Polymyalgia rheumatica is the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease in people over 70, according to NICE. The onset is usually fast and the main symptoms are pain and stiffness around hips and shoulders, on both sides of the body. The tightness in the morning can be extreme and immobilising. Both the inflammation and symptoms are relieved with corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory drugs. Apart from that, staying mobile and stretching are recommended. This is of course where yoga therapy comes in. Yoga therapy for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) can help loosen tight muscles in a relaxing but effective way. Also sleeplessness and the stress associated with having the condition, can be addressed with the relaxing tools of yoga therapy. This blog discusses PMR and explains the many ways in which yoga therapy can help.

There are many reasons why you could feel tight and achy in the morning. They don’t have to be serious. When you’ve just been lying still for a long time, already tight muscles tend to tighten more. Then again, you may have slept on an uncomfortable mattress or in an awkward position. Apart from these straightforward reasons, there are health conditions that will make you feel particularly tight upon waking. This blog discusses these health challenges, and provides a morning routine for achy joints that could benefit all. Moving your body gently in the morning will allow you to keep your mobility, flexibility and stability in the long term, as well as make you feel much better overall.

When you have back pain, you are desperate to ease the pain straight away. Taking pain medication is one option. Waiting until the pain subsides is another, longer-term option. But what if you knew exactly what to do to relieve the pain? Back pain is draining, sapping all your energy. The better you look after your back, the sooner you can return to feeling more carefree. This blog gives you a few general guidelines and discusses how yoga therapy can help when you have acute back pain.

A health expert recently argued that posture and social contact are the two most significant factors when it comes to healthy ageing. Of course, there is more that we could add to the list, such as healthy eating, exercising, sleeping enough and having a purpose in life. In fact, the older we get, the more we seem to have to do each day to stay healthy. Naturally, socialising is crucial when we age, but to single out posture as the most powerful physical factor may be more surprising. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting idea that I would like to explore in this blog. Is a good posture really the most important factor for healthy ageing?

While winter yoga naturally invites us to focus on dynamic and strengthening practices, summer is just too hot for these. The warmer weather allows muscles to release more easily and is perfect for soothing movements and cooling breath techniques. The yoga I teach in my group sessions changes from season to season. In summer I always recommend the legs-up-the-wall-pose as a regular home practice. If you suffer from heavy legs during warm weather, this simple inversion could be just right to relieve leg fatigue and heaviness. This supported inversion can also be helpful when you have lower back pain, varicose veins, and oedema in legs, ankles and feet. In addition, it soothes the nervous system. If you feel stressed or anxious, this an excellent position to relax in, regardless whether your legs need it or not. For your yoga in summer, stay cool and relaxed with these yoga poses!

Having high blood pressure does not prevent you from doing yoga. On the contrary, practising yoga, calm breathing and meditation can reduce hypertension. However, do you know which kind of yoga to practise and which poses to avoid? In this blog I explain what high blood pressure is, what the risks are and how you can reduce it. Importantly, you will learn which yoga practices are beneficial and which you have to avoid even if you take medication for high blood pressure. Finally, in this episode of yoga for healthy ageing: high blood pressure, I’ll walk you through a calming yoga practice.

I never thought I would do a pilgrimage walk. I used to think walking holidays quite a curious way to spend the summer, mainly for older people. Of course, with age long walks can become an attractive challenge. Walking from A to B, in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims, turned out something meaningful, demanding but still achievable. Over 10 days, I walked one of the pilgrim routes in France, from Le Puy to Conques. It’s the route that eventually leads to Santiago de Compostella, so it brims with the pilgrimage history, and is also popular with modern-day walkers. We walked an average of 21km per day, up and down, through stunning countryside. Stretching my leg muscles twice a day became necessary to stave off leg and knee pain. Whether you are planning a walking holiday or regularly walk long distances, I would like to share the stretches that helped me most. Especially as we get older, practising these essential leg and knee stretches after long-distance walking will allow us to feel rejuvenated and ready to walk again!

If you suffered from back pain, and you are now committed to keep looking after your back, I have a great practice for you. It’s also beneficial to prevent back pain and keep your back supple and strong. After all, you may know how to stretch your back and how to strengthen core muscles, but do you know how to strengthen your upper and lower back? This blog teaches you how to strengthen your upper and lower back simultaneously with one simple and efficient yoga movement. If you would like to maintain the health of your back, its strength and flexibility, this yoga movement is a good one to add to your exercise regime and do a few times a week.

If you have back pain, you’ve probably heard that you have to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Strong abdominals help stabilise the trunk and spine during all your movements and help maintain a good posture. They also prevent the back muscles from doing overwork. Weak abdominals are likely to lead to back pain in the long term. However, keeping the abdominals strong may not be straightforward if you are suffering from a painful, weak or tight back. This blog shows you how to start with safe core strengthening when you have back pain. If you would like to alleviate back pain or prevent it, you are in the right place!

If you’ve ever had a slipped disc, you know how it is to feel excruciating pain in your lower back, sometimes accompanied by shooting pain down your leg. There can also be reduced sensation, tingling and weakness in one leg. The crippling pain may have put you out of action for at least a few weeks. In the best possible scenario, a slipped disc is diagnosed early. You would be told which movements exacerbate the condition and which can heal your spine. If, on the other hand, you keep doing the wrong things, such as slouching and lifting, you may suffer long-term pain and eventually further deterioration of the spine. Physiotherapists, osteopaths or chiropractors offer different treatments, with varying results. This blog discusses the intervention by yoga therapy. Yoga therapy for a slipped disc or herniated disc can teach you relaxation, the movements to avoid and the practices suitable for each stage of the recovery.