Yoga for your joints and mobility in Maui
Loosen stiffness and move with ease.
Joints and mobility gathers classes that move each joint through a comfortable range: joint-rotation series, mobility classes, gentle hatha, chair yoga, somatic work and tai chi-like flows. Movements are small, rhythmic and repeated. It is about ease, not depth.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Joints and mobility does for you
You get to wake the body up joint by joint, from toes to neck. Slow circles and repeated movements tend to leave you feeling warmer, looser and less creaky. Many people describe moving through the rest of the day with more ease. It is a good base for any other practice.
It suits you if
- you feel stiff in the morning or after sitting
- you want an easy, regular practice as you get older
- deep stretches do not suit you
- you like to warm up properly before other practice
Read the full guide to Joints and mobilityWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes run 45 to 75 minutes. Expect circles for the wrists, ankles, hips and shoulders, plus rocking, rolling and flowing movements, often done seated, on a chair or on the floor. There is little holding and almost no deep stretching. Facilitators often lead with counts or the breath and repeat each movement several times. You will get warm but rarely sweat.
Your first time
- Wear loose clothes, and be ready to take your socks off for foot work.
- Ask for a chair if getting down to the floor is hard; most facilitators expect this.
- Mention any joint history before class so the facilitator can suggest options.
Good to know
- If you have arthritis, a joint replacement, hypermobility or a recent injury, check with your doctor or physiotherapist before joining and tell the facilitator.
- Move within a comfortable range and stop if a joint hurts, swells or catches.
- These classes are movement practice, not therapy, and do not replace medical care.
Where it comes from
Many traditions begin practice by moving each joint in turn. The Bihar School of Yoga in India, founded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964, popularized the pawanmuktasana series: simple rotations from the toes up to the neck, often given to beginners and older practitioners. The name is usually translated as wind-releasing poses.
Chinese movement arts such as tai chi and qigong are also built on slow, continuous movement of the whole body, and have become a familiar sight in parks worldwide. In the West, chair yoga, developed by Lakshmi Voelker-Binder from 1982, made joint-friendly yoga possible for people who cannot easily get down to the floor.
Mobility as a word took off in fitness from the 2000s, describing active, controlled movement through a joint's range rather than passive stretching. In Berlin, mobility and joint-focused classes run in yoga and Pilates studios, gyms and Volkshochschulen, and many are aimed at people who want to stay active over the decades.
Words you will hear
- Pawanmuktasana
- Wind-releasing series: gentle rotations of each joint, from toes to neck.
- Range of motion
- How far a joint can move in a given direction.
- Joint circles
- Slow rotations of a single joint, such as the wrists or ankles.
- Qigong
- A Chinese practice of slow movement coordinated with the breath.
- Chair yoga
- Yoga done sitting on, or holding on to, a chair.