Yoga For Seniors
Yoga For Seniors – How It Can Help You
Yoga for seniors is becoming more popular as many seniors are trying to find ways to stay active, and have a social life. Once adults age and they are retired, they feel they have nothing left. Their children are grown and have their own families, and they aren’t working so they feel they have no sense of purpose. So, being active helps them to not only keep moving, but gives them something to look forward to as well.
Seniors Need to Keep Moving
When senior adults get older, not only do they have children leaving the nest, but they can focus on the positive by having more time for themselves. Having time for more leisure and more recreation gives seniors an opportunity to try things they may not have tried before, and allows them to stay in good shape and stay strong.
With aging comes the risk of arthritis, and other joint aches and muscles aches. High blood pressure can also be a concern, and with that comes the need for stress management. While staying fit as they age is necessary, it is also necessary to find a way to do this without pain. Yoga for seniors allows them to get the exercise they need, without having to sacrifice comfort. Seniors will be able to get fit, but with yoga they can get the benefits of the exercise they need with very little stress on the joints.
Yoga deals with your whole being, so not only will it have physical benefits, but it will have emotional benefits as well. Yoga can be done at home by following along with a dvd, or even a show that is on television. These shows are great and are different everyday giving a nice variety of poses to try, and different workouts everyday to keep things fresh. This tends to keep seniors and anyone else from getting bored while doing their workouts.
A Typical Session of Yoga for the Elderly
A typical yoga session for seniors will start out with some light breathing exercises to get them ready and relaxed before they begin their exercises. In yoga, breathing is good for cleansing. For those who have a tendency to get congested or have breathing problems, this will help to open up their air passages so that they can breathe more quickly if necessary during the movements.
Yoga for seniors usually focuses on less intense poses in the beginning until they are accustomed to doing more advanced movements. The first one is entitled as such, called “Easy Pose”. This is a classic meditative pose to help straighten the spine and slow down the metabolism. This is usually done at the beginning, and then at the end to close a session. This is very effective for keeping the mind still, and this has proven very beneficial for those who tend to have problems being distracted.
The next two poses that are done in a session with seniors are the Cat Pose and the Dog Pose. With the cat pose, the back is arched up while the person is on all fours on the floor. They push the navel back into the spine, which causes the back to arch up as the person breathes in. Then, as they exhale, they drop down into Dog Pose. This where the opposite takes place, as they push their tail out while breathing out. These poses are very effective when done repetitively because they help to stretch out the back, and elongate the spine.
Yoga for seniors is done in a simple fashion that is easy to follow, and is easy on the joints. Yoga can really help to enhance a seniors life as well as their health.