Lower back pain is the most common reason people come to us - and simultaneously the most common reason they put it off. Instinct says: my back hurts, so I should not load my back.
For an acute injury that holds for a few days. For the kind of pain most desk workers carry, it is one of the most harmful pieces of advice going.
Important: this is not medical advice. If you have pronounced pain radiating into a leg, numbness or loss of strength, see a doctor first. Everything below concerns the everyday, dull kind of ache that arrives after long sitting and eases once you move.
Why rest usually does not help
An intervertebral disc has no blood supply of its own. It is fed by fluid exchange driven by movement - load and release, alternating, all day. A body that sits for eight hours and then lies down never runs that cycle.
On top of that, the deep trunk stabilisers weaken quickly with inactivity. The weaker they get, the more work is taken over by large surface muscles that cannot sustain it all day - and those are the ones that ache in the evening.
What sitting actually does
- It shortens the hip flexors. When you stand up, those same flexors pull the pelvis forward. The lower back deepens and load shifts onto the small facet joints.
- It switches off the glutes. The largest muscle in the body goes quiet while seated. The lower back takes over work it was not built for.
- It shortens the hamstrings. Short hamstrings mean that every forward bend happens in the spine instead of the hips.
- It closes the chest. Less room for the breath, more work for the neck muscles, more tension all the way up the chain.
Why low stances work
A low Kung Fu stance sounds like the last thing a sore back needs. In fact it addresses precisely what sitting breaks.
It opens the hips. A wide low stance lengthens the hip flexors under load, which is considerably more effective than passive stretching.
It engages the glutes and thighs. Once the big leg muscles take the work, the lower back stops doing it.
It teaches a neutral pelvis. In a low stance the spine cannot stay arched or you will not hold the position. The body learns this on its own, without explanation.
It builds postural endurance. Back pain at the end of the day is often fatigue rather than damage. A more durable posture postpones it.
Flowing water never grows stale; a door hinge never gathers rust.
How to start if you are in pain
- Tell the teacher before class. Where it hurts, when it hurts, what makes it worse. Without that we cannot adapt anything.
- Start with Qi Gong. Low joint load, emphasis on breath and posture. For fresh pain that is the best entrance.
- Higher stances for the first weeks. We add depth when the body shows it is ready, not on a schedule.
- Stop at sharp pain. Dull tension and burning muscular fatigue are fine. A sharp, shooting sensation is not.
- Regular beats intense. Two one-hour sessions a week do more for a back than one long session.
What to expect
The first three weeks: muscle soreness in the thighs and glutes that is new and has nothing to do with your back. That is a good sign - the work has moved to where it belongs.
After two months: mornings get easier. That is the most common first noticeable effect.
After six months: longer stretches of sitting without discomfort, and far fewer days when your back reminds you it is there.
Practicalities in Ljubljana
We train at Ziherlova 44, in the lower hall with a wooden floor. The beginners’ group has an hour of Qi Gong at 17:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays and an hour of Kung Fu at 18:30 - you can come for the first hour only.
Classes are group classes; corrections are individual. If you have a scan, a diagnosis or instructions from a physiotherapist, bring them along; we work with them, not around them.
