Dia duit agus fáilte – that’s Irish for hello and welcome – to this natural RA blog ;this time we’re chatting about how to practice yoga for rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic pain illnesses.
Have you been wondering if yoga is good for rheumatoid arthritis? Below I discuss different styles of yoga, poses that ease pain and how to use yoga for rheumatoid arthritis; I hope you find the information and inspiration you most need today.
When our youngest kidlet was born, my sister recommended yoga as a possible way to ease severe back pain. Within 2 months, I felt the difference and have been practicing ever since. Yoga has helped me in myriad ways but in this post I want to focus on the physical benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis.
After almost a decade of practicing, in 2005, I became a yoga teacher and taught for many years before we moved to our farm in 2016. My first symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis became obvious on my yoga mat as, day after day, it became more uncomfortable for me to be on my hands and knees because of worsening pain in my wrists. And to this day, I always begin my yoga practice with 5 rounds of cat/cow to gauge how my wrists and my body are feeling.
This page contains oodles of information about the benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis. You will learn how to decide which style of yoga is best for RA and your body and ways to make gentle yoga adjustments when you need them. I hope to add new practices regularly, in video and picture form, to serve your autoimmune body’s needs; please contact me if you have questions or requests for a particular style of practice. I love to create new practices and hearing your ideas will certainly spur me to action.
Throughout this post, I mention props and other tools to support a healthy, encouraging yoga practice. Most of my yoga accessories come from Hugger Mugger.
Table of Contents
What is yoga?
In this post, we are only talking about the physical benefits of yoga for RA and autoimmune patients – the asana, or postures, that most people are very familiar with (think downward dog or cat/cow.) This practice of yoga was created to cleanse the body and improve flexibility, strength, stamina and balance.
Yoga poses often come with quite specific instructions on how to move and make adjustments in the body. This attention to detail is to align the skin, muscles and bones as well as create channels for the free flow of energy throughout the body, especially through the spine.
The biggest difference between yoga and stretching is the attention paid to the breath during each pose, as well as keeping the mind focused on how the body feels as it moves with the breath. The types of best yoga for rheumatoid arthritis is any practice that moves intentionally from pose to pose, allowing the body to listen to itself; there is no rush to stretch out, it is simply a practice of letting the body release tension and sink more deeply into the pose.
The reason I love this quote so much is the gentle reminder that touching your toes, or any other physical goal is not what yoga is about. Yoga is, at its core, about getting to know your body, allowing it to move in ways that support and nurture full health and breathing into the space that a pose creates – a space where you feel whole and alive.
What are the benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis?
Have you ever seen someone struggle to tie their shoes because they can’t reach their feet comfortably? What about resting your ankle on your opposite knee? The thing about flexibility is that we don’t necessarily notice its absence until we need it. Maintaining an elastic body reduces pain and improves range of motion. The really amazing thing about yoga is that you will increase your flexibility rather quickly with a gentle yoga practice even just once a week.
My favorite story regarding flexibility is the 65yo student with osteoarthritis who could not bend her knees more than 90* when I met her; she could not push her hips back towards her feet without severe pain. Over the course of several months and weekly gentle yoga practices, her buttocks fell ever closer to her heels and she felt like her knees where aging backwards!
We strengthen our bodies when we use our muscles and bones to hold or lift our own body weight (or dumb-bells etc…) The list of strength-building yoga poses is long and many are simple and easy to do with modifications for all sorts of bodies or pain levels. And this is one of my favorite parts of yoga – I can still do the tough poses on RA flare-up days because it is easy to make yoga adjustments to most poses by using props and other support tools.
We build stamina and endurance by nudging ourselves gently past our comfort zone. In yoga, that might look like Triangle pose for 20 seconds using yoga props like a block or a chair, building up to a block-less minute or more Triangle pose over the course of several months.
