Lubricate and Loosen Your Joints

By Melissa Williams

Joint pain can be annoying or debilitating depending upon severity. But you don’t have to live with total discomfort. A few lifestyle changes can help.

According to Jo and Jules, the founders of the Conscious Cleanse, your diet is the first place to look if you have inflammation or joint pain. Start by taking out nightshades, dairy, sugar, and wheat and notice if you have any improvements. (You can also do their whole foods cleanse to find out any and all culprits in your diet. The next cleanse starts in January, consciouscleanse.com).
Befriend the supplements. Talk to your physician and discuss the benefits of adding such supplements as omega-3s and curcumin to try and lubricate joints.
Orient your yoga practice. Yoga is a wonderful way to keep your muscles, ligaments, and joints young. To ease joints, try to practice without putting pressure on inflamed joints, and instead spend time actively moving joints in all directions. For wrist pain, try sitting in a comfortable seat and bend your left elbow with the palm facing your head. Take the left fingertips with the right hand and gently guide the fingers back, stretching the front of the wrist. Then release and fold the wrist the opposite way. Switch sides.

For hip pain, in a comfortable seat, take hold of your right foot with your right hand and draw circles in the air. Try to keep your spine long, with your sit bones rooting to the earth. Circle the other direction and switch sides.

If we can’t oil ourselves like the tin man, we need to pay attention to our diet, supplements and exercise in order to alleviate joint pain and inflammation. Hope these tips gave you some good and easy insight to follow.