Forty years ago, when I first became interested in yoga and therapeutic exercise, I was assisting an older woman who was immobilized in her wheelchair by arthritis. Long before I understood the degree to which yoga can rehabilitate the body, I was helping people who were unable to dress, bathe or feed themselves independently due to the pain and stiffness in their joints. This has helped me understand the extreme suffering that can be inflicted by arthritis.

Back then, people with joint pain and swelling were advised by doctors not to move! The thinking was If it hurts, don’t move it. We now know that inactivity is one of the worst responses for someone with arthritis.

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