If you’ve reached your senior years and you’re not already practicing yoga, now is a great time to start.
Yoga is an incredibly helpful physical and mental practice for seniors. The physical effects of yoga can increase flexibility, mobility, strength and balance through low-impact, coordinating mindful movement with breath and focused concentration. Psychologically, it can help keep your mind sharp, increase positive emotions and mindfulness, improve sleep and develops connection of body with mind.
Yoga classes for seniors are generally calm and restorative, focusing on the breath with movement, relaxing your body and mind. As you practice yoga and become mindful of not just your body, but also your thoughts and emotions, you will become more connected to and mindful of your environment, your community, and the world around you.
As we age, our sense of balance can diminish making us more likely to sustain injuries or falls. This can have a significant impact on our feelings of confidence and competence. A regular yoga practice can improve balance, stability, strength and resilience, restoring confidence in movement and Self.
These 4 yoga poses are a great starting sequence for seniors looking to begin a daily yoga practice:
- Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
- Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
- Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana)
- Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
If you would like to know more about how yoga might help you with balance, stability and preventing falls, talk to our Podiatrist, Kim Edwards, who has completed her Yoga teacher training with the Biomedical Institute of Yoga & Meditation.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana)
Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
