Yoga is one of the best alternatives to traditional forms of exercise. It provides numerous benefits for mental, physical, and spiritual health and is especially beneficial for arthritis.
However, many people may be unable to attend in-person practice due to time constraints and other factors. Thankfully, yoga is widely available on digital learning platforms and can be accessed through online streaming services and traditional DVDs.
Although the use of DVDs for yoga was popular throughout the early 2000s, online streaming services have become increasingly popular and enable people from all across the world to participate in yoga at any time, anywhere.
The following are some of the primary reasons why adults over 50 have started to use online services and streaming for yoga over the traditional use of DVDs:
- Online services are more cost-effective in the long term when compared to a single purchase.
- Online services provide greater flexibility and more options for the types of classes available and their duration and difficulty.
- DVDs risk wear and tear, unlike online services.
- Some online services provide live streaming, which provides a more authentic experience.
- Streaming and online services provide access anytime, anywhere, unlike DVDs which rely upon system requirements.
- Most online services provide a multi-faceted learning approach to yoga by accessing articles, blogs, courses, and more.
This article will review the 5 best yoga DVDs for arthritis, including online services and traditional DVDs. We’ll also discuss how yoga can specifically target arthritis in commonly affected areas such as the hips and hands.
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is inflammation of the joints throughout the body, leading to pain, discomfort, swelling, and stiffness within affected areas. The most common types of arthritis are Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune illness that can affect people of all ages, whereas Osteoarthritis is due to the normal deterioration of joints associated with aging or overuse.
Yoga for Arthritis
Yoga provides pain relief for arthritis by increasing mobility in the joints and improving flexibility, strengthening and stretching the muscles and joints. It also helps prevent and reduce cartilage erosion that can cause joint pain and swelling, which occurs among individuals who have arthritis.
Individuals with arthritis benefit incredibly from this form of low-impact exercise, and yoga also helps reduce stress and provides coping techniques to manage pain and mindset better.
Regular yoga promotes increased blood flow throughout the body to affected areas, enhances immune system function, and reduces inflammation.
Yoga Styles
The following are the best styles of yoga for those who have arthritis.
Viniyoga
This yoga is practiced in private with a yoga teacher or instructor. It uses yoga poses that are modified according to the participant’s skill level and medical condition.
Chair Yoga
This type of yoga includes gentle yoga poses and performed by the individual while being seated. Chair yoga is ideal for limited mobility, and it provides relaxation exercises and modified postures.
Restorative Yoga
This type of yoga provides poses for an individual to relax, restore, and rest the body. Restorative yoga poses are performed between 5 to 15 minutes and incorporate yoga accessories, including ropes and yoga blocks.
This style of yoga requires minimal effort and is ideal for relieving stress rather than promoting fitness.
Iyengar Yoga
Iyengar yoga works on the alignment of the body and involves precise movements. This type of yoga also uses props and is best suited for individuals who suffer mobility and alignment limitations.
Yoga for Arthritis in Hips
Thankfully, there are numerous poses available in most styles of yoga that do not place direct weight on the hip joints, which enables those who have arthritis in their hips to enjoy yoga.
Some of the best poses for people with arthritis in their hips include chair-supported Warrior I-II, Mountain Pose with a block, and fire hydrants.
Yoga for Arthritis in Hands
Those with arthritis in their hands may modify poses by supporting their body weight on their forearms rather than their hands.
Many people who have arthritis will place blocks under their forearms while completing poses such as Cat-Cow Pose and plank variations to provide themselves with extra support and reduce the risk of injury or further pain.
Comparison of the 5 Best Yoga DVDs for Arthritis
Best Yoga DVD for Arthritis: Yoga International
Yoga International is an incredibly diverse yoga website that offers live-stream and pre-recorded yoga classes for yogis of all levels. It provides a community-based, multi-faceted digital learning platform where yogis and practitioners can further their practice and gain a more profound knowledge of yoga, meditation, holistic health, and mindful living.
Yoga International currently serves over 300,000 members per day and offers a free 30 day trial for new members. Membership options are available for $19.99/month or $119.88/year.
Members of Yoga International will enjoy access to:
- 500+ experts in yoga therapy, meditation, persona transformation, and more.
- Video classes, digital workshops, in-depth articles covering a wide variety of yoga topics
- 1000+ classes of various lengths, styles, and levels of difficulty
- Monthly themed challenges and multi-day training sessions are available
- Live stream classes and offline classes
- Yoga International app that’s accessible through the phone, tablet, T.V.