I like the word grit to describe how the endurance I have learned through my yoga practice has served me in my fight against RA; grit helps me hold my own in challenging times. Grit has proven that living with RA is not so big a challenge that I cannot deal with it. I’m not sure I would have had the stamina to adhere to the strict rotation diet for 6 months without my yoga practice and at times when I am struggling with an RA flare-up, yoga reminds me that I am way stronger than I might think. It’s like a silent cheerleader that you carry within your body.
One of the signs of aging or deterioration is the slow loss of balance over time. Yoga’s balancing poses are fun to do and range from easy to difficult and, again, it is easy to make yoga adjustments to suit your body’s needs on any particular day. Plus, with pose names like Half-moon, Dancer and Eagle, you’re also likely to find yourself with a smile on your face.
Who can practice yoga?
The short answer is anyone; if you have a body, you can practice yoga. Whether you are a professional athlete who uses yoga to enhance performance or a person with severely limited mobility, there are poses that will suit your needs.
As you face rheumatoid arthritis symptoms such as achy joints and fatigue, inflammation and tenderness, you may consider abandoning your yoga mat hoping to reduce your pain. The good news? You can enjoy a full yoga practice regardless of pain and mobility. And the even better news is that gentle and restorative yoga is good for rheumatoid arthritis – it helps us maintain flexibility and strength as well as a deep connection to our bodies.
Can’t bend your knees or get up and down from the floor? No problem, pull up a chair for some gentle yoga seated poses.
Your wrists and hands are painful? That was a biggie for me in the early days before my diagnosis. Making a fist instead of a flat hand or using handles make poses with weight on your hands more manageable.
Every part of you aches and there are days you cannot get out of bed? First, let me say how sorry I am; nobody should have to live with such level of pain and I wish you a speedy return to better health. It is possible to do yoga in bed – gentle toe and finger stretches, head twists and windshield wipers all done with attention to the breath not only encourage blood flow but also soothe anxiety.
Ways to practice yoga when you have RA
Regardless of whether you are a seasoned yogi or a newbie, practicing yoga when you have RA or another autoimmune disease may look different to what you have pictured in your head. Keep in mind that during a rheumatoid arthritis flare, your body may not want, or be able, to perform in ways you desire. Remembering this, treating yourself gently and kindly can make yoga part of the healing process rather than one more thing that reminds you of what you cannot do during the difficult times of living with RA.
It is easy to make yoga adjustments and modifications. Yoga props such as a strap or blocks allow you to enjoy a pose without pushing yourself into more pain. Using the wall to help you balance or a cushion or chair while doing seated poses demands less of the body while still experiencing all the great benefits yoga offers.
A 10-minute gentle yoga practice daily is better than a 45-minute once a week practice; not only does it serve as a regular reminder of your strength and stamina, it also brings you into your body and forces you to breathe deeply in a healing nourishing way.
On those horrible days when your body is dealing with severe RA pain, consider doing a 10-minute chair yoga practice that reminds you to breathe, lengthens your spine, gently twists the body and encourages better blood flow.
What type of yoga is best for people with rheumatoid arthritis?
There are lots of different yoga practices and styles and while most are founded on the same basic poses, they are very different in how they approach a pose-centered yoga practice. When you have a chronic pain condition, it is essential to have a gentle yoga practice for the tough times.
Listening to your body, hearing what it wants and needs on any day is one of the best lessons yoga will teach you.
When you feel on top of the world and your body is ready to push past your comfort zone, that is a great time to explore the more challenging styles, perhaps more strength building yoga poses or a longer practice.
For days when your pain levels are high:
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga is a basic yoga practice, the bread and butter of yoga, if you will; it serves as the foundation from which all other yoga practices grow. Hatha yoga influenced heavily by Iyengar is the style of yoga I practice and teach and one of the things I love most about it is its ability to meet my body wherever it happens to be on any given day.
Hatha yoga moves with the inhale and exhale and often stays in a pose for 5-10 rounds of breath or longer. It often feels gentle even when in challenging poses like Warrior 2 or Eagle pose and at the end of a hatha yoga class you are likely to feel open, taller and more relaxed.
