Yoga for Muscle Spasms: 5 Restorative Poses to Try

If you have muscle spasms, you’re not alone. Doing yoga for muscle spasms is a pretty well-known way to alleviate pain.

Muscle spasms cause both acute and chronic pain, which can be debilitating if left untreated. Fortunately, yoga is a gentle way to ease tension in the body and release stress from the mind.

If you're experiencing muscle spasms, try the following restorative yoga for muscle spasms poses for relief.

Yoga For Muscle Spasms: Best Poses

Here's a look at five such poses:

#1 Legs-up-the-wall

This pose is a great way to do yoga for muscle spasms.

To do the legs-up-the-wall pose, follow these steps:

Lie on your back, and stretch your legs up the wall, letting them rest against the wall. If you need more room, you can bend one knee so that it meets the other.
Rest your arms by your sides, with the palms facing up. If you like more support to keep the spine straight, place pillows underneath them so that they're level with the floor.
Relax into the pose for as long as it feels comfortable — even just five minutes is a great way to start. You may want to stay longer if it helps reduce muscle spasms and pain in your back.
Make sure not to hold the pose for too long initially.
If dizziness or lightheadedness occurs while resting in the pose, move out of the posture slowly by lowering one leg at a time. Lie flat on the back before sitting up again with both feet planted firmly on the floor next to each other (don't worry — you will get better).

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#2 Downward Facing Dog

It's an excellent way to do yoga for muscle spasms and back pain, as it allows the spine to decompress and elongate.

To get into the pose:

Start on your hands and knees, with the palms flat on the floor and fingers pointing towards the toes.
Walk your hands forward till they're under your shoulders. Walk them out just past shoulder width apart (you can vary this distance if it feels better).
Spread your fingers wide, and press down into the floor to lift up through every part of the body, especially through the thighs and hips as you straighten them so that they're parallel with the ground.
You should feel like there's an imaginary line running through each ankle bone all the way up through both sit bones at the top of their range.

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#3 Forward Bend

The forward bend is a simple, gentle way to release muscle tension in the back and hamstrings and do yoga for muscle spasms.

To perform a forward bend, stand on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. If possible, place a folded blanket under your feet for added support and comfort. Proceed as follows:

Take several deep breaths, allowing the breath to flow easily into each exhalation as you relax into the pose.
Gently bend forward from the waist, letting gravity do its work as it draws your torso down towards the floor till you can feel the tension in the back and hamstrings begin to release.
The body should be straight but not rigid. If that's too challenging initially, simply allow yourself to fold forward from the hips till you find a comfortable position where the lower back feels open but supported by gravity.
Once this position is reached (and for most people it comes very quickly), maintain it gently for up to a minute before slowly returning your weight onto both feet again as you exhale fully.

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#4 Child's Pose

It's a great way to extend the torso and do some yoga for muscle spasms.

To do it, follow these steps:

Kneel on the floor, with your knees hip-width apart and feet flat on the ground.
Bring your torso forward till the body makes a diagonal line from the head to the heels. The thighs should be perpendicular to the floor, and head should be resting on a block or blanket if it does not reach the floor easily.
If you need more height for the pose, place two blocks stacked one on top of the other in front of you so that they're right under where you would place your head (with extra room between them).
Inhale, and exhale as you bend forward from the hips. Bend at the waist, not at the knees (that's important). Rest your hands on the blocks or on the floor in front of you.

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#5 Happy Baby Pose

It's a great yoga pose to stretch the hamstrings, glutes, calves, and spine. This is one of the best ways to do yoga for muscle spasms.

Follow these steps to do it::

Place your hands on the floor, directly below the shoulders.
With an inhalation, stretch the arms straight out in front of you; with an exhalation, press into the floor, and lift your hips up till they're parallel to the ground.
Let your head hang down towards the floor as far as it will comfortably go without straining. :
From a seated position, draw your knees towards your chest. Wrap your arms around the top of your legs, and hold on to the back of the knees or shins for extra support.
Use the pose as a resting place for at least five deep breaths before releasing.

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Takeaway

Doing yoga for muscle spasms is a great way to relieve pain. It is also an excellent way to relieve stress and tension that can contribute to your symptoms. If you suffer from muscle spasms, try the aforementioned restorative yoga for muscle spasms poses.