A foam yoga block can be used to ease back problems. By placing the foam yoga block underneath your pelvic shelf (the back of the hip bones or pelvis) and laying on the block, you can help the muscles that can cause back and hip problems to release and eventually, after daily use, return those muscles to the proper length and position. The block will be below your waist and above the tailbone and there should be no feeling of pressure or discomfort if the block is placed correctly.
There are three positions in which the pelvic shelf can rest on the yoga block--flat, edge, and end. To start you should just try the first position (flat) for 9 minutes. The legs should be bent at the knees and the feet hip-width apart and flat on the floor. The goal is to eventually have the leg below the knee, perpendicular to to floor. It may take a couple weeks of doing this before you are able to lie in the proper position. Once you can maintain the proper position, you can add the second position (edge) for the last 3 minutes, and work up to doing it the last 6 minutes. At no time while doing this should you feel any discomfort in your back. Eventually, you may be able to add the third position (end) for the last 3 minutes, so that you are doing each position for 3 minutes each.
You may have to slowly work up to the last two positions until you have "trained" the muscles to come into their proper position. After all, it may have taken years to get to the condition in which the back muscles not balanced, or it may have been one incident from which you have not recovered. Three minutes in each position daily will do wonders for your back.
