Yoga guide
No published trial has tested yoga for an ankle sprain. Most sprained ankles recover with early, protected movement rather than rest, but many people sprain the same ankle again, and some are left with an ankle that keeps giving way. Balance training is what cuts repeat sprains, and yoga's one-leg poses are a form of it, so this guide uses the rehab evidence and fits yoga into it, stage by stage.
It covers when to start, what to do in the first days, standing poses and the one-leg progression, calf and ankle strength, the poses to change (lotus, sitting on your feet and jumps), the ankle that keeps giving way, going back to sport, the warning signs of a break or a clot, and a free 25-minute class.
We found no randomised trial of yoga for an ankle sprain. The nearest are an 8-week yoga class in older adults with past sprains, with no comparison group, and a 10-person pilot. Yoga's one-leg poses are a form of the balance training that does have evidence.
A US physiotherapy guideline's top grade goes to a brace or tape with weight put through the foot step by step, and exercise in the first week improved function with no extra re-injury (4% in each group). The NHS says most sprains feel better after 2 weeks, and to avoid running for up to 8 weeks.
Up to 34% sprained again within 3 years, and 5% to 33% still had pain at a year. A Cochrane review says 10% to 20% of people develop an ankle that keeps giving way; in a group of people who sought care for a first sprain, the 2021 guideline reports up to 40%.
An 8-week home balance programme, 3 times a week, cut repeat sprains from 33% to 22%: one fewer for every 9 people who did it. Across 7 trials, balance training cut sprains by about a third, mainly in people who had sprained before. A brace for sport helps too.
Chair and lying practice with slow breathing in the first days (an NHS hospital leaflet lists breathing exercises and relaxation among things that can help pain); standing poses as walking allows; then one-leg poses built up from two feet to one, eyes closed and a softer surface, as in the trial. One-leg poses load the ankle most, so they come last.
About 9 in 10 sprains are the foot turning inwards. Lotus, half lotus and sitting on your feet wait until the outer ankle is comfortable, and one-leg poses start on the good leg, next to a wall (our suggestion).
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"Around 90% of ankle sprains involve an inversion injury (the foot turns inward)" to the ligaments on the outside of the ankle, US surgeons say. The ligaments may be stretched, partly torn or fully torn, and a guideline says the damage is best judged 4 to 5 days after the injury. A high ankle sprain, between the shin bones, is less common and slower to heal; it has its own guide.
Ankle sprains are the commonest injury in active people. Across 181 studies, indoor and court sports had the highest rates (7 per 1,000 exposures), and women and children had higher rates than men and adults.
The NHS: "After 2 weeks, most sprains and strains will feel better", but avoid strenuous exercise such as running for up to 8 weeks, and severe sprains can take months. An NHS hospital leaflet says most ankle sprains improve within 6 to 12 weeks, but swelling and pain can continue for 3 to 6 months. In 31 studies, pain fell fast in the first 2 weeks, yet 5% to 33% still had pain at a year.
Chronic ankle instability means repeat sprains, the ankle giving way, and pain, swelling or weakness more than a year after the first sprain. A Cochrane review says it follows a sprain in 10% to 20% of people; in a group of people who sought care for a first sprain, the 2021 guideline reports up to 40%. US surgeons say "Incomplete rehabilitation is the most common cause of chronic ankle instability after a sprain".
Clinicians use the Ottawa ankle rules to decide who needs an X-ray: tenderness over the ankle or midfoot bones, or not being able to take four steps. Our sprained ankle guide explains them. If you're unsure, get it checked before you start yoga.
In 20 practitioners doing 7 common poses, the load through the ankle was highest in one-leg poses. Standing poses bend the ankle and put weight through it; lunges and downward dog need ankle bend; and lotus, half lotus and sitting on the feet roll the sole in or point the foot, the direction that sprains the outer ligaments (our reading).
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Our sprained ankle guide has the full plan, with its doses and when to move on; this is how yoga fits beside it. The stages are guides, not deadlines: move on when the ankle allows.
The NHS advises protection, rest, ice for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours, compression and raising the leg, and avoiding heat, alcohol and massage for the first couple of days. An NHS hospital leaflet says to raise the foot above hip level for the first few days. Yoga here means slow breathing, seated upper-body stretches and gentle ankle circles in a pain-free range, with the foot raised on cushions.
