If you have arthritis, stretching and flexing on a yoga mat may seem like the last thing you’d want to do. But gentle yoga poses may be just what you need to help ease joint pain and reduce markers of inflammation.

In a 2019 analysis published in Current Rheumatology Reports, researchers reviewed nine randomized controlled trials of people with osteoarthritis. They found some evidence that yoga helps improve pain, function, and stiffness compared to other kinds of exercise or no exercise at all.

Another study of studies published the same year in American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation found yoga was especially helpful in women with osteoarthritis who stuck closely to the program (as opposed to skipping sessions). And a 2018 study in Medicine (Baltimore) that looked at research in patients with either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis concluded that regular yoga training may reduce knee symptoms and improve physical function and overall well-being.

With the okay of your healthcare provider, try this sequence, which could help reduce your arthritis pain and improve your flexibility. If you’re less flexible, remember not to force your body into the positions. Just go as far as you comfortably can until you feel a gentle stretch, working your way a little further as you get more familiar with the moves.