Bikram Hot Yoga Houston Blog

I'm always happy to assist students and answer questions. I learn from this as well. A very common question, especially from those who just started, is "my lower back is a bit tender/sore, is this normal or am I over-cooking my backward bending?" Here is what I usually say:
"It's totally normal. Finding new muscles and beginning to reshape the body sometimes results in being a little bit 'tender'. The lower back is one of the most flexible parts of the spine, so we tend to use it a great deal when we first start to backbend. You can avoid that tenderness pretty easily though, by using more of your upper and middle spine first. Always start your backbends thinking about those parts, and remember to lift your chest and stomach up to the ceiling throughout your backbend."

One of the coolest things about yoga is that you don't need to take recovery days. It's not like the gym where your body needs to recover and rebuild muscle that you've torn open. The yoga opens the body in a much more gentle and sustainable way. Your body recovers during the savasanas, and by the end of class you are ready for anything! That's why people can take more that one class a day.