Did you ever get up in the morning with stiffness or pain in your low back? Or maybe you woke up and found out that you can’t straighten up because of the acute pain in your back?

What does low back pain have to do with life balance? If you have ever experienced this type of pain then you know that there are very few things that will make you feel good or balanced when you are suffering from pain.

Last year I had a horrible experience (you can read about it here.) One morning I woke up with piercing pain in my lower back area that was so excruciating that it was difficult to stand up. I couldn’t straighten up and I couldn’t bend down. I was stuck in one position and I thought that something was terribly wrong with me. And to make matters only worse, I was only 26 so I didn’t think that I was in the “back-pain” age yet.

Thankfully I was able to get through this bout of pain by moving and doing gentle exercise. However, I never want to experience that feeling again.
A lot of you might know already that I am also a Pilates instructor. One of the main reasons why people turn to Pilates is because they are suffering from some sort of back pain. Lately I was spending a lot of time at the studio while still thinking about our community here on BalanceInMe.

“Why not create a simple workout for low back pain relief for the wonderful balance-seekers on BalanceInMe?” I thought to myself.

Next day I was up and at it.

The most surprising facts about back pain are that

• 80% of people will suffer from back pain at some point of their lives;
• Only 10-15 % of back pain cases are caused by serious conditions (arthritis, cancer, infection etc.)
• 85-90% of back pain incidents are related to poor posture, sedentary lifestyle, extra weight or sports injuries caused by poor technique.

I don’t know any single person (above the age of 18) who hasn’t complained of back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain doesn’t discriminate and can catch you off-guard no matter what lifestyle you are leading:

• Whether you sit a lot or stand a lot,
• whether you exercise a lot or never exercise,
• whether you are slim or heavy, and
• whether you pick up heavy weights all the time or lead a sedentary lifestyle.

I hope you will enjoy the video that I made for you and you will stick to this simple routine to eliminate or prevent back pain. Think of this easy 15-minute workout as a valuable investment into your health and wellbeing and an effortless way to clear your mind after a long day. Enjoy!

You can also download detailed descriptions and pictures of all exercises from my new website – Exercise for Low Back Pain. If you are interested in safe and simple workouts for your back and overall wellbeing then please subscribe to receive the latest updates.

Let me know if you ever suffer from back pain and what you think about the workout in the comments below.

Keep it balanced!

Photo credit: rachel a.k.

When you hear the combination of the words “balance” and “workout” you probably immediately think about Yoga (at least that’s what I think about). Today I would like to offer you a great Yoga workout for strong arms. I’ve been personally doing this routine for a few weeks now and it is great. I really recommend it to anybody who wants to increase the strength in their arms without lifting weights at the gym and without doing boring push-ups. Enjoy!

Keep it balanced!

Keep it balanced!