Let's Do Yoga
Originally published in Arthritis Today

By Christina DiMartino

Forget "pretzel poses." You can do yoga your way, 
the gentle way, to relieve stress, improve flexibility 
and strengthen muscles.

You're convinced that yoga is not for you, right? You can't see yourself practicing a 5,000-year-old religion-based art form. Well, think again. Yoga is hot - and it's not just for willowy types who wear small spandex pants and tank tops.

Today's yoga participants are young and old, flexible and inflexible, shapely and out of shape. They are everyday people just like you who want to treat their bodies well. And what better way than through a low-impact exercise that induces relaxation, lowers stress and relieves tension? Even better, yoga also helps tone and strengthen your muscles and loosen your joints.

"Yoga is especially good for people with arthritis because the disease tends to reduce confidence and yoga increases it," says Paul Howard, MD, a rheumatologist in Phoenix. "You can gradually work your way up to the poses," he adds.

Michele Spradlin, 47, of West Palm Beach, Fla., decided to try yoga shortly after she began experiencing joint pain and morning stiffness six years ago. "My doctor said to keep my joints as limber as possible," says Spradlin, whose mother and grandmother both had rheumatoid arthritis. "My sister, who also has arthritis, encouraged me to join her in a yoga class."

Spradlin says it was a little difficult at first, but the postures made her realize how stiff she had become over the years. "I stuck with it, and eventually found myself enjoying yoga," she says. "The more I practiced, the more limber I felt. The morning stiffness, and even the pain in my joints, has diminished."

The benefits of yoga have been plentiful for Spradlin. "At the end of our classes, when we take a final rest, I feel the entire day and all the stress it's caused melt away," she says. "I sleep better, my attitude is improved - and I can not only touch my toes, but I can put my palms on the floor without bending my knees. My doctor was right - the more I do, the more I know I can do."