To add another element, walk your hands gently to each side for several breaths.
Restorative yoga for rheumatoid arthritis
Restorative yoga offers the same poses as many yoga classes but most are done using yoga props and at a much slower pace. You will use bolsters, blankets and blocks to assist you in the poses and most poses are done passively – you will remain in the pose for several minutes and the body will slowly sink deeper into each pose without actively trying to. While a typical 30-minute yoga class may include 12-15 poses, a 30-minute restorative yoga practice might consist of only 5-7 poses.
Legs up the wall is a delightful pose that relieves pressure on the back, hips and legs.
When you use straps and a block, it is even more restorative and restful. Perfect yoga for rheumatoid arthritis.
A good restorative yoga practice will leave you feeling refreshed, nurtured and rejuvenated; it is the perfect before bed yoga practice and a great substitute for a nap on a day when you’re dragging but don’t want to actually sleep.
Restorative yoga is also a great practice to use when you want to be more mindful and calm thoughts and emotions. See this post about mindfulness.
For days when your pain levels are moderate:
Hatha yoga – see above
Vini yoga
Vini yoga, a gentle flow yoga, moves into and out of poses with each inhale and exhale for several rounds before finally settling into the pose for 5-7 rounds of breath. I practiced this style of yoga regularly for several years and love the gentle way it opens the body to each pose before allowing it to find its sweet spot.
After a vini yoga class you will feel awake and relaxed, your body will usually feel lighter and you will be more connected to your breath.
Iyengar yoga for rheumatoid arthritis
Iyengar yoga, named after its founder (B.K.S. Iyengar) is very similar to basic hatha yoga but is very meticulous and emphasizes body alignment. In order to help the practitioner achieve proper alignment, Iyengar recommends using yoga props such as blocks, straps and bolsters. While you won’t get your heart pumping, you will finish an Iyengar yoga practice having been physically and mentally challenged.
Because there is such a focus on good alignment, Iyengar is a great yoga practice when healing from an injury. After an Iyengar practice, you will feel stronger, more flexible and serene.
For days when your pain levels are low or non-existent:
Vinyasa yoga
Vinyasa yoga is another flowing style of yoga but differs from vini-yoga because it transitions fluidly from pose to pose with each breath. It will certainly get your heart pumping and classes can be very challenging.
It is often called freestyle Ashtanga as the teacher chooses the poses and links them in her own creative way. Depending on the teacher, a vinyasa class will differ in difficulty level.
You may feel energized and invigorated after a vinyasa practice.
Ashtanga yoga
Ashtanga yoga is similar in its flow and intensity levels to vinyasa yoga but it uses the same poses in the same order each time and it is very challenging.
There are several levels/series in an Ashtanga practice and each one builds on a strong foundation of the previous. Expect to spend 90 minutes per session and you are likely to spend months at level/series 1 before advancing to the next level.
After an ashtanga yoga class, you will know you have just had a workout and will probably feel stronger and more powerful. (At least, that’s how I usually feel after a great Ashtanga yoga class.)
Bikram or Hot yoga
I have never taken a hot yoga class – I cannot imagine voluntarily putting myself in 90* temperatures. That said, some people love it so here’s some info.
Bikram or Hot yoga are pretty much the same thing – they both hold class in a heated studio and you will sweat, a lot, in either class. Bikram yoga is similar to ashtanga yoga in that it is practiced with the same 26 poses in the same order every time while hot yoga does not follow a prescribed sequence.
Bring a large water bottle, or 2, and a towel to class with you.
After a hot/Bikram yoga class, you will sweaty and exhausted but also strong and flexible.
Final thoughts
As I build this RA blog, I will be adding yoga practices, all designed specifically for those of us living with RA, chronic pain and other autoimmune diseases; you will be able to find info about poses and styles along with photo practices as well as video options. If you are looking for something in particular and cannot find it, please comment below or send an email to let me know; I love creating new practices for specific purposes.
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