4 Best Yoga Poses for Arthritis | Styles At Life

Yoga helps one overcome their physical as well as mental ailments. It is a great way to stretch out your muscles and prevent your joints from getting too rusty. For people who are not overly fond of gyms and yet wish to burn calories and build some muscle, yoga is the best solution! Half an hour of yoga five times a week is an excellent way to reduce arthritis swelling!

Yoga helps heal your body not just physically but also on a spiritual level. Using yoga asanas to treat arthritis is thus an excellent idea! You could visit yoga ashramas or yoga therapists for assistance or you could practice a few selected asanas at home by yourself. Here are the best yoga asanas for arthritis that can help to treat your arthritis swellings or pain.

Yoga Poses for Arthritis:

1. Surya Namaskar or The Infamous Sun Salutation:

‘Surya’ in Hindi means sun and ‘namaskar’ means salutation. Surya namaskar or sun salutation is an excellent way to begin your routine. It involves a total of 12 steps. The first few steps stretch your back muscles while the last few stretch out the muscles of your calves. The combination of exercises that it contains helps warm up your muscles and also gives you the delicious feel of your muscles being used. But you may want to select the steps that you want to do because a few of them might cause unwanted strain on your wrists and ankles.

2. Vrikshasana or The Tree Pose:

The tree pose involves you folding your hands in a namaskar position above your head and resting the foot of one leg on the thigh of the other. The final outcome gives you the appearance of a tree, hence the name. This pose makes use of your ankles and also stretches out the muscles of your thighs and hips. It helps remove fluid that might have collected in your ankles leading to swelling.

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3. Virabhadrasana or The Warrior Pose:

Virabhadrasana or the warrior pose has 3 main steps. You stand straight, then jump so that your feet are now apart, then raise both your arms such that they become parallel to the ground and finally you turn your head to one side and bend that side’s knee. Make sure that your body remains straight. Stay in this position for at least 15 minutes. Then do the other side. This asana is an excellent way to stretch out all your muscles. It removes any sort of stiffness that might have been there previously.

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4. Trikonasana or The Triangle Pose:

‘Trikona’ means three sided or a triangle. This is a simple exercise that is a common part of aerobic routines too. You stand straight with your feet at least 4 meters apart. Then turn your right foot out by ninety degrees and your left foot a little in. Stand comfortably and make sure that your weight is balanced on both heels. Then slowly bend towards your right while keeping your back absolutely straight. Try toughing the ground with your right hand, while you move your left hand up keeping it in a straight line with the right one. This exercise stretches your entire body out.

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There are a few other asanas like Bridge Posture or Setu Bandhasana, Cat Stretch or Marjariasana and Corpse Pose or Shavasana, that you might want to try out. But before you select any yoga routine for yourself, you must consult your doctor about the restrictions that your arthritis might impose on your body. While yoga does help you overcome difficulties that arthritis presents, you don’t want to overtax your body and make your situation worse.

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