
If you’re a senior who would like to practice yoga more, be it at your local gym or through classes held at your senior living community, there will be many benefits to participating in this practice. However, in order to really take advantage of these benefits and see some positive changes in your physical and mental health, you’ll need to make sure that you’re doing each yoga pose and stretch in a safe and effective way.
To help you with this, here are three yoga tips for seniors just starting their yoga practice.
Consider Starting With Chair Yoga
If you’ve never done yoga before and don’t have a lot of experience with physical activity at your age, one of the best places to start is with chair yoga. You can do so much with yoga even while sitting on a chair or using a chair during your exercises. This is a great way to build up your endurance and make sure that you have the support needed to safely do your exercises.
Even if no one else in your yoga class is using a chair with their yoga practice, it’s very easy to modify many yoga poses through the use of a chair. So especially if you’re older and feel like you need some additional support for your body as you figure out how to do yoga, starting with chair yoga is a great first step.
Work Up To Building Your Balance
For many seniors, having poor balance can bring about a lot of health issues. Not only can you experience things like vertigo, but if you can’t balance well on your own two feet, there’s a much higher likelihood of you experiencing falls and other injuries from your lack of balance.
This is something that yoga can help with. A big part of practicing yoga is being able to balance and hold certain poses for a period of time. While you might not be able to do this much in the beginning of your practice, as you work hard and build up your ability to balance, you’ll see big improvements both in your yoga practice and in your daily life.
Expect A Mood Boost
Exercise in all its forms can serve as a big boost to your mood. But for many older people, being able to get an intense workout simply isn’t possible anymore. Luckily, yoga is a very low impact way to push your body and get a big boost of endorphins and other mood-boosting chemicals that can have you feeling great all day long. So if you’re looking for a mood boost, practicing yoga can be a great way to achieve this, too.
If you want to try your hand at yoga as a senior, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find happiness and success in this practice. … Read More..