"When you can move the injured area without pain stopping you, try to keep moving it", the NHS says. Walk as comfort allows, add seated calf raises and gentle holds pressing the foot outwards, and keep yoga to chair and floor poses. In a trial, gentle exercise from the first week improved function without more re-injury.
Once you can walk with little or no limp: standing poses with short holds (mountain, chair and warrior II with a short stance), the knee-to-wall rock, calf raises and band work, then one-leg standing next to a wall. NHS hospital leaflets say the exercises should not increase your pain.
One-leg poses built up step by step: holding a wall, then not, then eyes closed, then on a folded mat or cushion. In the trial that cut repeat sprains, athletes did 3 sessions a week of up to 30 minutes for 8 weeks, starting once their usual rehab had ended and they were back in sport.
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That's its own plan: hops, landings and sport drills, with the checks in the next section. Yoga is part of the balance work, not the whole return.
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In 522 athletes aged 12 to 70, an unsupervised 8-week balance programme cut repeat sprains over a year from 33% to 22% (one fewer for every 9 people who trained), even though only 23% completed it fully. Sessions were 3 a week of up to 30 minutes, ideally as a warm-up, getting harder each week.
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Across 7 trials (3,726 people), balance training cut sprains by about a third, by much the same in people who had sprained before. Exercise-based rehab after a sprain cut re-injury over the following year in two meta-analyses, and how much training people did didn't change the benefit.
For people who have never sprained, the evidence is inconclusive: the pooled result came from two trials that weren't significant on their own, and the guideline gives balance training only a weak grade for preventing a first sprain.
After a sprain, a brace worn for sport for 12 months cut repeat sprains more than an 8-week home programme (15% against 27%), and an overview of reviews found strong evidence for bracing. The guideline recommends both after a first sprain.
The guideline asks clinicians to check one-leg balance with the eyes closed, and yoga's one-leg poses practise exactly that. Use the trial's order: two feet, one foot holding a wall, one foot without, eyes closed, then a softer surface. Then add moving balance such as one-leg reaches.
Early loading, rehab exercise, balance training and a brace carry the evidence. Yoga has no trial in a sprain.
Our searches of PubMed, Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov found no published trial of yoga for an ankle sprain or an ankle that keeps giving way. One trial of yoga poses in 28 footballers with ankle instability finished in 2024 but has posted no results.
In middle-aged and older adults with past sprains, an 8-week beginner class went with better balance in the older group, in a study with no comparison group. In a 10-person pilot reported only as a conference abstract, 4 people with unstable ankles stood longer on one leg after 4 weeks of yoga. Encouraging, not proof.
The guideline's top grade goes to a brace or tape with progressively more weight through the foot, and 4 weeks in a cast delayed the return to work and sport. In 101 people, exercise in the first week gave better function in weeks 1 and 2 and more walking, with re-injury at 4% in each group. An overview of 46 reviews found strong evidence for early movement.
An international consensus of 155 professionals bases the return to sport on five checks (PAASS): pain, ankle range and strength, the athlete's confidence, balance, and sport tasks such as hopping, jumping and finishing a full session. In one group of people after a first sprain, not being able to manage jump-landing tasks at 2 weeks was among the predictors of later instability.
Slow breathing: 1 minute, in for about 4 and out for about 6 (our yoga for Achilles tendinopathy class). Ankle circles: 5 slow circles each way with each ankle, morning and evening (the move's page), letting pain set the size of the circle. Seated calf raise: 2 sets of 10; holds pressing the foot outwards against a wall: 8 to 12 holds of about 6 seconds; towel calf stretch, from about week 2: 3 holds of up to 30 seconds (our sprained ankle guide's first stage). Legs up the wall, to raise the foot: 2 minutes (our yoga for shin splints class); its caution lists who should skip raising the hips.
3D demoSlow breathing (6 breaths a minute)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoAnkle CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSeated bent-knee calf raise (soleus raise)Beginner · A bench or box
3D demoIsometric ankle eversion against a wallBeginner · A wall + A bench or box
3D demoSeated calf stretch with a towelBeginner · Other / check instructions
3D demoLegs up the wall (Viparita Karani)Beginner · A wallKnee-to-wall rock: 10 slow rocks per side, daily (the move's page); our sprained ankle guide moves the foot back 2 cm at a time as it improves. Slow calf raise: 12 reps, 3 times a day; band eversion and band inversion: 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 8, inversion in a pain-free range; wall calf and soleus stretches: 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds (our sprained ankle guide, from NHS hospital leaflets).
