Bikram yoga is done in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, but it might not be the right exercise setting if you have certain types of glaucoma. Many health experts don’t recommend the intense yoga as a treatment for the eye condition, though the Mayo Clinic says all forms of yoga can curb blood pressure and encourage weight loss, both of which can be present with glaucoma.
Bikram Yoga and Glaucoma
Your glaucoma may not limit your Bikram yoga practice, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you have open-angle glaucoma, any regular exercise, including Bikram yoga, may reduce eye pressure and ease symptoms. If you have pigmentary glaucoma, in which pigment granules spread through the eye, be careful with Bikram. Vigorous exercise or head-down yoga postures disturb pigment granules, which gather at the base of the cornea and raise eye pressure. Elevated eye pressure may worsen pigmentary glaucoma.
Unsafe Bikram Postures
Ninety percent of glaucoma patients have the open-angle variety, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation. Still, the foundation says studies are inconclusive on long-term effects of inverting the head. It advises caution with yoga practice. The National Institutes of Health advises glaucoma patients to avoid yoga postures that force the head downward, below the heart. Dipping the head can raise blood pressure in veins into which the eye’s aqueous fluid drains. Higher pressure keeps fluid in the eye and boosts intraocular pressure. Bikram yoga features seven postures that could invert the head: standing separate leg stretching, standing separate leg head to knee, locust, fixed firm, tortoise, camel and rabbit. Avoid or modify the postures if you have glaucoma.
Safer Yoga
Bikram yoga has 19 other postures and breathing exercises that are safe for glaucoma patients. However, Bikram’s extreme temperature and humidity can be dangerous for people with high blood pressure, a condition linked to glaucoma. The University of Maryland Medical Center advises patients with high blood pressure and others with chronic illnesses to practice gentler forms of yoga. Options include integral yoga, which emphasizes breathing, chanting and meditation, or viniyoga, which lets practitioners adapt postures to their needs and abilities. Iyengar, which involves holding postures for three to five minutes, may also work for glaucoma patients. Regardless of the yoga you practice, avoid postures that invert your head.
Considerations
Discuss Bikram yoga with your doctor before starting your practice. Talk to your Bikram studio’s owner or manager before class. Alert her to your glaucoma and ask about alternatives to head-down postures. Bikram offers less-intense postures for pregnant women that may also suit patients with glaucoma or high blood pressure. Look for classes with instructors experienced at teaching medical patients. Take it easy in your first few classes: Don’t let your competitive spirit push you beyond your safest limits. All yoga emphasizes slow but steady improvement over time, rather than immediate progress.
References
- Mayo Clinic; Glaucoma: Lifestyle and Home Remedies; July 2010
- Bikram Yoga NYC: Posture Benefits
- Glaucoma Research Foundation; Types of Glaucoma; May 2011
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Yoga for Health: An Introduction; May 2008
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Yoga; Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; October 2008
- Mayo Clinic; Yoga: Tap into the Many Health Benefits; January 2010
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