Yoga for Sciatica
Many people with tight hips area and possibly lower-back muscles find that straight-leg forward bends actually aggravate sciatica.
Here’s some advice from Sarah Powers on some of the better yoga positions that can help sciatica.
If the pelvis is unable to rotate forward (flexion of the hip) by the psoas and iliacus muscles, quadratus lumborum, and rectus abdominis, then ante-version or rotation of the pelvis forward will be limited, resulting in the pelvis rotating back (retroversion).
Instead of bending forward from the hips, the lower spine rounds and bends forward while the pelvis tugs back. This is why you often hear the instruction to “bend from the hip creases” to lift the sitting bones.
The action of lifting and separating the sitting bones results in the pelvis tilting forward. If the pelvis does not tilt forward in a forward bend, the result can be either a strain or pull of the sacroiliac (SI) ligaments or sciatica. This happens more often in seated forward bends, where the pelvis is fixed to the floor.
It is therefore important to avoid these poses, as well as any pose where shooting pain develops. Sciatica is often felt on one side only, so instead of taking Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend), try Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Forward Bend).
If the pain shoots from the lower back, bring the leg in toward the groin on the side you are not experiencing sciatica. If it is located more in your buttocks, bring in the leg in which you experience the pain. If bringing one leg in still makes you suffer from the shooting nerve pain, avoid seated forward bends altogether.
And a video by Ester Ekhart performing the exercises.
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