Six Exercises to Protect Your Back While Gardening

Like any workout, gardening can leave you feeling sore, particularly if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Dr. Deborah Benzil, an avid gardener and neurosurgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Spine Health, says she often hears about back pain from gardeners. This can come from bending from the waist to plant seeds or work the soil, or using improper technique to lift heavy bags of fertilizer.

Smart equipment investments such as sharp shears and a longer hoe can help people avoid repetitive strain, she says. Benzil also recommends a gardening bench to reduce stress on the knees and lower back. If you put in a marathon dirt session, take stretch breaks. Benzil prescribes a simple standing stretch where she extends her arms overhead and bends to the right and left. 

The following six yoga-inspired exercises can help alleviate gardening aches. Add them to your current workout routine or perform them before or after digging in the dirt. As with any new workout, consult with your physician if you have existing aches or injuries, and stop if you have pain.

Cat cow

Why: This flow between two yoga poses, cat and cow, helps bring flexibility into the spine and stretches the entire back, shoulders and hips.

How: Start in tabletop pose, with hands directly beneath your shoulders and knees beneath your hips. Inhale and arch your back into cow pose by lowering your belly, lifting your chin and broadening your collarbones. Keep your neck long. Exhale and round your spine toward the ceiling into cat pose. Allow your head and tailbone to drop toward the mat as you draw your lower belly up and in. Cycle between these poses five to 10 times.

Thread the needle

Why: This pose releases tension in the shoulders, neck and upper back.

How: Start in tabletop pose, with hands directly beneath your shoulders and knees beneath your hips. On an exhale, slide your right arm underneath your left arm with your palm facing up. Slowly bring your right shoulder and ear to the ground. Avoid pressing weight into your head. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat on the opposite side.

Option: As you unfurl your right arm, twist the upper body open to the right and raise the right hand up to the sky for an added stretch before returning the hand to the floor.

Why: Baby cobra opens up the chest while strengthening and lengthening the back body.

How: Lie facedown with your forehead on the floor, heels hip-width apart. Place your hands beside your shoulders. Your elbows will bend at around 90 degrees. Hug your elbows close to your body. On an inhale, slowly lift your head, neck and chest off the floor. Roll your shoulder blades down and together. Try to keep little to no weight in your hands. The effort should come from the back and legs, not the arms. Hold for two to three breaths and slowly lower down. Repeat five times.

Option: For a deeper stretch that also opens the hip flexors, raise the chest and abdomen off the floor into cobra pose. Your arms will extend until there is a slight bend in the elbow. Broaden through the collarbones to open the chest.

Why: This pose decompresses your spine while stretching your glutes.

How: Lie on your back, with legs extended straight out. Slowly bring your right knee toward your chest, clasping your hands around the knee to guide it into your chest and lightly press it down. Hold for a count of five, then slowly release it back to start. Perform five times, then switch to the other leg.

Option: Add a twist to work the obliques and spinal mobility. Bend your knees and lift your hips slightly and shift them about an inch to the right. Extend your left leg and keep the foot flexed throughout the pose. Use your hands to draw your right knee into your chest. Extend your right arm, palm facing down, so it is in line with your shoulders, and use your left hand to guide your right knee over your torso to the floor. Your right hip will stack on top of your left hip. Turn your head and neck to the left. Keep your shoulders pressed into the ground.

Runner’s lunge with twist

Why: Work your balance while strengthening the quads, glutes, core and hips and stretching the hamstrings, hips flexors and groin.

How: Start in a lunge with your left foot behind you and right knee over the right ankle and hands inside the left foot. Push down through the ball of the right foot and keep the left heel lifted. Your right knee will be bent at around 90 degrees and stacked above your right ankle. Slowly raise the right hand up to the sky, twisting from the middle back, and allow the gaze to follow. Keep your hips square to the floor. Hold for three to five breaths. Return the hand to the floor and switch sides.

Option: If you feel collapsed in the chest, you can place blocks beneath the hands.

Why: When our core is weak, the lower back often compensates. Plank pose strengthens the lower back and abs while working the shoulders and wrists.

How: Start in tabletop pose, with hands directly beneath your shoulders and knees beneath your hips. Tuck your toes and step your feet back so your body forms a straight line, head to feet. Keep your gaze between your hands and your neck long. Think about sucking your navel to your spine to engage the abs, and press out through the heels of the feet. Don’t let your hips sink and avoid sticking your butt in the air. Hold for three to five breaths.

Options: This pose can be performed on the forearms or from the knees.

Write to Jen Murphy at [email protected]

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