Its morning again! Time to rise and shine!
You wake up to climb out of the bed when a sudden cringe escapes your lips and stops you mid-way through, “Oucchh!” or, “Hey Ram!”, “Oh! Lord” or perhaps “What the Crappp!”
Your body is stiff and you can experience flaming agony in almost every joint in your body.
This pain and this stiffness, both are unbiased. They attack anyone and everyone whoever is prone to their effects, irrespective of our religion, sex, color, ethnicity or even ‘age’.
For a few moments, till the blood begins to circulate again, you are immovable. You either begin to move like a robot, or you decide to remain in bed (for the time being), stuck in agony as you compress one of the joints in your body – the knee, the wrist, or the lower back in an attempt for the pain to subside just a little so you could kick start your day. And so, the mornings continue to stride by – day after day, night after night.
You try to dismiss this pain, this inflammation as you go about your day until the day you are unable to dismiss it any further and no amount of hot water bag, or painkillers prove to be sufficient in dealing with this pain.
That’s when the bell in your head rings and you decide to seek medical consultation. After series of expensive tests, the reports and the doctor mercilessly announce, “You have arthritis!”
And for the next few moments, as you absorb those words of brutality, you begin to speak – in a futile attempt to convince the doctor that the report has to be wrong. “Am I not too young to have this? Isn’t this genetic? It is just some pain, maybe because I slept in a wrong position.”
The doctor prescribes a stronger pain killer and recommends a few exercises that can help you manage this recently announced ailment in your body. This is when the healing power of yoga therapy grazes your ears and your mind for the first time and so, the journey of ‘Arthritis Management’ begins.
These exercises drawn from yoga science indeed work as a miracle on the joints of arthritis sufferers. However, it is always beneficial to start sooner rather than waiting for the reports and the doctors to announce this condition.
Yoga therapy has been long since known as the most prescribed form of exercise for all forms of arthritis. And so, here is a selection of a few prescribed yoga asanas that can help you not only manage this ailment but also makes your body fit:
- SURYANAMASKAR OR THE SUN SALUTATION SERIES: Begin your day with a “Suryanamaskar” to instantly revive blood circulation in your body and to stretch your spine for maximum flexibility and comfort.
- SHISHUASANA OR THE CHILD’S POSE: This pose helps with stretching and improving flexibility in lower back. Additionally, this pose helps to flex butt muscles as well.
- VRIKSHA ASANA OR THE TREE POSE: This pose helps increase blood circulation in thighs, hips and ankles. It especially helps in strengthening and toning the area around legs, feet, ankle and abdomen.
- JASTIASANA OR THE STICK POSE: This pose helps in healing inflammation in the knee and ankle. Also, it improves blood circulation and helps ease the pain.
- UTAKATASANA OR THE CHAIR POSE: This is primarily beneficial for strengthening and improving the flexibility of the spine, knee and wrists.
- DANDASANA OR THE STAFF POSE: The miracle pose for knee arthritis, this asana is done when you have advanced arthritis and you need instant relief from it.
- PARVATASANA OR THE MOUNTAIN POSE: This pose is ideal for treating osteoporosis and is the most recommended of all poses, especially among women who suffer from this excruciating disorder.
- SETUBANDHASANA OR THE PELVIC TILT POSE: This pose exclusively works on flexing the lower back muscles and is also ideal for strengthening of the spine.
Apart from practicing the above asanas on a regular basis, it is recommended that you follow an organic diet plan and refrain from eating any kind of processed food for optimum benefit. Along with this, include foods that are non-acidic in nature. Acidic foods contribute to an increase in uric acid which in turn, leads to ‘arthritis’.
Please take care not to practice these asanas like you are competing for a fitness pageant. Each one of us has different levels of endurance and flexibility, and the degree of this ailment differs as well. Hence, the movements involved in accomplishing these poses must be controlled and should only be done to the extent our respective bodies allow.
To avoid any further adverse effects, these asanas must be practiced under the guidance of a trained practitioner only.
To Know more about How to Manage Arthritis, join yoga teacher training in India.
