs, so that your index finger is pointing straight up towards the sky. Keeping looking at your index finger (target), and continue to INHALE deeply, as you hold this position.


4. EXHALE as you twist your entire trunk to the left and circle your left index finger with your arm still straight around to point towards the back of your RIGHT leg. You should be twisting as much as you can, keeping your feet stationary and rooted into the ground.


5. Keep EXHALING as you circle your extended LEFT index finger from completely twisted behind to the left, slowly untwisting and reaching your Left index finger towards your LEFT heel and ankle as you untwist, reaching with your Left index finger towards the ground in front of your LEFT FOOT as you circle back to to the front.


6. Draw your LEFT arm to the right in a giant ARC from the front of your left foot as you are bending forward, up to point directly to your right side, crossing your LEFT arm across your chest, as you straighten your spine, and now you are looking to your RIGHT.

Repeat the exact same movements as before using your RIGHT index finger to point, and twisting around to the RIGHT to look back and around.

DISCLAIMER!! These exercises are not intended to treat or cure any disease or condition. By using these diagrams you are taking full responsibility for any pain or injury that may be caused by the improper use of these instructions and diagrams, thereby agreeing that Holistic Back Relief Acupuncture & Wellness Center and Alex Tuggle L.Ac. holds no liability towards you, if you decide to use these diagrams and instructions as a reference for any exercise that you perform. Please consult with your Doctor, Physical therapist, Qigong instructor, or other fitness professional before attempting any of the exercises presented here.

If you would like to schedule a one-on-one personal Qigong exercise lesson, please contact me through my Contact form and I will get back to you shortly to schedule a time for a 1-2 hour personal Qigong lesson.