This Yoga Awareness Month, we’re highlighting the benefits of yoga for people living with lupus and sharing insights from two inspiring women who know the practice well. Michele Insley, a certified yoga instructor and staff member at the Lupus Foundation of America, and Victoria Gibbs, a yoga teacher and lupus warrior, offer their perspectives on how yoga can support people living with this disease.
While traditional treatment for lupus focuses on managing flares and protecting organ health, many are turning to complementary practices like yoga to support overall well-being. Yoga can help you feel stronger, more balanced and more in control of your symptoms.
Why Yoga?
Victoria Gibbs knows firsthand how transformative yoga can be. When she was first diagnosed, she felt overwhelmed and isolated. “The unpredictability of my future added to the anxiety, making it hard to plan or envision what lay ahead,” she shares.
“[Yoga] helped me cultivate a deep mind-body connection and learn patience, acceptance, forgiveness and compassion for myself.”
Yoga offers a range of physical and emotional benefits, including improving balance, reducing joint pain and stiffness, and helping regulate emotions. Yoga offers many people living with lupus a sense of confidence in moving their bodies in ways that don’t exacerbate symptoms, an empowering shift when navigating chronic fatigue or unpredictable flares.
Yoga isn’t a cure or treatment for lupus, but it’s a complementary practice that may improve your mind-body connection, as Victoria suggests. Learn about yoga and other complementary and alternative medicines for lupus.
How to Get Started
You don’t need to be an expert or even leave the house to begin a yoga practice. You can start slowly with a few minutes of breathwork or gentle movement, using props like blankets to support your body. Many people begin with virtual classes or free videos at home. Others may prefer local studios offering beginner-friendly options tailored to people with chronic conditions.
Asking questions before joining a class, whether in person or online, can help make your practice feel more safe and supportive:
- Is the class accessible?
- Are props available?
- Will the instructor offer modifications?
Wherever you practice, talk to your health care team first, and look for instructors open to modifications.
“Yoga is not about pushing or performing,” Michele shares. “It’s about connecting with yourself in a supportive and compassionate way.”
Victoria adds, “Some days I enjoy a rigorous flow; other days, restorative yoga or breathwork is what I need. The emphasis is always on self-care and honoring what your body can handle in the moment.”
Adapting Yoga For Your Body
Lupus symptoms can vary day to day, so yoga should be flexible, too. Yoga offers adaptability depending on how you feel, allowing you to do more on good days and scale back when your body doesn’t feel quite right. “My breath serves as an internal gauge,” Victoria explains. “If it becomes shallow or strained, I know it’s time to pause. Yoga reminds me that healing is not just physical — it’s also emotional and spiritual.”
Michele emphasizes that yoga is about meeting yourself exactly where you are: “I encourage students to listen to their bodies, modify as needed, and approach each practice with the intention of feeling at ease, supported, and at peace within themselves.”
There are various ways to adjust your practice:
- During flares: restorative yoga, gentle breathwork, or guided meditation
- On good days: slow-paced flows or light strength-building movements
- Any time: pause to assess your energy, then adapt accordingly
Types of Yoga
Michele recommends Hatha yoga as a foundational practice for people with lupus, thanks to its slow, deliberate approach. “Hatha means the balance of opposites, [which] is especially helpful for people who need to adapt to daily fluctuations in energy or symptoms.” This branch of yoga focuses on improving your flexibility, strength and balance, as well as promoting relaxation.
Restorative and Yin yoga can also help with deep relaxation, nervous system support, and joint relief.
“Yoga encourages us to build awareness and foster gratitude for what our bodies can do,” Michele says.
Victoria has practiced many styles over her 15-year journey and takes a personalized approach. She notes that while she enjoys vigorous practice, she always listens to her body: “When I’m symptomatic, I avoid hot yoga or power yoga, and approach balance poses, backbends, and inversions with caution.”
Her advice for others? “Start slowly and listen to your body. Yoga isn’t about the poses — it’s about showing up for yourself.”
Remember, not every type of yoga is right for people with lupus. Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine. Learn more about the most and least recommended types of yoga when you have lupus.
Empowerment on the Mat
Yoga can be a powerful tool for people living with lupus. It offers a way to reconnect with your body, ease stress, and find a moment of peace amid uncertainty.
“Even small steps in self-care and mindfulness can lead to meaningful improvements in well-being,” Victoria says.
For Michele, showing up on the mat is a powerful act of self-care: “Be curious. Be kind to yourself. That’s what yoga is truly about.”
Whether you’re newly diagnosed or have lived with lupus for years, yoga invites you to meet yourself where you are — at home, in a studio or anywhere you feel supported — with one breath, one pose and one day at a time.
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