12-Minute Yoga Flow for Sciatica
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Movement is crucial for healing sciatica, but too much too soon – or the wrong type of exercise – can make your symptoms worse. This gentle, 12-minute flow is designed to relieve muscle tension, improve circulation, and slowly ease you back into your active lifestyle, hopefully without aggravating your condition.
Your sciatic nerve is the longest and thickest nerve in your body. It’s both a sensory and motor nerve and innervates many of the most important muscles in your legs. When it’s impinged or pinched in your lower back, you’ll often feel radiating pain down into your bum and legs, sometimes as far down as your feet.
Thankfully, sciatica usually resolves within six to eight weeks, and corrective exercises like those you’ll learn here can help accelerate this healing process and prevent future flare-ups. It’s normal to feel some discomfort but aim for a self-assessed pain threshold of no more than four out of ten. Any higher and you should modify or skip the pose. Your symptoms should improve, not worsen with this practice.
12-Minute Sciatica Flow
Forward flexion is the most-common trigger for sciatic nerve pain. With that in mind, you’ll practice all the following poses in slight spinal extension. This can feel odd at first but try to maintain a slight backbend through these exercises.
Sun Salute A
- Stand with your feet hips-width apart between two chairs or two stools
- Keep your spine in a very slight extension (a gentle backbend)
- Inhale, reach your arms up to touch above your head
- Exhale, bend your knees deeply, hinge at your hips and place your hands down onto the stools
- Step your feet back into a plank pose and pause here
- Keep your feet as wide as your hips, and your fingers spread
- Gaze at the floor in front of you, point your toes, and lift your heart through your shoulders into an upward facing dog on your stools
- Exhale, press back into to a downward facing dog, but keep your knees bent throughout
- Inhale through your nose for 1-2-3-4
- Exhale for 4-3-2-1
- Gently step your feet forward between your stools, as wide as your hips
- Inhale, reach your arms out and up to touch
- Exhale, release your arms at your sides
- Repeat this sequence once more
Sun Salute B
- Stand with your feet hips-width apart between two chairs or two stools
- Keep your spine in a very slight extension (a gentle backbend)
- Inhale, reach your arms up to touch above your head
- Exhale, bend your knees, hinge at your hips, place your hands down onto the stools
- Step your feet back to a plank position
- Keep your left toe mound on the ground, step your right foot between your hands
- Move into a crescent lunge pose, lifting your left heel and kicking back, and keeping your right foot is between your stools, fingertips on your stools for support
- With a slight back bend, shift your gaze up, and breathe through your nose
- Place your hands down, and step your right leg back into a plank pose
- Switch legs and repeat this sequence
Rag Doll
- From a plank pose (hands on stools) bend your knees deeply – you may need to walk a little closer towards your stools
- Press your heels down, keep your spine slightly arched, hands or fingers on the stools into a downward facing dog
- Look forward, walk your feet between the stools
- Bend your knees, inhale, reach your arms out and up to touch above your head
- Exhale, release your arms at your sides
- Take a step back, bend your knees, hinge at your hips
- Place your fingertips on top of your stools for support, keeping that slight arch in your back – you might need to bend your knees a lot
- Drop your head here and very carefully load up your hamstrings and the muscles in your posterior chain
- Keep your head relaxed, heels heavy, knees bent as deeply as needed, pushing your weight backwards
- Inhale for 1-2-3-4
- Exhale for 4-3-2-1
- Slowly rise to stand and release your arms at your sides.
Triangle Pose
- Turn to the side with your feet about a meter apart
- Point your right toes towards the stools and turn your left foot in at about a 45-degree angle
- T your arms out at your sides
- Inhale, reach out over your right leg, and place your right hand on top of the stool
- With your legs and both arms straight, raise your left arm into the air, look up towards your fingertips, and breathe through your nose here
- Pinwheel your arms back up to stand, release, switch feet and repeat
Side Plank
- Move your stools or chairs so they’re together
- Step forward, place your hands on top of your stools, and step your feet back into a plank position
- Place your right hand in the middle of one of your stools with your middle finger pointing forward
- Turn your right foot on its side, stack your left foot on top of your right foot, stretch your left arm up into the air
- Allow for a slight curve in your lower back and breathe here
- Slowly lower your left arm down, switch sides and repeat
- Bend your knees, make your way all the way up to stand, and shake it out
Seated Nerve Floss
Nerve flossing is a simple technique designed to encourage your nerves to slide freely between the muscles and other soft tissues they pass through.
- Sit on one of your stools with your ankles under your knees and your feet flat on the floor
- Lifting your right leg off the ground, extend your leg, and lift your chin away from your chest
- Bend your knee and drop your chin in towards your chest
- Inhale, straighten your leg, lift your chin, look up
- Exhale, bend your knee, drop your chin towards your chest
- Repeat this process for five rounds in total
- Return to a neutral position
Seated Pigeon
- Sit in a neutral position with your feet underneath your knees, planted on the floor (use blocks if your feet do not reach the floor)
- Gently lift your right leg and place your right ankle on top of your left knee – if this isn’t possible, place it on your left shin
- Place one hand on your ankle, one hand on your knee, and gaze forward
- Inhale through your nose for 1-2-3-4
- Exhale for 4-3-2-1
- Slowly release your right leg to the floor
- Switch legs and repeat
- Slowly make your way back up to sit, release and shake out your legs
Don’t Forget To Walk
Walking should be included in any healing protocol. Arguably, it’s the most important corrective exercise of all. If possible, aim to walk for 30 minutes a day, using the same pain and discomfort threshold as before – no more than four out of ten intensity.
Safety Disclaimer
This guide is for educational purposes. If you’re suffering from serious sciatic pain, and/or having trouble controlling your bladder or bowel, see a medical professional.
