How to Modify Your Yoga Poses and Work With Your Body
Work with the body that you have, not the body you wish you had.
I love practicing yoga, and one of the reasons is because it is adaptable to all bodies. Whether you can stand or only sit, whether your wrists and toes bend easily or they don’t, there is always a way to modify your practice to suit your body.
Meet yourself where you are and accept the body that you have today.
The aging process can be challenging, and injuries, arthritis, and other conditions can make it harder to practice the way that you want. Accepting the body that you have today will make it more pleasurable to practice as you do the best you can with what you have.
In this post I offer pose modifications for various injuries or limitations that might be getting in the way of your yoga practice. Yoga blocks, yoga straps, and blankets/towels also help. For more on props, read “Why Using Yoga Props is an Act of Self Love.”
Wrists/Hands
Arthritis, tennis, golf, and other activities can lead to range of motion reduction in the hands and wrists, making certain poses, like Plank, Chaturanga, or even Cat and Cow feel impossible. Ideally you want to half the palms flat and fingers spread, but that may or may not be possible for you. The good news is there are ways to modify!
For all floor poses, if the wrists don’t bend 90 degrees, you have a few options.
Place your forearms on the floor instead of your palms. This keeps your wrists straight, and relieves the pressure from the hands. Ideally your forearms are parallel to each other, palms flat on the floor, but you can also make fists with your outer hand on the floor. Use these modifications for Cat/Cow, Plank, Cobra/Upward Dog (Sphinx), and Downward Dog.
Forearms parallel, wrists straight. Using dumbbells. Grab 2 small dumbells (at least 8-10 lbs—lighter ones usually aren’t far enough off the floor) and place your hands on them when you do Plank, Chaturanga, Upward/Downward Dog, Cat/Cow or any floor poses. This isn’t ideal if your thumb joint is a problem (try the previous modification), but is great for wrist or other finger limitations.
Hands on dumbbells Knuckles on the floor. Similar to the dumbbells but without them, martial arts style. This will take the pressure off your thumbs, redistributing it to your “upper finger” bones. This also keeps your wrists straight.
Toes/Feet
There are certain poses, like Crescent Lunge, Camel pose, and Plank pose where the toes are tucked under. If your toes don’t flex like that, here are some other possibilities.
Put your knee(s) down. In both Crescent and Plank instead of tucking your toes under, lower your knee(s) to the floor to take the pressure off the toes. Instead of Crescent, do Low Lunge, and instead of Plank, do Half Plank.
Keep your toes pointed. In a pose like Camel, instead of tucking the toes, keep the ankles long. Don’t worry about bringing your hands to your feet, you can keep them on your lower back, or place them on vertical blocks by your feet.
Knees
There can be a whole host of knee issues if your knees are arthritic, “bionic,” or something else. You might have sensitive knees, where it hurts to place them on the floor, or limited range of motion when it comes to bending them (flexion).
If you have sensitive knees, adding cushioning may help. You can roll up a towel, blanket, or fold up a second yoga mat and place it under your knee(s). You can also use one of those thick gardening pads.
If you have sensitive knees, keep your knees off the floor. In a pose like Child’s pose, you can do it on your back. Pull your knees toward your chest with your arms; this takes gravity out of the equation. You can also do this with Pigeon pose, Ankle to Knee, and Cow Face poses. Instead of Low Lunge, do Crescent Lunge. You can do Camel pose standing instead of kneeling. You can do Cat and Cow in a Chair or standing. Get creative.
Reclining Child’s Pose If you have limited range of motion, remove gravity. Any pose that requires deep knee flexion (bending) give yourself support! Place your head, your hips, or both on a block in Child’s pose, and/or roll up a blanket/towel and place it behind your knees to create more space. Child’s pose, Pigeon, Ankle to Knee, and Cow Face poses can also be done on your back. Malasana can be done while sitting on a block or a chair.
Child’s pose/Balasana with head on block, blanket behind knees 
Malasana on a block and in a chair If you have limited range of motion, bend your knees less. Don’t go as low in Utkatasana and Warrior poses. Place your foot lower on your leg in Tree pose. Remember, your poses don’t have to look like anyone else’s. There’s no one right way to practice yoga. Work with the body that you have.
Hips
Hip problems tend to be an issue with range of motion, especially with hip replacements, aka “bionic” hips. Of course other hip problems also exist, like arthritis, labrum tears, and bone spurs, but most of these issues require care with deep hip flexion. Some of these conditions will tolerate it, while others won’t. Above all, listen to your body. If you feel sharp pain, stop immediately.
Less flexion. Like with deep knee bends, any pose that requires deep hip flexion (bringing your thighs to your chest) might not be possible. Focus on bending less and supporting yourself more. Apply the same modifications for Child’s pose, Pigeon, Ankle to Knee, Cow Face pose, and Malasana that I listed under “Knees.”
Support your Hip flexors. Sometimes certain “hip openers” can cause strain in the hip flexors, like in Bound Angle pose. When you place blocks or blankets under your knees, or under your hips, it relieves the strain on the hip flexors, making the pose more comfortable. You can also do this with Ankle to Knee pose, Easy pose, and Head to Knee pose/Janu sirsasana.
Head to Knee pose/Janu Sirsasana with blanket under the knee to support the hip flexors
Shoulders
It’s trickier to modify for shoulders when doing a Vinyasa yoga practice, but not impossible. Depending on your particular shoulder issue, there will be different positions that you’ll need to avoid. Sometimes Downward Dog is fine, sometimes not, so listen to your body.
Here are some ideas:
Child’s pose instead of Down Dog. Child’s pose is always an option, whether you have a shoulder issue or not.
Arms by your side for standing poses. Warrior 1, 2, Triangle, and Side Angle can all be done leaving your arms down by your sides if raising them hurts. I recommend doing it symmetrically rather than keeping only the injured side down.
Plank instead of Chaturanga. If Plank pose feels okay, just stay in Plank rather than flowing through the Vinyasa. Be kind to your shoulders. You only have 2.
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