Discomfort in the spine can affect your hips, knees, ankles, feet, neck and shoulders. Our spine holds us upright and protects our most vital organs. It's important to build strong back muscles to support our physical structure. These three yoga poses can help strengthen the spine and hopefully provide relief for lower back pain:

1. Cat & Cow Pose

   This allows your body to move with your breath while flowing through the range of motion with the spine. Come onto your hands and knees into a tabletop position - shoulders stacked over wrists. Draw your ribs away from the floor to create a neutral spine. Inhale to widen your collarbones forward through the arms; lengthen your neck forward and tailbone back, creating an arched spine (without letting your belly drop completely). Exhale to lift your belly and round the spine, pressing evenly into your hands and shins to let your head drop. Keep fluctuating through the breath. As you loosen up, move your hips in a circle to really feel the impact of these moves.

2. Cobra Pose

   This pose lengthens and strengthens the spine. Lie on your belly, forehead down, hands flat next to your low ribs with your elbows close to your sides pointing straight up. Bring your legs together behind you with the tops of your feet pressing into the floor. Firm your leg muscles to elongate. Take a few deep inhales and exhales. Try lengthening your head and chest forward and up, raising and lowering your shoulders, or moving your head in a circle. Use the strength of your legs and draw the back of your shoulders together to steady and elongate your whole body. You can try staying in this pose for a few breaths or lifting and lowering on each breath.

3. Supine Twists

   This helps mobilize the spine and unwind. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat. Open your arms wide to your sides in a T-shape to extend the elbows, wrists and fingers in line with your shoulders. Your hands can either be plat on the floor or palms faceup. Draw your knees to your chest, keeping your legs together. Bring your right knee up toward your left armpit, keeping your right shoulder blade on the floor. Keeping your left leg straight, twist your body to your left, with your right knee and hip on top. Take a few breaths in this position to really feel the twist. Then, unwind and straighten both legs. Repeat on the other side.