Yoga For Healthy Joints

By Faye Martins

Keeping our joints happy, flexible, and pain free is very important. Our joints help support our body weights and our movements, so if problems develop they can seriously impact our health. Unfortunately, joint health often deteriorates with age, and arthritis or other issues become more common. Keeping your body healthy through Yoga training is something that can be done by almost anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. Physical activity will help strengthen joints and increase flexibility, causing the stiffness and pain to be a thing of the past.  As anyone with joint problems knows, low impact activity is often the key to improvement. Exercises such as walking, biking, swimming, and Yoga are absolutely essential to improving or maintaining joint health. 

All of those activities will also improve overall health. All of them contribute to weight loss, muscle growth, and greater cardiovascular health. When we exercise, we must realize that the different systems of the body all work together in order to keep propelling us forward. Yoga is a very well rounded form of exercise that can benefit us from our head to our toes. It can be as low impact or high impact as you need, depending on the type that you do. 

Some of the more common Yoga poses that help our joints include Cat and Cow, Cobra, and Downward Dog. Flowing back and forth through Cat and Cow helps to stretch the muscles and increase the space between the vertebrae of the spine as well as the abdominal muscles. We often feel Cobra in our spines and our hips, which is also where we feel the effects of Downward Dog. Keeping the spine and core strengthened can lead to less injury and better posture. Changing your posture can lead to less back pain. That's one of the many reasons why it is so important to pay attention to those areas. 

People who suffer from joint pain may need extra time to stretch and strengthen. Stiffness in the joints often occurs from disuse, but with regular activity, it can be worked through. Working through asanas and paying attention to the breath is crucial, as good form must be used. Modifications may be needed, as well as patience. Yoga allows for slow, controlled movements and that is essential for building strength.

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