Author: Randeep Singh / go to all articles on Yoga cure
Rheumatism and Yoga:
Arthritis, also known as rheumatism, as a disease has been causing discomfort to mankind since ages.
Human population which existed thousands of years ago, has left behind evidence of the existence of this disease even then. In general arthritis is the term given to any inflammation of the joints.
Rheumatism and yoga healing also goes back to the times when early humans existed.
Arthritis can even affect the muscles, tendons, ligaments, the protective sheets around the internal organs known as bursae. Scientists have documented the existence of some hundred forms of arthritis, out of which only three are the most common forms : rheumatoid arthritis; osteoarthritis, and the gout.
Rheumatoid arthritis is the most crippling form of arthritis. It affects more of the women than the men, almost twice the number of affected women than the men. The general age group it targets ranges between 20-50 years. Though its main causes are yet to be known there are two theories which explain the causes of rheumatoid arthritis: infection and auto immunity.
As per the infection theory the inflammation of the joints in rheumatoid arthritis is causes due to some microorganism like bacteria or a virus. In the other case the immune system of the body starts producing abnormal antibodies, which are originally meant to fight against foreign invasion, which start fighting against its own body, the damage so incurred is experienced in the form of the symptoms of rheumatism.
Since this disease lasts for a life time use of drugs laced with may be harmful chemicals can scar the sensitive inner systems of the body.
The drugs are mainly targeted to suppress the immune system gone berserk due to causes unknown to medical science as yet.
Osteoarthritis on the other hand is the damage incurred on the cartilages responsible for keeping the joints in place while in movement due to wear and tear resulting from day to day activities in older people.
Osteoarthritis is less debilitating than its rheumatoid counterpart, and it can be healed with the resurrection of the joints through surgery, like the hip joint. Gout is another milder and easily manageable form of arthritis which is a condition where excessive uric acid gets deposited in the joints, especially the joint of the big toe and causes the related inflammation.
Treatment of Rheumatism by Yoga for Arthritis
Yoga asanas to cure rheumatoid arthritis help build the strength of the muscles around the joint and thus improve the overall balance of the patient. The effect yoga practice for arthritis has on one’s mind is that the patient learn to look at the pain caused by arthritis with a different manageable perspective.
A strong nervous system which results from the regular practice of yoga for arthritis increases the threshold of the pain that can be managed comfortable by the afflicted. Stiffness and yoga are often heard , or mentioned with relation to each other. The yoga stretches add length and suppleness to the shortened muscles – stiffness- around the joints which improves their range of motion . Enhanced range of motion of the joints is an indicator of increased flexibility of the body as a whole.
Yoga teaches one to become aware of the sources of pain and slowly train the mind to relax in these conditions and situations. Regular practice of yoga has been found to have lowered the levels of the proteins in the blood which cause inflammation. Yoga for arthritis also helps the sufferers by diluting their reaction to the external stressors; the stressors which were extracting intense reactions from the patients before the practice of yoga was undertaken lost their urgency quotient after yoga was undertaken as treatment for rheumatism.
Yoga in rheumatic diseases has a proven potential to elevate the mood of the practitioner which is a natural pain killer. The osteoarthritis of the knee and the related symptoms can be easily defeated with the low impact yoga exercises, or yoga asanas to cure rheumatoid arthritis.
The pain, range of motion and disability of the hands can be effectively reduced for the persons suffering from osteoarthritis of the hands. This can be very relieving to the afflicted as the arthritis induced hand disability can make every day personal activities a painful challenge.
Consistent practitioners of yoga asanas and the other related techniques go a long way in increasing the general strength and flexibility levels of all the parts of the body which other than aiding in keeping arthritis at bay can also help manage the condition if already befallen on them.
A lot of patients of arthritis become aware of the subtle tensions lodged in their bodies when they begin to experience the relaxed mode naturally in which the yoga for arthritis techniques are performed. A lot of them experience a surge of inexplicable joy by just being able to move the hitherto stuck up joint.
The way one heal arthritis with yoga is very different from the way prescription drugs handle the discomfort associated with rheumatism, yoga handles well the emotional angle than any pill is capable of. Understanding of the disease from the angle of emotions is inherent to Yoga philosophy. Healthy lifestyle management is the tool of yoga through which one can manage one’s emotions. Medical science in their treatment for rheumatism has yet to recognize the implications of the body-mind connection to the disease.
Yoga asanas to cure rheumatoid arthritis also improve the mental state of the patients. The body interprets the mind, as is the mind so is the body. As the yoga for arthritis improves the health of the mind, the health of the body surges on its own.
Like many other diseases one can heal arthritis with yoga as it improves the spiritual awareness of the patient. Belief in spirituality also improves one’s knowledge of one’s spirit and how can one tread on the path f of its growth, or improve oneself. This opens the floodgates of the stagnant pool of wrong knowledge about the real self, draining out the disease along with it.
Yoga Practice for Arthritis
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