How Yoga Helps Seniors Stay Mobile

Yoga is a low-impact exercise that aims to improve mobility, balance and strength.  Yoga is often portrayed as an activity for people who are already flexible, this is just simply not true.  The goal of yoga is to meet your body where it is at and enjoy the low-impact movements. Yoga is for everybody and can be done sitting in a chair, standing up or on a yoga mat.

Here are the ways that yoga helps seniors stay active:

Mobility

Low-impact movements with light stretching and moving joints slowly through their range of motion. This helps keep joints healthy and muscles active.

Balance

Yoga practices often include postures that promote balance.  These postures can be done with the support of a chair or wall. The movements start small and build over time as balance improves.

Strength

Many postures in yoga involve shifting your body weight which in turn helps to build muscle (bonus: it helps build bone strength also!).  When engaging in any type of stretch, as one muscle stretches an opposite muscle contracts to allow that stretch to happen, thus building strength in the opposing muscle.

Sleep

Yoga helps us calm our minds and our bodies. A regular yoga practice can help improve sleep and provide knowledge on how to relax when sleep is fleeting.

Connectedness

Yoga is a social activity that is often done as a class with a group of other people.  Coming together with others to practice helps us feel connected to others as we move together and with time personal connections may occur between students.

Yoga can help seniors stay active longer and feel better in their bodies.

Contact me today to learn more about yoga class offerings and how to get started with yoga.