Yoga can relieve arthritis pain by creating more mobility in the joints and increasing flexibility while stretching and strengthening the muscles around the joints. Yoga may also help to prevent or minimize the erosion of cartilage that causes joint pain and swelling in arthrits.

I have a number of yoga students with varying degrees of arthritis, and they've all experienced that their joints are more mobile and hurt less when they take yoga classes regularly. They also feel better overall.

If you're interested in practicing yoga as a way to ease your own arthritis symptoms, a good teacher can help you modify poses as necessary, to bring your body into better alignment and with more ease. If you can't find a teacher, I've listed some good Yoga for Arthritis DVDs and Yoga for Arthritis Books later on this page to safely get you started.

Also you may be interested in reading these excellent online articles from Suza Francina, certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher: Yoga, the Antidote for Arthritis, and Yoga for Arthritis: Guidelines and Cautions.