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gentle yoga actually helping my AS (surprised as anyone)

drew_as
I know, I know. Every person with a chronic illness has been told to "try yoga" and most of us want to scream when we hear it. I was absolutely in that camp. My ankylosing spondylitis has had me basically fused in certain areas and the LAST thing I wanted was someone telling me to stretch. But my PT recommended a specific YouTube channel (Yoga with Adriene, the gentle/chair ones) and I've been doing 15-20 minutes every morning for about 2 months now. And... it's actually helping? My morning stiffness is down from about 2 hours to about 45 minutes. My range of motion has improved slightly. I'm not going to say it's a miracle but it's measurably better. Key things: GENTLE yoga only. Not power yoga, not hot yoga, nothing that pushes into pain. And I modified literally everything at first. If something hurt I skipped it. No pushing through. That's what makes it different from the generic "just try yoga" advice — it has to be the RIGHT kind done the RIGHT way. Just wanted to share in case anyone else with AS is looking for something low-impact to try.

3 Replies

patrickh

I have AS too and I had the exact same eye-roll reaction to yoga recommendations. But you're right — the GENTLE stuff done consistently actually helps. I do Yoga with Adriene's 20 minute morning routine most days and my morning stiffness has improved. Key word being GENTLE. The one time I tried a regular yoga class I couldn't move for 2 days.

spine_drew

the difference between "try yoga" from a random person and "try THIS specific type of yoga, modified THIS way" from someone who actually has AS is enormous. one is dismissive and the other is genuinely helpful. i do chair yoga on really stiff days and its better than nothing. any movement that doesn't push into pain seems to help

creaky_pete

I have OA not AS but the gentle yoga has helped me too. I think the key insight is that we need to move to stay mobile, but the TYPE of movement matters enormously. Gentle, consistent, never pushing into pain. That's the sweet spot. Also: warm shower before yoga. Makes everything move better.

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