Yoga exercise for healthy joints

Joints are the connections between bones. Consisting primarily of fibrous tissues and cartilage, joints help you move your fingers, bend your knees and elbows, and stretch your back, among many other functions that make you an active and mobile human being. Exercising the joints is important for a healthy and pain-free body. Yoga offers various exercises that help you keep your joints healthy. The various asanas help to stretch the joints, which releases a lubricant known as synovial fluid. This fluid keeps the bone joint healthy and lubricated and also helps prevent arthritis. Here are some yoga exercises that you can follow:

• Basic Movements: These simple yoga exercises are for beginners as well as for the infirm or elderly. Neck exercises are called Kanthasnachalana and help increase the strength and flexibility of the neck muscles. The shoulder asanas are called Skandhasanchalana and they help the muscles of the shoulders and back. The hand exercises are called Hastasanchalana and help maintain healthy joints in the arms and shoulders. Lastly, leg movements, called Padasanchalana, help build strength and flexibility in the hips and arms. These basic movements can be performed by anyone without the supervision of any expert.
• Back Asanas: There are several back exercises in yoga that help relax the spine and help it become flexible, strong, and healthy. These exercises are called Tadagasan, Swastikasan, and Januhastanasa. These are not basic exercises and you would need an expert to help you perform them.
• Asanas Involving the Legs: Leg exercises in yoga help you stretch the muscles and joints in your legs and hips, helping you prevent joint pain and keeping your joints healthy in the long run. These exercises are called Pavanamuktasana and Ekpad Sahajasta Bhujangasana.

The yogic exercises mentioned above are some of the many that help keep joints healthy and prevent degeneration and other problems well into old age. However, yoga, like any other form of exercise, when done incorrectly can hurt you. Therefore, it is very important that you consult a doctor and a reliable Yoga instructor before beginning.