Whether you have a chronic health condition such as arthritis or want to improve your balance, a local yoga teacher may be able to help. A local yoga teacher is a health and wellness professional who focuses on improving people’s strength, balance and flexibility. It’s very effective in strengthening the core through stomach exercises. A local yoga teacher shows people how to do a series of poses and breathing exercises. There are many different types of yoga, including Bikram, Kundalini and Hatha. There are also offshoots of the main types of yoga, from candlelight yoga to power yoga.  

The Benefits of Yoga if You Have Arthritis 

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis or another type of joint conditions There are a number of benefits to yoga, both physical and mental. If you have arthritis, yoga can help you improve balance, strength and flexibility. It may help reduce arthritis pain and swelling. Yoga also has mental health benefits, such as reducing anxiety, depression and insomnia. 

How Yoga Can Help Insomnia

The Canadian Yoga Alliance has been active since 2004 with a growing membership of over 2000 Canadian yoga teachers.

Dealing with a chronic condition such as arthritis can be stressful, which may lead to insomnia. You could do a more active practice in the morning (such as Vinyasa yoga, or an active Hatha class). Then, you could do a gentle Hatha or Yin yoga class in the evening. This will relax your body and allow you to unwind from the day. You can even do certain yoga poses in the bed, such as child's pose. If you're experiencing sleep problems such as insomnia, you may also want to talk to a local sleep specialist.

If you have arthritis and are interested in doing yoga, start by talking to your local family physician. They can help you choose a safe and effective type of exercise to benefit your arthritis.