When is it safe to do yoga following Total Hip Replacement?

“If you are breathing and are conscious then you can practice yoga.”

This quote made a lasting impression. What the teacher was trying to get across is that, while most of us in the Western world think of Yoga as a physical practice, at its core it is a mental practice. The fundamental goal of yoga is to slow the activity of the mind. This is at the heart of a yoga practice, and the reason I bring up this fundamental principle in connection with the question “when is it safe to do yoga after THR” now is because it reframes what a yoga practice looks like and opens the door to practice yoga no matter what physical state you are in.

So when is it safe to do yoga following total hip replacement?

The answer is immediately after! Especially if you expand your idea of the practice beyond the physical postures and embrace the quieter practices of pranayama, (breathing) and meditation (focusing the mind).

You can began yoga while you’re In the hospital following your Total Hip Replacement surgery.

In the moments following the surgery, as the anesthetic is wearing off and your consciousness is returning, you may feel disoriented. As you regain consciousness, this is the time to tune-in to your body and to notice the sensations you feel. Be curious and give them your attention right from the start. This will help you track your progress as you heal and, as those sensations change, you’ll get a better sense of how and where you are healing. If you feel unsettled or anxious take some long, slow, belly breaths to regulate your nervous system and to calm yourself down. Practice savasana (corpse pose).

Yoga During Recovery after Total Hip Replacement.

Everyone heals at a different pace and there are multiple factors that come into play such as age, physical fitness, state of mind…. Each stage of healing allows for more movement and offers more freedom. When to move on to the next stage of your yoga practice depends on you but before starting anything new, check with your doctor. It is important to respect your body’s healing pace and not push yourself; your body will tell you what it wants. Don’t rush. Patience will bring fantastic results.

Yoga practice: 0 – 6 weeks following Total Hip replacement.

Immediately after surgery and for about the first 6 weeks your main task is to heal. Be aware that bones and tissue can take 6 or more weeks to mend. Do post-op exercises that you have been given by your surgeon and your PT. Build awareness and familiarity with your new hip. You will feel excited by the progress you make but be patient with your body. Practice pranayama (breathing exercises) and mindfulness meditation to relax your body and nervous system. Practice micro yoga moves, to support alignment and strength. Respect your limits and go at your own pace. See below for links to a Safe Post-Op Yoga practice.

Yoga Practice: 6 – 12 weeks following Total Hip Replacement.

Build strength. Your body is still healing. Even though you may be through the tough and painful part, it is likely you are still feeling the impact of the surgery. Body memory goes deep. Leading up the to surgery your body made accommodations for the pain. You may have favored the ailing hip, or you may have become weaker on one side and stronger on the other. You have a new body and it takes time getting to know it. After all, you lived with the old one for a long time, so treat the new one with respect and patience.

Now is the time to slowly build strength with safe movement patterns. Introduce gentle yoga sequences that emphasize strengthening the muscles around the hip and ones that focus on proper alignment. In a pose such as Warrior II, do you know where to place your feet? how to position your pelvis? or how to track your knees? If you did not have a solid foundation in yoga technique before your surgery then commit to learning it now for the health and longevity of your shiny new hip. Plus, it is fun and feels good to learn healthy movement patterns whether you have a THR or not! Check out Yoga Basics in the link below.

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Yoga Practice: 12 weeks – 6 months following Total Hip Replacement.

Now you are feeling confident and steady on your feet. Hopefully, you can walk without a cane and are feeling little or no pain. The major part of healing is behind you and you might feel more confident about your practice. Begin to explore a more traditional yoga practice. Explore a more challenging practice. It happened for me at about 6 months. I found myself enjoying and absorbed in the pleasure of the pose and no longer distracted by even minor pain. But everyone is different! Pain should always be your guide and you should always respect the advice given by your surgeon. As another teacher of mine once said: “One minute of glory in a pose is not worth 6 months of rehab!”

Patience Pays Off: When can I start back to work? go jogging? walk without a cane? do warrior I?. If I could answer these questions, if I could say any one thing about creating the best outcome after THR, it is to take your time. Listen to your body and go at its pace. The idea of many weeks of recovery is daunting and you might think it sounds like it would take forever. But in the end you will be glad you didn’t push to climb that mountain too soon. If you give your hips the time to heal and learn safe, mindful movement, they will serve you well for a long time. If you are listening to your body and heeding its signals you will know when it’s time to move to the next level of movement.