There is a way for people with arthritis, chronic pain, movement limitations, and other concerns to not only practice yoga, but to exercise a practice including all eight limbs of yoga. They really only need one special prop; a swimming pool.
Have you ever taken your love of yoga into a pool, lake, river, or ocean? I never managed to sink my hips deeply into malasana/garland/yoga squat before I took it to the pool. I was reminded of this fact when I met Christa Fairbrother, a water yoga coach and trainer passionate about helping women get fit and healthy even if they live with chronic health conditions.
Fairbrother‘s introduction to yoga was in the Iyengar style, a fairly intense practice and lineage focused on alignment and precision. After being diagnosed with arthritis, she decided to earn her 200 hrs YTT, where fellow arthritic yoga teachers introduced her to aqua yoga. “I want people to know that taking your yoga practice into the water is a real, valid way to practice,” said Fairbrother. “It’s not a gimmick.”
Practitioners of yoga on land might be surprised to know aqua yoga allows for a vigorous practice without having to get up and down from the floor. It is possible to grow stronger with yoga without straining joints, or enduring intense pressure for hands and wrists. They may also be surprised to find some things in aqua yoga more challenging than on land. Buoyancy means stabilizer muscles work differently. It also impacts range of motion, increasing it up to 30%. The sensory input of practicing in the water can make focus more challenging. The hydrostatic pressure of the water on the body can make inhaling more difficult while submerged.
The benefits of aqua yoga MAY include:
- Making a vigorous yoga practice accessible for people with health considerations like arthritis, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and many more.
- Helping increase endurance.
- Helping reduce blood pressure.
- Helping increase flexibility.
- Developing consistency in exercise habits.
- Experiencing exercise without overheating.
- Improving executive function skills.
While this practice is incredibly accessible, there are some challenges to diving into it. First the logistical: you need access to a swimming pool and a qualified teacher. Second are the personal, such as how comfortable you feel getting into a swimsuit and how nervous you feel about the water.
Fairbrother has some powerful insights about these challenges. She offers a regular schedule of trainings for her aqua yoga method, including online study when travel is prohibitive. She reminds us that the water is a great equalizer. Not only does the water support the practice and mitigate some difficulties, but once you get in the pool, you are far less visible than you are in a yoga class on land. When you can only see someone’s head above the water, it becomes easier to focus on what you yourself are doing.
Her insights don’t end there. Fairbrother reminds us the beginner mindset is a beautiful place to be. While we might feel nervous, it is important to embrace the idea that we will not and do not need to be perfect at something we’ve never practiced before; just one of many ways in which aqua yoga gives practitioners opportunity for Svadyaya/self study.
Yoga teachers should make note, if you choose to train in and teach this methodology, you will be reaching people who would likely never walk into a yoga studio — drastically increasing your reach. Or maybe you should just be thankful, because “nobody comes to land yoga afraid of the floor.”
A physically accessible form of yoga, aqua yoga’s intensity falls somewhere between a practice on a mat and a practice in a chair. It has the capacity to reach a diverse group of differently abled people, from those with arthritis to professional athletes. To each participant it offers opportunities to learn about yourself, increase your strength and flexibility, improve the quality of your breath, and help us all age well.
With poses that honor the structure of the original land poses and add a different type of stability challenge, focus challenge, and resistance from the water — “You get all the fun without all the sweat.”
Download the current issue of the magazine HERE.
