You may not be a regularly exercising person – the demands of your daily life leave you without time in the morning and too tired to do anything but crawl into bed at night. Maybe you make it to a yoga class, or go to the gym a few times a month. But more and more time passes, and keeping your body in shape seems more and more impossible.
And then one weekend a friend suggests you join their pick-up game, and you remember your glory years of sports in high school or college, and you figure, hey, why not? If I could do it then, why couldn’t I do it now?
But your lower back begs to differ, and by the end of the game it’s already throbbing. (Sound familiar?) The pain increases as you drive home, and by the time you hobble into the house you’re ready to swear off all exercise forever.
Don’t do it! You don’t need to spend hours a day working out to keep your body in good, stable condition. A few minutes a day will start you on the path to recovery. I recommend you begin with the Sidewinder, which you can find in the Yoga Tune Up® 10 Minute Quick Fix Lower Back video. This exercise both strengthens and stretches the muscles of the lower back, in particular the quadratus lumborum, without placing any weight-bearing stress on the spine, and thus is safe for everyone to practice. From here you can build up to the rest of the yoga therapy exercises (including the Revolved Abdominal Pose posted here) and make your body a vibrant and healthy one!
I already like the sidewinder!
Great article!
This answers a question that I had I had about how doing the sidewinder is helpful in lengthening the QLs that have shortened from excessively crossing the legs. It strengthens AND stretches the QL (as it’s extending). Makes sense now.
Good way for people to get back into exercising. Work the quadratus lumborum!
It so important to remember that exercise does not have to be an all or nothing event. A few minutes a day is better than an hour once a week or three hours once a month!
I agree with Bo. Consistency is key. By doing a few exercises everyday, it allows the body to progress at a safe pace and the capacity to endure more or work a little harder the next day. If you do one crazy workout every few weeks its more likely to result in injury and the work that is done may be erased by the time you get to the next workout.
Its so important to be consistent, as in yoga the more consistent the stronger you feel mentally, spiritually and physically. Taking care of ones body and excercising is truly a commitment.
Great article for encouraging people to get out there and move!
Sidewinder is a great exercise even for those active on a regular basis. It is an easy way to incorporate exercise into our day if we can’t make it to the gym, or want to decrease the intensity of our workouts.
Use it or lose it. As time passes and excuses pile up the more difficult it gets to regain strength and flexibility. A couple of minutes a day can save a lot of time & $$$ at the doctor’s office. Thx, will forward to my mom – as a reminder to keep up the good work
I often have a sore lower back so excited to try sidewinder! I like that I can easily incorporate it into my daily routine.
This article is very true for athletes like myself who think they can still do what they use to do when they were younger. I coach swimming and sometimes my kids beg for me to get in the water with them, usually I do but I surely forget that my children are children and I can’t just swim a mile with no issues. It is quite funny to me but I love getting in the water but usually my lower back screams no, no, no!!!!
I’ve been that guy. I played ball in college. After college l into partying a bit in my 20’s, while doing moderate to minimal exercise. I became the weekend warrior as I approached 30, and started competing again, and started to suffer from pulled muscles and aches in my joints. I can say I suffered a herniated disk in my early 30’s. But now, approaching 40, i could be in some of the best years of my life. Stay consistent and me mindful and you will make progress and get back to your healthy body .
Sidewinder is a pose I have not used with my students and thsi explanation of how it gently wakes up underused muscles particularly of the back will give it a place on my warm-up list.
Sidewinder is a pose I have not used with my students and this explanation of how it gently wakes up underused muscles particularly of the back will give it a place on my warm-up list.
This is cool because I have a lot of friends who are itching to get back in the game, but they are fearful because they have put off working out for months, or in some cases even years. The idea of the pain that would come after a hard work out is so daunting that they avoid activity. I am grateful to have something to offer that will help them prepare for a more active lifestyle. A gift I am glad to give a friend!
Love the sidewinder pose. I was just introduced to it a few weeks ago and it is fun and helpful. what a great place to start people back onto the road to a healthy body.
Thanks Sarah for a down to earth article. It rightfully emphasizes that our bodies very gradually gain more flexibility and strength or vice versa. Often I see yogi students who take a break for some reasons, but when they return back for the Yoga practice, immediately want to work as hard in difficult poses, as they did, before they took long break. Then Yoga poses tend to give injury rather than healing. The consistency is the key to yoga practice or any physical exercise.
Thanks for the advice Sarah. I was just marvelling at my cat’s spinal mobility and noticed that she does something that looks a lot like sidewinder on the warm pavement whenever she gets outside. I love that sidewinder both stretches and strengthens the QL in a playful way.
oh how true!! I live with a weekend warrior, reliving his glory days.
oh, it’s just some old timers hockey or lacrosse. However the next days are oops and ouch. I will do my best to promote the sidewinder for both of our sakes. 
I was first introduced to the sidewinder at the Yoga Tune Up teacher training course and it was love at first lateral flexion and extension. I have since introduced it in two of the yoga classes I have taught since with great response. Just sharing the love
I couldn’t believe how something could like such a simple excersize could be so hard!
Yes, I love the sidewinder too! I took Jill’s core workshop at Ojai yoga crib 3 years ago and was so satisfied with learning new tricks! My husband is that weekend warrior that continues to repeat the cycle of injury. He sits at a desk all day, doesn’t exercise or stretch & then jumps on his road bike or into a soccer game or even do an overhaul on our yard. This sends him into the care of a chiropractor or massage therapist. I love this man but I long for the day when he starts to prevent the injury with some YTU! Is there an article on becoming “core-dependent” no more
Good post on the idea of daily, and extremely beneficial, benefits of Yoga Tune Up sidewinder.
Most people think that they need to devote 30 min to an hour of daily stretching – time that they don’t have- to access the ultimate health and healing of their body. Sidewinder is just one of YTU poses that can help you achieve system balance in mere moments.
The sidewinder is a great pose it helps me create space in my intercoastals muscles and after practicing it I feel I can actually take deeper breaths is really great!!
I live so much of my consciousness going forward, I often forget that my body also has two sides and a back – until pain pops up in those locations. Sidewinder pulls my mind into the sides of my body as well as my spine/back. In fact, all the cues given by experienced YTU teachers funnel the attention to often overlooked parts of the body with surgical precision. Thanks, Sarah!