Yoga for the health and safety of Total Hip Replacement
“I’m incredibly impressed by your dedication and creativity …. [Yoga for Hip Replacement] is a wonderful resource for any patient looking to get back to an active and healthy lifestyle!” – Dr. Navin Fernando, MD, FRCS(C), Associate Professor, Adult Joint Reconstruction, Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Washington
“This is wonderful, Elizabeth. I’m sure many people will benefit from your skilled application of yoga practices for recovery from hip replacement surgery.” – Andra DeVoght, PT, MPH, Insight Physio
“… [Yoga for Hip Replacement] is so comprehensive and thorough. Thank you for providing this for people. It is going to benefit so many.” – Karen Hain, LAc, LMP, MAcOM
“Yoga for Hip Replacement is an invaluable resource for anyone pre- or post-hip replacement … with concise videos that are easy to follow and support you on your path to recovery.” – Kelly Straight, Straight on Strength, LLC, Certified Personal Trainer, Athletics, Rehab
New to Yoga?
YHR offers easy to understand instruction to keep you strong and mobile, and to help you return to your daily activities.
Already a Yogi?
This site offers appropriate modifications and guidelines that will inform your yoga practice before and after surgery.
You will learn
- Alignment in postures for joint safety and longevity.
- Strength and how it provides stability for the new joint.
- Flexibility and how to support it with strength.
- Breath awareness and its calming effects on the nervous system.
- Intentional Relaxation to promote healing, manage pain, and cope with stress.
Research-based studies confirm
that yoga offers both physical and mental health benefits including faster healing times, reduced postoperative hospital stays, and improved pain management.
Wondering if it is ok to do yoga after THR?
- Learn how to safely practice poses with Yoga Basics
Feeling out of shape and less able to do the things you love?
- Build strength, maintain flexibility with Standing Poses
Stressed out and tired of dealing with the pain?
- Promote healing and build resiliency to stress and pain with Restorative Poses
Want to keep moving?
- Get a whole-body experience that targets hip health and safety with Practice Classes
Get answers to common yoga and THR questions.
- Read the Blog
All Membership Levels come with
– a 20-minute free consult with Elizabeth
– unlimited access to Yoga Basics, Standing Poses, Restorative Poses, and Practice classes
– convert to Lifetime Unlimited Access after 12 months.
– Questions? Contact us . We are happy to answer any questions.
From the blog
What yoga poses are safe following Total Hip Replacement?
The short answer is all poses are safe for total hip replacement if you get creative and shift your thinking about what a pose should look like. The benefits of practicing yoga are rooted in awareness and focus. The shape of a pose will end up being different for...
Healing from Total Hip Replacement and how yoga can help.
Practicing yoga will help you heal! Studies show that people with bone fractures who practice pranayama (yoga breathing) and intentional relaxation (restorative yoga) experience accelerated bone healing and a reduction in pain, tenderness, and swelling. The same...
Go Slow – Build New Neural Pathways
When you learn to waltz for the first time it is natural to start by taking each step deliberately and slowly. This is how our brains and bodies learn new things. This slow patterning builds neural pathways so that after awhile, the movement becomes second nature and...
Relax and Restore – Because it feels so good!
Intentional relaxation is as important as building strength for health and healing following total hip replacement. Yoga offers a whole range of wonderful ways to relax in the form of Restorative Poses. The main goal of Restorative poses is to prop your body in the...
Yoga Technique & Alignment: Essential for health and longevity of joints
Technique and alignment in your yoga poses is essential for the health of your new hip(s). If you are practicing proper technique this means you are using proper alignment and this in turn will make your hips happy!! On the physical level, practicing proper technique...
Strength – Your Best Friend
Strength stabilizes joints. It increases bone density. And it helps you avoid dislocation. Which means that strength is every Hippie's best friend. When I was preparing for hip replacement, my brother, who had already had both his hips replaced, said “Whatever you do...
Dislocation- No Thanks!
Dislocation for a person with total hip replacement is when the ball of the prosthesis pulls out of the socket. It happens to only about 2% of THR cases within the first year. The most common cause of dislocation is an accident – a fall, a crash, a hard impact – and...
Yoga and Pain Management: Take a deep breath
Almost every person who is going through THR experiences pain in one form or another. I experienced pain in the months before my surgery because I was dealing with bone-on-bone in my hip socket as well as a labrum tear. Yoga helped me manage the pain; I’m not just...
Questions for your Surgeon
"The more you understand about your total hip replacement surgery ahead of time, the better." Here is a list of questions that were important for my understanding. Look for links at the bottom for more detailed information. These questions are specifically for your...
What is the “Core?”
“Core Trunk” muscles stabilize our spine. We have muscles in our trunk in the front of, on the sides of, on the back, on the top of (diaphragm) and on the bottom of (pelvic floor) the spine. All these muscles play a role in supporting our spine and play a crucial role...

Elizabeth Freeman (500 E-RYT, YACE) has practiced yoga since 1985 and has been a yoga teacher since 1997. She specializes in yoga for people with movement challenges… Read more here
sthira sukham asanam
the posture should be steady and at ease
~ The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali