Slipped Disc: What Helps It Feel Better, And What Your Scan Does Not Tell You

Last updated: 25 October 2026

Slipped disc: the short answer

What helps a slipped disc feel better is rest first, then gentle, supported movement: lying poses, twists, long leg stretches and supported forward stretching, with no hunched bending. Done this way, yoga is very likely to help and is certainly worth trying, based on our experience at Flametree. The disc does not slip out and have to be pushed back in. Its outer ring weakens and the soft centre bulges, so the aim is to give the back space, calm the guarding and rebuild strength around it.

This article draws on our free ebook, Happy Backs: The Gentle Iyengar Way With A Sore Back, by Chris Lalor. In short:

• “Slipped disc” is a slip in the words. The disc does not slide out of place.
• A scan rarely tells the whole story. Disc wear shows up in 37% of 20-year-olds with no pain at all.
• Rest first, then move. Supported lying poses come before anything else.
• The pattern is twists, gentle traction and supported forward stretching. Hunched bending is out.
• One leg at a time. Lifting both legs together waits.
• Gentle matters. How yoga is taught matters as much as whether you do it.

A quick word on Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. He pioneered the use of props such as chairs, belts and bolsters (firm, long cushions). It is the style we teach at Flametree, in Darwin and live online. Mr Iyengar helped people with serious back trouble in his own classes, and props were how.

What is a slipped disc, and is it the same as a herniated disc?

Yes, they mean the same thing. A disc is the cushion between two bones of the spine. It has a tough outer ring and a soft, jelly-like centre. In a slipped disc, which doctors often call a herniated disc, the outer ring weakens and the soft centre bulges out and can press on a nerve. The writers in the Iyengar institute’s journal Yoga Rahasya say “slip disc” is “a slip in the terminology”. The disc does not slide out. That is good news, because there is nothing to push back in.

When a bulging disc presses on a nerve, the pain can travel. A badly slipped disc can lead to sciatica, which is pain from the big nerve that runs down the leg. Some people feel burning, tingling or numbness. If that is your pain, our page on sciatica stretches shows the gentle stretches, and what to skip.

What helps a slipped disc feel better?

A gentle, supported programme that rests the back first. In 1996, Geeta Iyengar’s programme for disc trouble used five things: supported lying poses, Reclining Big Toe Pose (with the legs bent first), Wind-Releasing Pose over a support, gentle twists, and Downward Facing Dog with support, ending in Corpse Pose. Look at the pattern. It is twists, gentle traction (a long, steady pull that makes room in the spine), supported forward stretching, and no hunched bending.

Rest first

Rest comes first. Lying with the calves on a bolster or a chair seat lets the lower back spread and settle on the floor.

The senior Iyengar teacher Mira Mehta writes that in the beginning the painful part needs rest, not work. Keep the sore area quiet and move the parts above and below it. Lie with a folded blanket under your head and your calves on a bolster or a chair seat. Breathe slowly through the nose. This is Corpse Pose (Savasana), and it is where every beginner starts.

A leg stretch lying down, with the knees bent first

The lying leg stretch with a belt. For disc trouble, Geeta’s programme started with the legs bent.

A leg stretch lying down moves the hip while the back rests on the floor. Use a belt round the foot, one leg at a time, and bend the knee first. Hold 10 to 20 seconds, rest and repeat. Do not lift both legs together. Geeta Iyengar wrote of the double leg lift: “Those with slipped disc and backache should avoid this method.”

Wind-Releasing Pose over a support

Wind-Releasing Pose (Pavanamuktasana), folding forward over a bolster at a chair. The support keeps the fold gentle.

Peter, a man at one of Mr Iyengar’s classes in Australia, had five ruptured discs and a neck fusion. Mr Iyengar sat him on a chair, put a bolster on his thighs and asked him to fold forward over it. He said: “If the head goes down it is not a serious case. If they cannot bend it is a very, very bad case. That’s the way to know.” Then he gave Peter a supported twist on a chair, Triangle Pose and Half Moon Pose against a trestle, and gentle traction. Peter had to do it, Mr Iyengar said, “with 4 arms not with 2 arms”. The chair, the bolster and the helpers were the extra arms.

A gentle twist, with the knees on a bolster

A supine twist with the knees bent and resting on a bolster. The lower back turns without strain.

Lie on your back with your knees bent, lower them onto a bolster to one side and open your arms wide. The bolster takes the weight, so the lower back turns without strain. A straight-leg version (Jathara Parivartanasana) comes later. Breathe out, stay 20 to 30 seconds, and change sides.

Supported Dog Pose, hands on a chair

Half Dog Pose with the hands on a chair stretches the spine long without rounding the lower back.

Half Dog Pose with the hands on a chair seat stretches the spine long without rounding the lower back. Hold 10 to 20 seconds and go again. The chair does the work that the floor cannot. Fold from the hips and keep the back flat.

What should you avoid with a slipped disc?

Avoid hunched bending, lifting both legs together, deep forward bends and anything that sends sharp pain down the leg. Sara Curry, a yoga teacher in New Hampshire, was told in 2001 she had two herniated discs. The pain was constant, and she could not sit in her car. She practised almost every day for a year, skipping the deep forward bends and building strength around the weak spot. In her own account, she was pain-free within eleven days, and terrified it would not last.