3D demoKnee-to-wall ankle rockBeginner · A wall
3D demoSlow calf raiseBeginner · A wall
3D demoBand ankle eversionBeginner · A band + A bench or box
3D demoBand ankle inversionBeginner · A band + A bench or box
3D demoWall calf stretch (gastrocnemius)Beginner · A wall
3D demoSoleus wall stretchBeginner · A wallMountain pose, from the move's page: "Stand for 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times. Once you feel steady, add a round with your eyes closed, within reach of a wall (our editorial starting point)." Chair pose, a shallow bend: 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths; warrior II with a short stance: 3 to 5 breaths each side (our yoga for Achilles tendinopathy class). Tandem stance, then heel-to-toe walk: 30 seconds each way round, then 10 steps, fingertips on a counter (our yoga for balance class).
Good leg first, next to a wall. One-leg stand: up to 30 seconds, holding a support, then without, then eyes closed (our sprained ankle guide's levels), then on a folded mat (the trial's softer surface). Tree pose, fingertips on a wall, the lifted foot at your ankle: 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each side (our yoga for plantar fasciitis class). One-leg reach, once one-leg standing with your eyes closed is steady: 3 rounds of 5 reaches in each direction, each leg (the move's page). Warrior III, hands on a chair: 3 breaths each side, twice (our yoga for footballers class). Half moon, back near a wall and bottom hand on a block: 3 to 5 breaths each side (our yoga for legs class). Hip airplane, holding a counter: 2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg (the move's page).
3D demoSingle-leg standBeginner · A wall
3D demoTree pose (Vrksasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg reach matrixIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior III (Virabhadrasana III)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoHalf moon pose (Ardha Chandrasana)Advanced · A step
3D demoHip airplaneAdvanced · No equipmentOur suggestions, from how sprains happen and our sprained ankle guide's advice against turning the foot inwards hard early on.
They roll the sole inwards, the movement that sprains the outer ligaments. Wait until the outer ankle is comfortable at the end of its range; sit cross-legged loosely or on a chair instead.
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Hero pose and sitting on your heels point the foot and stretch the front of the ankle. Use a block between your feet or a chair until it's comfortable, and come up at once if your feet tingle or go numb, as our hero pose page says.
Toes-tucked kneeling: its page says ease in after a recent foot injury.
Step back and forward in sun salutations instead of jumping, until our sprained ankle guide's hop stage.
Good leg first, injured leg second, next to a wall. Stop for pain above about 5 out of 10, swelling the next morning, or the ankle giving way.
The NHS says avoid heat, such as hot baths and heat packs, for the first couple of days; we'd treat a hot room the same way (our reading).
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You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
The guideline's top grade goes to balance and neuromuscular exercise for chronic ankle instability, and a Cochrane review found it improved ankle function in the short term. Yoga for it is barely tested: a 10-person pilot.
An ankle that keeps giving way months after a sprain.
A physiotherapist can check what's behind it and set the balance and strength work; yoga's one-leg poses can carry it on (our suggestion).
Our 25-minute class follows our sprained ankle guide's middle stage and the trial's balance progression: ankle range, calf strength, short standing poses and one-leg balance, with no jumping. Its structure is our editorial choice. Start it once you can walk with little or no limp; once you're back in sport, its balance block makes a short habit for 3 sessions a week. The foot and ankle routine is the same work without yoga, seated chair yoga suits the first days, and the balance classes come later.
A 25-minute yoga class after an ankle sprain: ankle range, calf and ankle strength, short standing poses and a one-leg balance progression, with no jumping.
25 minBeginner16 movesA bench or box, A wallA 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 15-minute chair yoga routine done entirely sitting: slow breathing, neck, shoulder and wrist stretches, seated twists and side bends, and a calm finish.
15 minBeginner16 movesA bench or boxThirty minutes of standing yoga for balance: strong standing poses, one-leg poses at the wall, and side steps, backward steps, reaches and sit-to-stands.
30 minBeginner16 movesA wall, A bench or boxBalance practice in 10 minutes: tandem stance, single-leg stands, marches, heel walks, tree pose and floor transfers.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A bench or boxThese are the warning signs from our sprained ankle and ankle pain guides, word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999.
Same day (NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre): after an injury, you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps, the pain is very bad or getting worse, there is a lot of swelling or bruising or it is getting worse, it feels very stiff, or it's not feeling any better after treating it yourself. Get the same help if you also have a very high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery: this could be an infection. If you think it's broken, don't treat it yourself.
