Re: yoga for stiff joints

Only thing is Honey, it would be practically impossible to teach the Pranayam breathing from pictures I'd have thought. My tutor believes the different breathing methods are the most important of all, because our breath is what keeps us alive, so we need to look after it well. Makes sense to me.

Re: yoga for stiff joints

there are different levels of yoga as I'm sure you know, I was a beginner and the book was aimed at those who wanted to achieve a level of fitness and understanding, it worked for me

Re: yoga for stiff joints

Hi,

I suffer with arthritis and a painful hip joint. I have been swimming for many years but when I had the added problem of painful shoulders/arms as I got older, my osteopath said that I needed to do certain weights in the gym and I have to say these weights have worked wonders in getting mobility back into my shoulders and arms. Without doing these light weights, by now I think my shoulders/arms would be virtually immobile.

For a few months, after retiring I tried various classes of Pilates, Yoga and Body Balance, and found it very painful to do, even if I sat out of certain poses. It was only when I was forced to stop the classes for a while that I felt better and decided not to start these classes. I now stick to the weights and machines in the gym, but have added walk/running on the treadmill and found that has eased my problems a lot more, well it did until this really cold damp weather kicked in !!

Having said all of the above, everyone is different and I believe most people do get something from doing either Pilates, Body Balance, Yoga, but it just wasn't for my body ! I do miss the classes though as it was great to meet up with others.

I think the main thing is to try everything until you find something that helps, but the key is 'movement' of whatever kind.

Re: yoga for stiff joints

Wise words Diamond Lady I love Louise Soloman's Yogalates, a cross between yoga & pilates.. u can get these cheaply 2nd hand on Amazon. No annoying music in those so u can play your own in the background.
However my knees have been playing up lately so for a break I've moved onto Pilates .. anyone that wants to educate themselves on the different types of yoga, pilates & tai chi (which is probably the gentlest but bored the pants off me when I tried it) - just look up youtube videos, there are plenty. I'm following this one right now as it means I dont have to get up off the floor (no knee work) but its still pretty challenging!