If you suffer from lower back pain, you may feel that the pain is simply a part of aging.

However, this isn't true. If you look after your body you'll likely be able to enjoy a long and active life.

You don't have to deal with back pain every time that you do a little yard work or rearrange your furniture. You may have read about using natural back pain remedies to heal your back. Sometimes these natural cures include exercise, like yoga. The practice of yoga has many moves that can be beneficial in preventing and relieving lower back pain.

Common advice given to people suffering from back pain is that the abdominal and back muscles simply need to be strengthened. Although this is likely true, you should not forget that these muscles also need to be lengthened. Additionally, exercise and stretching should not only focus on the muscles in the center of the back and middle of the stomach, but also on the muscles on the sides of the trunk as well. Yoga will not only strengthen all of these muscles, but lengthen them too. These stronger, longer muscles will protect the back from injury.

More importantly Yoga is good for back pain because it corrects muscle imbalances in the body. If you have exercised the abdominal muscles but neglected the back muscles, poor posture and weak muscles will result. This poor posture will put stress on your body and set you up for repeated back injuries.

If you are susceptible to back injuries, you may be tempted to work only on the abdominal and back muscles. Although it is good to be strong in the core muscles of the body, weak leg muscles and pelvic muscles can also contribute to poor posture, causing stress on the pelvis and lower back.

To effectively strengthen the body, it should be treated as a single unit, with all muscles being equally exercised and stretched. If one regularly practices a yoga routine, muscle imbalances can be corrected. The poses will lengthen the muscles and bring the entire body into correct alignment. The back will begin to develop a normal, healthy lumbar curve. A yoga routine will work all of the muscles of the body, keeping one or two sets of muscles from ruining the alignment of the whole body.

Before you begin using yoga for your back pain, you should keep in mind a few things. First, if you have problems with your lumbar disks, you need to exercise caution with poses that include forward bends, especially those that include twisting along with the bends. These moves can aggravate the damage to your lumbar disks and should be avoided until you have progressed beyond the starting phase. The second thing to remember is that you should pay close attention at all times to your body when exercising. Even during the transitions, you need to keep proper form and focus on how your muscles feel. Never push beyond the level at which you are comfortable to avoid hurting yourself. Third, you need to remember that some poses take consistent work to achieve. You may need to patiently work your way up to more difficult positions. Never try to rush your progress.

If you are currently experiencing pain from a recent back injury, you should not attempt to improve your strength, flexibility or technique in yoga. You should go very slowly and gently and use the yoga moves to work the soreness out of the muscles.

You do not have to accept regular pain in the lower back as an inescapable part of aging. You can get out of bed every morning moving easily. By practicing yoga regularly, the muscles of your back and your entire body can be long, strong and healthy.

Practicing yoga is not necessarily the fabled fountain of youth. However, the flexibility and strength that yoga can bring to your body can make it seem so.