Rachel Krentzman, an American physical therapist (physiotherapist), learned the same lesson the hard way. As a young woman she pushed deep into a forward bend in class and felt pain shoot down her leg. Her foot went numb, and a scan showed a disc that had burst through its outer ring. She recovered with yoga and physical therapy. In her view, the mistake was how she had practised, not the poses.

In the 2017 Cochrane review (the most trusted kind of research summary), about 5 more people in every 100 had a short flare of back pain with yoga. None was serious. That is why gentle matters. A gentle, prop-based class, with a teacher who knows your back, is built to keep you out of that 5 in 100.

Does your scan tell you how your slipped disc will go?

No. A scan can show a disc change that has little to do with your pain. In a 1994 American study, 98 people with no back pain had scans of the lower back. Only about a third had normal discs at every level. Just over half had a disc bulge, and about a quarter had a disc protrusion. A 2015 Mayo Clinic review pooled 33 studies of 3,110 people with no back pain. Disc degeneration showed up in 37% of 20-year-olds and 96% of 80-year-olds. The researchers concluded many of these changes are “likely part of normal aging and unassociated with pain.”

That does not mean your pain is not real. It is. It means a scan is not a life sentence. The back you have can still get better. Raj found that out. A lifting accident in Canada left him with a badly slipped disc and sciatica, and he spent years mostly in bed. A doctor warned that surgery could make things much worse, with “likely paralysis”. He joined our Beginner Course in Darwin. “The modified postures stopped me hurting myself,” he says. One day he realised: “I can get better.” Today he runs two businesses and comes to our experienced classes. His story is in our yoga for back pain article.

Where can you do yoga for a slipped disc in Darwin?

Flametree runs a Yoga For Backs class on Wednesdays at 7.15pm at our Woolner studio, in the studio only. Most of our beginner classes suit disc trouble too, because every class is adjusted to the people in the room. If you are looking for help with a slipped disc in Darwin, tell your teacher before class that you have one, so the poses can be adapted. You can also join us live online from anywhere in Australia.

If your pain is new or severe, came after a fall, or comes with numbness or weakness, tell your teacher before class. Feel free to check with your professional advisers if you wish, but also give yoga a try.

Frequently asked questions

What helps a slipped disc feel better?

Rest first, then gentle, supported movement. Geeta Iyengar’s 1996 programme for disc trouble used supported lying poses, Reclining Big Toe Pose with bent legs first, Wind-Releasing Pose over a support, gentle twists, supported Downward Facing Dog and Corpse Pose. No hunched bending.

Is a slipped disc the same as a herniated disc?

Yes. The disc does not actually slip out. Its outer ring weakens and the soft centre bulges, and it can press on a nerve. The Iyengar writers call “slip disc” a slip in the terminology.

Can I do yoga with a slipped disc?

Gentle, supported yoga, yes. Tell your teacher you have a disc problem before class. Sara Curry did yoga almost every day for a year after being told she had two herniated discs, skipping the deep forward bends and building strength around the weak spot.

Which yoga poses should I avoid with a slipped disc?

Deep forward bends, lifting both legs together, and anything that hunches the back or sends sharp pain down the leg. One leg at a time, with the knee bent first, is safer. Backbends wait.

Does a scan show how bad my slipped disc is?

Not on its own. In a 2015 Mayo Clinic review of 3,110 people with no back pain, disc degeneration showed on scans in 37% of 20-year-olds and 96% of 80-year-olds. A scan does not decide how you will get on.

Should I rest with a slipped disc, or keep moving?

Both, in the right order. The painful part needs rest first. Keep it quiet and move the parts above and below it. Then add supported movement, and later strength.

Why is gentle yoga important for a disc problem?

Because how you practise matters as much as whether you do. In the Cochrane review, about 5 in 100 people had a short flare of back pain with yoga. A gentle, prop-based class with a teacher who knows your back is built to keep you out of that group.

Where can I do yoga for a slipped disc in Darwin?

Our Yoga For Backs class runs on Wednesdays at 7.15pm at the Woolner studio. Our beginner classes, in the studio or live online, also suit disc trouble. Start with the half price 10 class pass.

Where to next

• New to yoga, or coming back? Start with our half price 10 class pass with 2 classes free, in Darwin or live online.
• Want to see class times first? Look at the beginner timetable.
• Want the whole story on a sore back? Read Yoga For Sore Back: What Helps, Free Ebook, Darwin.

Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and live online. This article is general information, not medical advice. Feel free to check with your professional advisers if you wish, but also give yoga a try.

Sources: Chris Lalor, Happy Backs (Flametree, 2026); Geeta S Iyengar, programme for disc trouble, 1996 (via Yoga Rahasya); Motiwala and Mehta, Treating Chronic Ailments with Yoga, Yoga Rahasya; Mira Mehta, Yoga the Iyengar Way; Wieland and colleagues, Cochrane review of yoga for chronic low back pain, 2017 (Cochrane Library); Brinjikji and colleagues, review of spine scans in people without pain, American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2015, 3,110 people (doi); a 1994 American scan study of 98 people without back pain; Sara Curry, The Yoga Diaries (about 2014); Rachel Krentzman, Yoga for a Happy Back (2016). Full references are in the Happy Backs ebook.