[Last Edited: 08/10/20]
Britons are now spending a staggering £790 million a year on yoga classes.
So what is all the hype about?
Using Yoga to relieve joint pain is an enjoyable way to increase movement, gain joint strength and feel more confident exercising with arthritis and injury. Here are several reasons that yoga may help to relieve pain in the joints.
If crossword puzzles and Sudoku have been the extent of your memory training to now, it could be time to sharpen up your warrior pose. The recent UCLA research took brain scans and memory tests, comparing the effects of 12 weeks of memory exercises with a course of yoga and meditation on 25 adults over 55. The latter not only had better improvements in their spatial and visual memories, but also more reduced depression and anxiety and increased resilience to stress.
Yoga has also been shown to be as effective as walking or jogging in reducing the risk of heart disease. This is likely to be because yoga reduces stress – a big contributor to heart disease. Stress hormones raise both blood pressure and heart rate, increasing the likelihood of blood clots. Previous research has shown that practising yoga is associated with some improvement in blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, which are all risk factors for heart disease as well as reducing stress and anxiety.
Its benefits of flexibility, core stability, support, balance and strength have been shown to help those living with chronic conditions. Yoga involves the whole body and can benefit conditions such as incontinence because it targets the pelvic floor, as well as long term musculoskeletal conditions - back pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis - all that gentle weight bearing is kind to the joints, keeping them flexible and stimulating increased bone density.
You don’t need to be doing hours of yoga to reap the benefits. Studies have shown that even one hour a week gave increased physical and mental wellbeing, including pain relief and improved sleep.
Want to exercise with more support for your joints? Supports are often used with exercise to give reinforcement and strength to weak or painful joints. As a great way to get started and to prevent injury in the future, supports for the joints give peace of mind.