Mindful Movement Club 04: Yoga for Arthritis and Pain Relief
Arthritis affects nearly 6 million Canadians—that’s 1 in 5 people. Despite being commonly thought of as a single condition, "arthritis" actually refers to over 100 different disorders that affect the joints and tissues. These conditions can cause chronic pain, stiffness, reduced mobility, and a significant decline in quality of life.
Chances are, if you attend a yoga class, a few participants are living with arthritis or chronic pain. The experience of arthritis can be constant or episodic and often spans months, years, or even a lifetime.
Two Main Categories of Arthritis:
Osteoarthritis (OA)
The most common type, OA is a "wear and tear" condition where the body’s attempts to repair joint damage fail and eventually lead to the breakdown of cartilage. Without this protective coating on your bones, they rub together, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness. Risk factors include age, genetics, past injuries, certain sports, repetitive movement, and obesity.Inflammatory Arthritis (IA)
IA includes autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and gout. In these conditions, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue, causing inflammation and joint damage.
Both types of arthritis can be mild or severe and can affect not just the body but every aspect of life—sleep, mood, relationships, and even the choices people make about how they live.
Movement Matters
It may seem counterintuitive, but not moving enough can increase your risk of arthritis, just as repetitive overuse or joint injuries can. While we can't change our age or genetics, we can change how we move.
This is where yoga becomes an incredibly effective tool. While there's currently no cure for arthritis, movement practices like yoga can help manage symptoms, improve function, and even slow progression of the disease.
A Holistic Approach to Pain: Yoga Meets Science
Health is more than just the absence of disease. Two models that help us understand the complexity of arthritis—and the power of yoga—are:
The Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Model
This medical framework considers health through four lenses: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. It recognizes how pain is influenced by emotions, thoughts, relationships, and lifestyle.
The Panchamayakosha Model
A yogic model for understanding the self that sees the human being as five interconnected layers or "koshas":
Physical body (Annamaya)
Energy/breath body (Pranamaya)
Mental/emotional body (Manomaya)
Wisdom/intellect body (Vijnanamaya)
Bliss/spiritual body (Anandamaya)
Together, these models remind us that arthritis isn’t just a joint problem—it’s a whole-person experience. And yoga offers whole-person solutions.
How Yoga Helps with Arthritis
Physical Body
Yoga’s movement practices are gentle, adaptable, and help:
Build strength, stabilizing joints and enabling more confident movement.
Lubricate joints through synovial fluid production, reducing stiffness.
Improve balance, reducing fall risk and boosting confidence.
Increase mobility, making daily activities more accessible.
When you’re stronger and more mobile, you’re also more independent, less isolated, and more able to engage with life.
Breath Body
Breathwork, or pranayama, helps regulate the nervous system. Since stress and pain are closely linked, calming the nervous system can lower pain sensitivity and ease symptoms. Even on days when physical movement feels impossible, your breath is always available as a powerful tool for pain relief.
Mental and Emotional Body
Pain impacts mental health—and mental health impacts pain. Yoga supports the mind through:
Meditation and mindfulness, which can change the way we perceive and process pain.
Cognitive reframing, helping us challenge unhelpful thoughts and reduce suffering.
Practices that foster self-compassion and emotional resilience.
Wisdom Body
Through the ethical teachings of yoga (like Satya, truthfulness, and Ahimsa, non-harming), we learn to listen to and honour our bodies. Yoga encourages practicing with honesty, self-respect, and care, rather than pushing through pain or comparing ourselves to others.
Bliss Body
This deepest layer is about feeling connected—to ourselves, to others, and to something greater. Arthritis may invite us to reevaluate what matters most in life, helping us deepen our sense of meaning, connection, and purpose.
The Power of Community and Connection
The biopsychosocial model reminds us that social health matters. Chronic pain often leads to isolation, but yoga can be a way to reconnect—with community, shared experiences, and mutual support.
Practicing yoga with others who understand what you’re going through creates space for empathy, encouragement, and shared healing. Social support is strongly linked to better health outcomes, and being part of a yoga community provides a beautiful way to foster it.
In Summary
Yoga offers more than just physical movement—it’s a comprehensive, compassionate, and empowering approach to managing arthritis. Whether you're working on strength and mobility, learning to breathe through discomfort, cultivating peace of mind, or connecting with a supportive community, yoga can meet you where you are.
By embracing both modern science and ancient wisdom, yoga offers a path to living more fully—even with arthritis.
Sources:
https://arthritis.ca/about-arthritis
Yoga Therapy for Arthritis by Dr. Steffany Moonaz and Erin Byron