Contact NHS 111: after an injury, severe ankle pain, feeling faint, dizzy or sick from the pain, a snap, grinding or popping noise at the time of the injury, the ankle or foot at an odd angle, or not being able to walk. These might be signs of a broken ankle or an infection.
Same day: a sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone. Go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111.
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Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): throbbing pain in one leg (rarely both), usually the calf or thigh; swelling in one leg (rarely both); red, blue or darkened skin around the painful area, which may be harder to see on brown or black skin; or swollen veins. It could be a blood clot (DVT). Watch for it after an ankle injury or time in a cast or boot.
Same day: in a cast or boot, pain that is getting worse, toes that are numb or burning, a cast that feels too tight, toes that are swollen, blue or white, or a bad smell from under the cast.
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Some discomfort during exercise is fine. Aim for pain you would call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10, that settles within an hour, with no more swelling or stiffness the next morning. If it's worse the next day, do a little less (a smaller range, fewer reps, a lighter band), not nothing.
After a sprain, NHS hospital leaflets say the exercises should not increase your pain, and gentle exercise from the first week was safe in a trial: re-injury was 4% with or without it.
Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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If you're hypermobile, don't use mobility work to push further: the NHS says "do not overextend your joints just because you can". See a GP if you think you have joint hypermobility syndrome: for example, your joints keep dislocating, or you keep getting sprains, strains, pain or stiffness.
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A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
Up to a third sprained again within 3 years, and some still had pain at a year. Rehab exercise cut re-injury, and a home balance programme cut repeat sprains from 33% to 22%.
The guideline's top grade is a brace or tape with weight put through the foot step by step, and exercise in the first week helped without more re-injury.
No yoga trial has counted sprains. Balance training works mainly after a first sprain, and for first-ever sprains the evidence is inconclusive.
Across 25 trials, stretching showed no protective effect, while balance and strength training did.
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Raising the foot above hip level helps swelling in the first days, and lying with the foot on cushions or legs up the wall does that. No study has tested yoga inversions for a sprain, and shoulderstand has its own neck and eye cautions.
Yes, adapted to where you are. In the first 2 to 3 days, follow the NHS's rest, ice, compression and raising the leg, with chair or lying poses and breathing; then standing poses as walking allows, and one-leg poses once you can walk without much of a limp.
Gentle movement can start in the first week: exercise in week 1 improved function without more re-injury in a trial. Most sprains feel better after 2 weeks, but the NHS advises avoiding running for up to 8 weeks, so build the one-leg poses in over weeks.
It hasn't been tested in a trial, but its one-leg poses are a form of the balance training that cut repeat sprains from 33% to 22%. Use it as part of your rehab, not instead of it.
Ankle circles and calf raises first, then mountain pose with your eyes closed, the knee-to-wall rock, chair and warrior II, then tree, one-leg stands and one-leg reaches next to a wall. Our 25-minute class builds them in order.
Early on, lotus, half lotus and sitting on your feet, which roll the sole inwards or point the foot, the way most sprains happen; jumping in sun salutations; and one-leg poses on the injured side until you can stand on it holding a wall.
Not on its own: no yoga trial has counted sprains, and balance training cut sprains mainly in people who had sprained before. After a sprain, balance work 3 times a week for 8 weeks and a brace for sport have the best evidence.
In the trial that cut repeat sprains, athletes did it 3 times a week for 8 weeks after going back to sport. Only about a quarter completed it fully, so a short routine you'll keep doing matters more than a long one.
Possibly, as balance training: balance and neuromuscular exercise has the guideline's top grade for chronic ankle instability, though yoga for it has only a 10-person pilot. An ankle that keeps giving way months after a sprain should be checked by a GP or physiotherapist.
You don't need one on a mat; braces are for sport, where they cut repeat sprains. Some people like a light support for standing poses in the first weeks (our suggestion).
It keeps the rest of you moving while you can't stand for long, and an NHS hospital leaflet says breathing exercises and relaxation can help with pain. Add ankle circles and seated calf raises from the first days.
If you heard a crack, the ankle looks out of shape, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps, get it checked the same day or go to A&E. Clinicians use the Ottawa ankle rules to decide who needs an X-ray, as our sprained ankle guide explains.
When you pass the checks in our sprained ankle guide: pain, ankle range and strength, confidence, balance, and hopping, landing and sport drills. Yoga is part of the balance work, not the whole return.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
