Breathe In, Breathe Out. How Yoga Can Help With Varicose Veins.

Exercising with varicose veins is easier said than done. For starters, the prospect of pushing your legs when the act of standing alone hurts can be daunting. That being said, exercise is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and the proper levels of effort can actually alleviate some of the pain that comes with varicose veins. So what’s one way to utilize low-impact exercise so you can strike that perfect balance? The answer has been around for thousands of years: Yoga.

By increasing flexibility and building muscle, yoga can help improve circulation throughout your body. This helps prevent varicose veins in people who haven’t developed any and reduces the pain in those who have. Poses range from simple and easy to complex and challenging, which means anyone can practice regardless of their current fitness level. Poses that are especially helpful for varicose veins include poses utilizing leg raises and inversions. Here are some tips to consider when practicing yoga with varicose veins:

● Focus on poses that elevate your legs. This improves circulation, prevents blood from pooling in your veins, and guides blood back to your heart. Try laying on your back and resting your legs on the wall, then—when you’re ready—move on to poses like supported shoulder stands and boat pose.

● Include poses meant to strengthen your legs while also stretching. Popular poses that fit this category include chair pose, standing frog, and leaning crescent. If you ever feel like you’re pushing your legs too hard, take a break and resume poses that do not cause pain.

If you’re interested in developing a routine that fits your specific needs, we suggest reaching out to a certified yoga instructor. They can help you choose and practice poses that can help alleviate your specific pains. However, yoga will never eliminate varicose veins entirely. The best way to do that is to surgically remove them as soon as they are identified. If you’re interested in removing your varicose veins, please reach out to us at 866-695-8346. We’ve performed thousands of safe, successful procedures, and we’ve guided thousands of patients through the hopes and fears that come with such a decision.