Class options are available for all levels of yoga practice, and there are also specialized classes available for Hatha, vinyasa, and other significant forms of yoga. Some of its best courses for arthritis include Yoga for Joint Inflammation and Ageless Yoga: Joint Health.
Yoga International has received ratings of 4.7 and 4.0 on the Apple app store and Trustpilot, respectively, from among thousands of ratings and is held in high regard by the yoga community.
Pros:
- 1900+ classes and 500+ expert teachers
- Live-stream classes and offline classes are available
- Accessible anywhere, anytime through the Yoga International app
Cons:
- Some customers have reported issues with customer service and billing.
- Some customers have noticed problems with audio or lagging on the app.
- Customers have mentioned that Yoga International has a small selection for its 60-min classes.
Yoga for Arthritis
This DVD is gentle and easy to follow. The poses are presented at different levels according to the mobility and strength of the participants doing the poses. This DVD includes breathing exercises, stretching, and strengthening poses, and low-impact gentle exercises and it concludes with a relaxation session. It is highly recommended for individuals with limited mobility.
Arthritis-Friendly Yoga, presented by the Arthritis Foundation
This yoga DVD is brought to you by the Arthritis Foundation. It includes a 60-minute video created specifically for individuals who have arthritis or painful and stiff joints. It helps ease pain, increase strength and flexibility, range of motion, and improve well-being. The level of experience of an individual does not matter as it offers many benefits to everyone. It has a step-by-step process and ways on how to modify the poses to protect the joints. It also includes Sun Salutation poses, and it helps the body become energized. This program is tested and led by Steffany Moonaz, PhD., a yoga and arthritis expert.
Yoga for Inflexible People
This yoga DVD consists of a 3-disc DVD set focused on inflexible individuals; it also targets people suffering from arthritis.
This DVD is highly recommended for those who have stiff joints and have mobility issues.
Disc 1 – This DVD includes 35 routines, and it can be safely practiced by anyone who wants to improve their flexibility. The poses are taught in Iyengar Yoga, and they can be modified by using props.
Disc 2 – This DVD includes 10 yoga flow sequences.
Disc 3 – This DVD includes more than 12 yoga sequences, and anyone can benefit from this practice.
Yoga for the Rest of Us: Easy Yoga for Arthritis
This yoga DVD is recommended for individuals with arthritis. This DVD is designed for individuals with different skill levels. Peggy Cappy is the instructor for this DVD. Her instructions are easy to follow. The poses are shown in 3 different variations – one for solid and mobile individuals, the second for people who need support for balance, and the third is with a seated variation.
This DVD is an excellent instructional video, and it has supplementary information for yoga and arthritis. This section includes warm-up exercises, seated and standing poses, relaxation, and meditation techniques.
Conclusion
Yoga is an effective form of physical fitness activity that helps reduce stress and pain caused by arthritis. It also improves the overall mental and emotional well-being of an individual who may be suffering from various ailments.
Having arthritis doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yoga, but it will require pose modification and props for support.
References
- Evans, S., Moieni, M., Lung, K., Tsao, J., Sternlieb, B., Taylor, M., & Zeltzer, L. (2013). Impact of iyengar yoga on quality of life in young women with rheumatoid arthritis. The Clinical journal of pain, 29(11), 988–997. https://doi.org/10.1097/AJP.0b013e31827da381
- Heather M. Greysen, S. Ryan Greysen, Kathryn A. Lee, Oi Saeng Hong, Patricia Katz, and Heather Leutwyler.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.Jun 2017.487-493.http://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2016.0156
- Moonaz, S. H., Bingham, C. O., Wissow, L., & Bartlett, S. J. (2015). Yoga in sedentary adults with arthritis: effects of a randomized controlled pragmatic trial. The Journal of rheumatology, 42(7), 1194-1202.
- Parasuraman, S., Wen, L. E., Zhen, K. M., Hean, C. K., & Sam, A. T. (2016). Exploring the pharmacological and pharmacotherapeutic effects of yoga. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Biomedical Reports, 2(1).
- Sharma, M. (2014). Yoga as an alternative and complementary approach for arthritis: a systematic review. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 19(1), 51-58.
- Telles, S., Naveen, K.V., Gaur, V. et al. Effect of one week of yoga on function and severity in rheumatoid arthritis. BMC Res Notes 4, 118 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-4-118
- Wang, Y., Lu, S., Wang, R., Jiang, P., Rao, F., Wang, B., Zhu, Y., Hu, Y., & Zhu, J. (2018). Integrative effect of yoga practice in patients with knee arthritis: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis. Medicine, 97(31), e11742. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000011742