Is Yoga good for Arthritis?
Sonia Jones ND from the Haven Spa and Health Clinic 
Yoga has stood the test of time having been used for 3000 years as a system of meditation and exercise in the East. In the last two or three decade it has become extremely popular all round the world.
It’s a great way to relax, get supple and exercise the body, but of course it’s not a miracle cure for arthritis. However, commitment is the key to helping your condition. This is why it’s important to go to a good class to learn the correct posture and techniques for your particular set of difficulties.
Yoga helps in many ways by – improving your posture and helping to strengthen the neck, shoulder and back. It can help alleviate back pain and sciatica, strengthen back muscles and improve flexibility in general so important with arthritis type conditions with stiffness being a big problem. Yoga can boost your emotional health through its exercise and meditative aspects and help concentration, focusing away from your pain. It is a safe exercise for you and taken regularly will improve aerobic fitness by increasing the breathing and heart rates but also strengthening residence, muscle strength, flexibility and stamina. The best thing about all of this it’s achieved with LOW IMPACT, vital with your type of condition.
To answer your question – sure yoga will help you manage your arthritis as part of a broader lifestyle program to get yourself well.
However, you still need to be sensible as specially at first – keep with the realms a what is comfort, within your range of movement and gradually as times goes by you will gain more flexibility, you need to be patient. Do not force it.
Read MoreWhat is the difference between Pilates or Yoga?
Both Pilates and Yoga will help manage the various forms of arthritis, Pilates or Yoga.
Pilates and Yoga are similar and at the same time very different, like Pilates from the West and Yoga from the East.
Yoga is centuries old, its roots are in Eastern philosophy, and ancient healing with almost meditative states of exercise. It about harmony, peace, at one the whole body, mind and soul.
Pilates is the young upstart from the West, designed by German born Joseph Pilates. It’s an exercise method that is all about physical conditioning of honing and toning.
Both Pilates and Yoga emphasis correct breathing, control and physical strength, and balance.
Both Pilates and Yoga require physical and mental concentration to get the pose or position correct.
Do do Pilates or Yoga, you don’t need special equipment to do the routines and poses.
However, Pilates workout can be enhanced with equipment.
Yoga does make you more flexible physically, the emphasis is on the mind.
Pilates does work the mind, but the emphasis is on the body, building strength and flexibility.
Yoga holds a pose and in so doing it dispenses stagnant energy and helps to get your chi flowing again. Tension in the body eases as you center your mind and condition your body.
In a nut shell Yoga emphasizes on feeling good and then looking good
Pilates emphasizes looking good and then feeling good
Still can’t make up your mind – no problem there are now YogaPilates classes so you have the best of both worlds.
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