• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center

Show Search
Hide Search
  • Disease Information
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Gout
    • Osteoporosis
  • Patient Corner
    • Drug Information Sheets
    • Managing Your Arthritis
    • RheumTV – Patient Education Video Library
  • Our Research
    • Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
    • Current Research Studies
    • The Camille Julia Morgan Arthritis Research and Education Fund
  • About Us
    • Appointment Information
    • Contact Us
    • Our Faculty
    • Our Staff
    • Rheumatology Specialty Centers
  • Donate
Home / Patient Corner / Managing Your Arthritis / Yoga Poses for Arthritis Patients from Johns Hopkins

Yoga Poses for Arthritis Patients from Johns Hopkins

Steffany Moonaz, PhD, RYT500

These are a few yoga poses that you may want to try at home.  Before beginning any new activity, be sure to consult your doctor.  It is important to listen to your body.  If you feel any sharp pain, instability or lightheadedness, stop and rest or adjust to a more comfortable position.  A well-trained and experienced yoga instructor will be able to offer more individual guidance to adapt the poses for your needs and limitations.

FORWARD FOLD

Slowly roll down the spine to hang forward, with weight in the middle of the feet, not the toes or heels.  Be sure not to lock the knees or rolling in/out with the feet.  Upper body should just hang without tension, including relaxed head.  You can take hold of opposite elbows or interlace fingers behind your back.

 

COBRA

Lay face down with tops of the feet resting on the floor.  Palms are flat on the floor alongside the chest, elbows in close to the body.  For those unable to place their palms on the floor, you can use fists or elbows.  Head, neck and chest are lifted off the floor, gaze forward, keeping the feet and legs down.  Upper back muscles should be engaged and arms should not be used to execute the movement.  You can test this by trying to lift hands from the floor and maintain the pose.  For more of a challenge, interlace fingers behind back to draw shoulder blades together (or hold opposite wrist).

 

SIDE ANGLE POSE

With feet about 4 ft. apart, turn the right foot out 90 degrees and angle the left foot in 45 degrees.  Bend the right knee, keeping the knee directly over the toes.  Bring your right elbow to the bent right knee and the left arm extends alongside the left ear.  The goal is one continuous diagonal line from the back left foot to that extended left arm.  The arm should not be pointed straight up toward the ceiling.  Gaze is past the extended fingers.  Try not to tense or sink in the lower shoulder, but lift out of the supporting elbow.  The hips and shoulders should be in one plane, as though laying against a wall.  (You could even try it against a wall to check.)  Release any tension in the hand and fingers of the extended arm.  Repeat on the other side.

 

EXTENDED LEG BALANCE

Stand up straight and slowly shift your weight into one leg (using a chair or wall for support if necessary).  When you feel comfortable, lift one leg and hold the outside of the knee.  The other hand can be placed on the hip, or extended overhead.  From this position, the leg can be brought out to one side, ensuring that the hip does not lift.  It is also important to keep the other hip aligned with knee and ankle, without leaning to the outside of the supporting foot.  If feeling stable, you can take the other arm out to the side and/or turn the head to look the other way.

 

SEATED SPINAL TWIST

Start sitting with legs extended.  You can sit up on a cushion or folded blanket if you feel any rounding in the lower back.  Pull one knee in, lift the foot and cross it over to the outside of the extended leg.  If possible, plant foot on the floor as if making a footprint on the floor.  Foot is pulled in as close to the opposite hip as possible.  Wrap the opposite arm around the bent knee, hugging it into the body.  This can happen by wrapping the elbow around the knee, or just the hand.  It is most important to sit up tall, lengthening the spine.

 
Receive the Latest News from Johns Hopkins Rheumatology

Receive the Latest News from Johns Hopkins Rheumatology

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from Johns Hopkins Rheumatology.

Interested In

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Use of this Site

All information contained within the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center website is intended for educational purposes only. Physicians and other health care professionals are encouraged to consult other sources and confirm the information contained within this site. Consumers should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something they may have read on this website.

Primary Sidebar

Yoga for Arthritis Resources

  • Yoga for Arthritis: An Overview
  • Yoga Poses for Arthritis Patients
  • Yoga for Arthritis Video Tutorials

Dr. Steffany Moonaz sitting in front of brick wall discussing Yoga

Dr. Steffany Moonaz will guide you through the Yoga for Arthritis video series. These videos can be used one at a time or in sequence, depending on how much time you have and what you want to practice.

They include information on posture, breathing, movement, yoga poses that are done seated and standing, and a relaxation.

RheumTV Logo

Rheum.TV is an informational platform created to educate patients living with a rheumatic disease. With over 100 disease education videos produced by the team at Johns Hopkins Rheumatology.

Visit Rheum.TV

Footer

Johns Hopkins Rheumatology

  • Johns Hopkins Rheumatology
  • Johns Hopkins Lupus Center
  • Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center
  • Johns Hopkins Myositis Center
  • Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center
  • Johns Hopkins Sjögren’s Syndrome Center
  • Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Johns Hopkins Medicine

© 2023 Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center
Patient Privacy