Visualization to ease lower back and sciatic pain
Soften your joints to lessen pain
The last two lower back vertebrae and the pelvic bones (including the sacrum, the two iium, and the sacroiliac, or SI, joints) are illustrated above, seen from behind. The sacrum, or tailbone, is the heart-shaped bone in the center. The ilium are the two pelvic bones on either side. The SI joints are where the sacrum meets the two ilium.
What contributes to lower back or sacroiliac pain?
People often experience chronic pain around the joints of the lower back and SI joints. Many people have some arthritis, nerve compression, or both in these joints. Postural habits, inflammation levels, nutrition, and genetics can all contribute to nerve irritation and pain in these areas.
People with Lyme disease and chronic illness may be more prone to lower back or SI-related pain, especially if these joints are already compromised in some way. Lyme bacteria in particular tend to attack our weak spots, as does inflammation in general – so if you have existing arthritis or nerve compression in these joints and a chronic illness, you may be predisposed to worsening pain in the low back, hips, and booty.
How visualization can ease pain
For anyone who experiences pain in the low back and SI, softening and releasing the joints through visualization can be a help. Visualization supports good posture and freedom of motion, which can lessen compression in the joints. It can also improve the flow of blood, lymph, and cerebrospinal fluid, which helps lower inflammation and reduce toxicity. Visualization is also super relaxing, and that in and of itself is beneficial system-wide.
Visualization to support a pain-free lower back and pelvis
Here’s my favorite visualization to soften and support a pain-free lower back and SI. It has to do with feeling directional lines of energy moving through the body, supporting space in the joints. Scroll down to see an illustration, and for details on how to visualize.
Get cozy lying down, preferably on your back. Close your eyes and tune in to your breath. Take a few minutes to relax, letting your breathing deepen.
Begin to sense your pelvis and lower back. Without needing to be exact, form an internal picture of your lower spine joining your sacrum, or tailbone. Imagine the two large pelvic bones, the ilium, meeting your sacrum at your SI joints.
Start by imagining your two ilia widening away from your sacrum. The left half of your pelvis slides away to the left, and the right side to the right – increasing the space inside your SI joints. You may feel your SI joints getting warmer, softer, and looser as you play with this imagery.
When these lines of energy start to feel clear to you, begin to include your lower spine. Your whole lower spine, and eventually your whole entire spine including your head, can begin to release up and away from your sacrum. This makes a little room between your last lower back vertebra and your sacrum, which is the joint most often compromised or compressed. As you can, imagine your sacrum moving down away from your spine toward your feet – further increasing the space in this joint. Again, you may feel a little warmer at the base of your spine, a little softer and easier.
How this visual translates to real life
The great thing about these directional lines of energy is that you can take them with you into everyday life, where they’ll support ease of motion, decompression, and good posture. After you’ve practiced for a while lying down and the movement of energy makes sense and feels good, try the visualization sitting in a chair. Try it walking. Eventually, try it washing the dishes, vacuuming, or whatever else can be painful for your lower back or SI joints. If you’re like me, it will be a magic trick – releasing your joints without the need for stretching or exercises, making any movement easier and more free.
The take-home
Let’s hear it for free, DIY mental acrobatics that lessen pain and improve ease of motion! I hope your lower back and SI joints benefit as much as mine have from this simple visualization – using lines of directional energy to create space in joints that are commonly compressed. If you need more help, seek out a good Pilates teacher or physical therapist.
Thank you for reading. Rivers of energy flow through you,
Shona