If you have arthritis, Yoga may help relieve your joint pain and stiffness. What type of yoga is best for you?? Learning about different types of yoga can help you chose which class is best for you…
Start With a Qualified Yoga Instructor
Studying with one yoga teacher can be very beneficial; they get to know you and can offer you the appropriate tools that will help you advance in your practice. If possible, find an instructor who has experience working with people with chronic conditions like arthritis. This may require a call to the studio ahead of time. Be sure before class starts tell the instructor about which joints are affected. The instructor should be able to show you ways to modify poses before or during class.
If It Hurts Stop
Yoga stretches muscles, and sometime that feels uncomfortable. However joint pain is a sign of possible injury so if it hurts it should be avoided. Do not do a pose if it causes pain.
Different Types of Yoga for Arthritis…
Looking for a way to feel better that doesn’t involve popping another pill? Try yoga. A blend of physical exercise and mental relaxation or meditation techniques, yoga dates back more than 5,000 years to ancient India. Today, people around the world practice any of more than 100 different styles of yoga. Among them are many people with arthritis, who find yoga is easy on their joints, relieves their symptoms and promotes relaxation. While all yoga classes combine physical postures with breathing and meditation, the poses, sequence, and pace can very significantly. The commonly offered yoga classes include…
- Hatha Yoga – Hatha is a general category that includes most yoga styles. It is an old system that includes the practice of asanas (yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises), which help bring peace to the mind and body, preparing the body for deeper spiritual practices such as meditation. In the US hatha yoga is used as an umbrella term to describe many types of yoga.
- Lyengar Yoga – Is named after and developed by B. K. S. Iyengar, and described in his bestselling 1966 book Light on Yoga, is a form of yoga as exercise that has an emphasis on detail, precision and alignment in the performance of yoga postures. This type of yoga is often recommended to people who have arthritis because it can be adapted for limited mobility in one or more joints. Assistive props such as ropes and foam block can be used during challenging poses. Lyengar yoga may reduce arthritis symptoms.
- Hot Yoga and Bikram Yoga – Bikram Yoga is a proprietary system of hot yoga as exercise devised by Bikram Choudhury; it became popular in the early 1970’s. Classes consist of a fixed sequence of 26 postures, practiced in a room heated to 105 °F with a humidity of 40%, intended to replicate the climate of India. It features 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises in the same order for each class. Bikram yoga does not use the downward dog or plank poses, making it a potentially good choice for people who have wrist and hand arthritis. > Learn more
- Yin Yoga – Yin Yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga as exercise, incorporating principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with asanas (sitting meditation pose) that are held for longer periods of time. For beginners, asanas may be held from 45 seconds to two minutes; more advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for five minutes or more. Yin yoga is a good option if your goal is to reduce chronic arthritis pain by reducing stress, muscle tension, and anxiety in the body.
- Vinyasa Yoga – A vinyasa is a smooth transition between asanas in styles of modern yoga as exercise such as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Bikram Yoga, especially when movement is paired with the breath. Classes are good for building and maintaining muscle-muscle that help support arthritis joints.
Most yoga classes will provide the opportunity to, strengthen muscles, improve flexibility, increase your awareness of body posture and by relaxing using breathing exercises. These benefits can lead to less arthritis pain, increased joint range of motion and better joint function.
For persistent pain that is interfering with your daily activities, see a rheumatologist to make the correct diagnosis and begin the proper treatment.
Contact Us (859-331-3100) For More Information to Request an Appointment
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About Tristate Arthritis and Rheumatology
Tristate Arthritis and Rheumatology is first and largest Rheumatology practice in the Northern Kentucky area. Founded by Dr. Arthur Kunath in 1986, our rheumatology practice now consists of six doctors who are board certified in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and a Physician Assistant. Patients see one doctor (except in emergencies), thereby assuring continuity of care and an individualized doctor-patient atmosphere giving the physician the ability to establish personalized and detailed relationships. Our doctors have received numerous awards, including being listed as “Top Doctors” in Cincinnati Magazine, receiving the Patient’s Choice Award, the Most Compassionate Doctor Award, and the American College of Rheumatology’s “My Doc Rocks” award.
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