Do you often wake up with your joints feeling like the hinges of a poorly oiled door? And then you go to try and stretch to remove this pain, but you only meet full-body stiffness? You reach to massage your left knee and find that your right knee also hurts. As this is happening, you also realize it’s difficult to bend.

Throughout the day, you might feel tired and have an unusual aversion to food. If you’ve experienced something similar, you might be part of the 1% of the global population that faces rheumatoid arthritis. Seems like a small percentage, right? It actually translates into 17.6 million individuals all over the world. Let’s learn more about the health conditions of this 1 %.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a stubborn joint pain that doesn’t leave you alone for long. On top of joint pain, it also causes swelling of joints, body stiffness, and rheumatoid nodules. These nodules are troublesome lumps that form around the affected joints and can cause deformation of the affected limb. The nightmare doesn’t end here; RA also leads to fatigue, loss of appetite, unexplained chest pains, and dryness of eyes and mouth. 

An early symptom includes tenderness in the joints, which makes them numb or tingle uncomfortably; decreased flexibility, like difficulty bending or moving your joints, is another symptom. And the final painful touch is that it affects the joints on both sides of the body together, also called symmetrical joint involvement.

About 70% of these symptoms are caused by inflammation of the joints, so if you’re facing these, it might be time for some lifestyle changes. You can start these changes by eating more anti-inflammatory foods like berries and tomatoes. We’ll learn more about these later in this blog.

Overcoming Rheumatoid Arthritis with Habuild

All these RA symptoms sound pretty scary, right? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Let’s look at the inspiring journey of a Habuilder, Tejal Bile, who was able to cure her RA in just over two months with us:

“My yoga days are 67. I visited my doctor today for a regular follow-up. He was very happy to see my reports. My weight is reduced by 5 kg, and my thyroid medicine dose is reduced. He stopped my sugar medicine, which was started in the month of May. My HbA1C level is normal. Thanks to Saurabh Sir and the Habuild Team.

Rheumatoid arthritis for 22 years, ligament tears in both knees. The right elbow is deformed, has high BP, and vertigo issues. Started following some rules like reduced meal portions, stopped taking sugar, added salads to meals, stopped buying and eating random snack items, and started drinking more water. Also started having early dinner. I did yoga earlier but never consistently. Hope my experience brings positive change in someone’s life.”

Indeed, her story brought the idea of this blog into our lives! Tejal was able to heal her 22-year-old disease through daily yoga with Habuild. Our healthy Mumbaikar Habuilder also shared that her doctor was “very happy to see her reports.” We know we’ve succeeded in our mission when we’ve made both you and your doctor happy. But how does Habuild get you there? Let’s find out. 

Yoga for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Yoga is not a narrow approach to well-being. It’s a holistic journey that helps you cure all your health issues. Other than RA, our Mumbaikar also faced blood pressure issues, poor thyroid health, and issues caused by an unhealthy diet. She overcame all these issues in just 67 days with Habuild, and moving forward, all these issues will be reduced.

As Tejal realized, yoga cannot cause a lot of wellness if you don’t practice it daily. Beyond yoga, Habuild also organizes new One-Habit Challenges every month, encouraging the community to make dietary changes and eat healthier. Habuild is like the jugalbandi of learning and practicing daily yoga and developing habits you follow daily. Eventually, all Habuilders reach the point where consistency means inner peace, not just overcoming your health issues. Here are some holistic benefits of yoga that can also help RA patients:

• Reduction in Inflammation: Yoga’s mindful approach helps lower inflammation levels. Practicing yoga balances the anti-inflammatory regulatory cells, which prevents the immune system from overreacting and causing excess inflammation. 
• Improved Flexibility: RA restricts your movement by limiting the functions of your joints, and yoga counters that efficiently. Yoga helps build flexibility in your muscles and strengthens them, which eases your body stiffness and improves joint function.
• Pain Relief: Daily yoga helps reduce the pain that RA patients experience and improves their joint mobility. A study by AIIMS, New Delhi, showed that RA patients practicing daily yoga experienced decreased pain. But it’s important not to strain yourself too much; your flexibility isn’t being tested! And always make sure your doctor approves of your yoga practice!
• Stress Reduction: Stress can lead to sudden flares in RA patients, which make their pains worse. Yoga’s meditation and breath control help to lower stress levels in your body and prevent frequent flare-ups; this can improve overall well-being and potentially decrease inflammation.

Yoga is an excellent tool for overcoming chronic pains because it ensures mind-body wellness. You activate all your organs and senses through yoga by engaging in unique asanas, mindful pranayama, healthy eating, and calming meditation. One of the best ways to taste this mindful exercise is by joining Habuild’s 14-day free online yoga challenge. This challenge can help you by teaching you how to balance insufficient or excessive hormones and manage stress levels by reducing cortisol levels. Yoga has a mind-body wellness-oriented approach and promotes flexibility and muscle strength in its practitioner, all of which help RA patients by causing holistic improvement.

The Right Diet

Other than daily yoga, patients should also follow a proper diet. To make the process easier for you, here are some foods to avoid and foods to add:

Avoid: Avoid eating processed and fried food items (chips, fries, fast food) and sugary drinks and sweets (cold drinks and your beloved mithai); they increase inflammation in your body and make your joints flare up. You should also avoid refined carbs like white bread and pasta; sometimes, even too much dairy products can trigger flare-ups and worsen the pain.

Add: Try adding nutrient-rich food to your diet, including nuts and seeds like walnuts and almonds–flaxseeds can also be eaten but should be avoided by people with thyroid issues; locally grown strawberries and green leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli, and turmeric-rich food spiced with black pepper. You should also use ginger in your food and kadhas; it’s almost like a painkiller for your joints. 

Things to Take in Moderation: Balance is essential to your diet; you can try adding millets, but only in moderation. You can also add some low-fat dairy products to your diet–but not too much or too little! Examples include meals with low-fat plain or Greek yogurt, low-fat mozzarella, or cottage cheese. You might’ve heard curd is unsuitable for RA patients; that’s not true! You can use it to cook sabzis and pair it with whole grains (whole wheat, brown rice, and quinoa), improving your protein intake! This list also includes chickpeas and kidney beans; they’re healthy but best eaten in moderation!

All these foods help reduce inflammation in your joints and ease your pain. Although they’re helpful individually, a balanced diet that includes most or all of these ingredients can help you relax and soothe your joints. Plus, you should increase your water intake too!

Tejal showed dedication and a commitment to her health. She followed Habuild’s dietary habit guides, like cutting out sugar, practicing portion control, having early dinners, and introducing salads in meals.

Key Takeaways

This article shows how Tejal overcame her Rheumatoid Arthritis issue and set out on a renewal journey. You can also follow her by joining Habuild’s 14-day free online yoga classes and learning the power of yoga for all chronic pains. As a part of the Habuild community, Tejal Bile is much more than a success story; she’s an inspiration for all RA patients who are willing but unable to take up yoga in their daily routines. Habuild is your one-stop solution for all the asanas, diet control, pranayama, and willpower you need to heal from this chronic condition.