Can anyone tell me some postures or tips to ease joint pain, mainly knees and ankles and also muscle pain, in particular quads, shoulders and upper arm. Thanks
[QUOTE=Jo;4344]Can anyone tell me some postures or tips to ease joint pain, mainly knees and ankles and also muscle pain, in particular quads, shoulders and upper arm. Thanks[/QUOTE]
I don’t know if it might help you …
The first part of the Pawanmuktasana Series is good for rheumatism and arthritis, they are loosening up the joints and eliminate energy blockages in the joints …
Someone described them as “acupuncture without needles”.
See in Book: “Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha” from Swami Satyananda
It sounds as though you have something more extensive to address and I would suggest that you practise include warm oil sesame oil massage before you shower daily. Rub the warm pure sesame oil (non-roasted) into your whole body especiallyl the joints and then have a shower. Don’t soap off the oil, pat dry only and stay very warm afterwards. Your asana practise may be best in the slow and healing style of a Restorative type class. Look for it at your studio or read Judith Lasater’s book Rest and Renew. Rather than forcing yourself, consider deep nourishment at all levels. Gentle joint movements to loosen up are better than load or weight bearing and extreme positions in my opinion. This is all without knowing much more about your body, lifestyle, health etc. I wish you the best
Jennifer
Hi,
Joint pain is generally the result of tight muscles that surround the joint and not a result of something within the joint itself. For knee pain depending on where it is localized you may need to stretch out your quads more. If you feel pain or a strong pulling at the top of the knee or on either side when your knee is in a deep bend such as in virasana then it is most likely your quads that are tight and pulling on the patella tendon that attaches onto the bottom of the quad muscle. If you feel pain under the knee cap when you bend then it may be something else like patella femoral syndrome, where the underside of the knee cap becomes rough from an imbalance in the strength of the quads and improper tracking of the knee cap. In regards to the ankle joint it is important to strengthen and support the ankle and always keep it in a neutral position during all asanas. This means that the toes are drawn back towards the shin slightly and there is no sickling from side to side. Muscle pain can be from a number of different things. A good rule of thumb is if you have pain 24 hours or longer after your practice, not soreness but pain, then there has been misalignment during your asana practice. Begin to pay close attention to your alignment in every posture, attend a class that focuses on alignment and ask questions of your instructor if anything does not feel right during or after a class.
Anna
Thankyou for your help, good information. have a nice weekend
The series pavanmuktasana mentioned earlier from Swami Satyananda of the Bihar School has been modified and extended with my studies of physical therapy and kinesiology into my book Structural Yoga Therapy (SYT) since 1978. The “new and improved” version of the Joint Freeing Series (JFS) takes each joint systematically through its full range of motion thus freeing areas of restriction, heightening prana that is stagnant in joint tissues and is especially great for relieving joint pain. It is very effective.
The material is available on DVD from my website and graduates of my SYT training program. [Yogatherapycenter.org : : Welcome](http://www.yogatherapycenter.org)
namaste mukunda
Jo,
I personally prefer more information from a post before providing a thoughtful response. For me, your post conjures up more questions than it does answers. In this medium (the Internet) we automatically relinquish the benefit of seeing you, your body, actions, non-verbal cues. That comes with the territory.
To make up for that (though fully making up for it is impossible) more detailed information is a requisite.
An example would be your age and gender, your fitness background, diet, sleep patterns, and a stronger outline of the pain in question. Is this sharp pain or achey? Is it consistent or sporadic? Is it with activity or without?
Joint pain for a 115 year old is very different than joint pain for a 50 year old. Joint pain for someone with an auto immune issue is much different than joint pain for someone without.