![]() ![]() Slide your hips down the wall, bending your knees, stepping your feet forward, and pausing when your knees are bent to a challenging yet sustainable degree. But if doing so makes you lift your chin uncomfortably high, simply move your head as far back toward the wall as you comfortably can while keeping your chin parallel to the earth and the back of your neck long.) Place your hands on your hips. (Ideally, the back of your head should also be against the wall. Stand about a foot or two away from the wall, and then press your back and buttocks against it. The wall is used to minimize the weight through the hips, knees, and feet, and to assist with balance during the heel lifts. This pose strengthens the hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, and calves, aiding in hip, knee, and ankle mobility. Chair Pose ( Utkatasana) and Heel Lifts at the Wall Repeat this movement several times, moving with the breath, and then relax your arms at your sides. On an exhale, keeping your wrists neutral, close your hands slowly, making fists. On an inhale, keeping neutral wrists, open your hands, spreading your fingers wide. While your arms could be in a number of different positions with the hands making fists, holding your arms out in front of you, shoulder height and parallel, has the benefit of gently strengthening your arms.įrom mountain pose, lift your arms to shoulder height out in front of you, making loose fists, with the thumb side of the hands directed toward the ceiling (thumbs relaxed and resting on top) wrists are in their neutral position (i.e., there should be a straight line from your forearms to the back of your hands). This exercise will help to stretch and strengthen the joints of the hands. For meditation (number 11), you can also sit in the chair if you’d like. Note that for chair pose (number 5), lean your upper body forward and reach your arms up, lifting your hips off the edge of the chair briefly. You also can practice the first five poses seated upright. If standing or sitting on a stack of blankets is uncomfortable, you may want a chair as well. You will need a wall, a yoga strap, and four or five blankets (or large towels). Doing so before this (or any) sequence will make the movements more accessible. The Practiceīefore you begin, consider warming up by taking a hot bath or shower, spending time in a steam room or sauna, using hot compresses, taking a walk, or riding a stationary bike. ![]() Those with arthritis should also see their physician for a thorough examination, a definitive diagnosis, and personalized treatment recommendations, which may include splints for the joints to help limit compression in a yoga practice. If practice increases your discomfort, ease up on your routine.” “Stretch to the point of mild tension, not pain. “All poses should decrease discomfort, not increase it,” he says. Reif recommends that those with arthritis practice this sequence a few times a week, make note of which poses most effectively target your affected joints, and practice those every day. Walls and props are suggested for reducing the load, and thus the stress, on the feet, knees, and hips. The gentle sequence below is arthritis-friendly in its minimization of ups and downs from the floor (which may be impossible or uncomfortable for those with arthritis in the knees), in its exclusion of weight-bearing in the hands (because the hands and wrists are often affected by arthritis), and in its use of support for balancing (as balancing can be challenging for those with arthritis in the knees and hips). “OA generally affects the hips and knees, whereas RA tends to impact the smaller joints of the hands and feet,” Reif says, adding that arthritis can affect the back as well, especially the lower back. Many of those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) can benefit from stretching and strengthening affected joints in order to maintain range of motion and reduce pain. “Over time,” he explains, “the muscles surrounding your joints will shorten, limiting motion.” As discussed at greater length in “ Working with Arthritis in Yoga Class,” the answer is more complicated than simply deciding to move less.Īccording to physical therapist Bill Reif, author of The Back Pain Secret: The Real Cause of Women’s Back Pain and How to Treat It, the less you move your joints, the less range of motion you’ll maintain. ![]() Yoga teachers should remain within their : This means not attempting to diagnose, treat, or offer medical advice to students.Ī priority when working with arthritic joints in yoga is to lessen the strain placed on those joints. They are not a replacement for the personal advice of a health professional. Editor's note: The below are intended to be general recommendations for yoga practitioners and teachers. ![]()
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