Yoga classes for seniors are a superb way for older adults to contribute to their health and wellness.
Enjoying the Aging Process
Becoming a senior citizen can be one of the best times of your life. After a lifetime of work, raising children or running a household, you finally have time for yourself; time to relax, vacation or just simply enjoy each day as it comes.
However, many seniors feel held back by physical impairments such as aching muscles, arthritis, lack of energy or more serious conditions.
Why Yoga
Did you know that yoga can greatly help ease many of these common ailments? Yoga is not for just the young, hip and flexible anymore. Many yoga techniques can be adapted for any age group or fitness level. There are also yoga classes for seniors that feature beneficial routines.
You may be wondering why should you try a new form of exercise, one that you may know little about, when you have been doing other forms of exercise your whole life such as jogging or walking. The truth is that there are many reasons yoga is perfectly suited for seniors:
- Many other forms of exercise are rough on the joints. Weightlifting, jogging and even walking can all cause joint pain and for arthritis to flare up. Yoga is so gentle that even pregnant women can do most of the exercises.
- Yoga focuses on your whole body and spirit. You will get a complete workout and likely experience feelings of relaxation and peace. This is ideal for seniors who want to improve their overall health.
- Yoga fights common ailments of senior citizens. There is a lot of slow, rhythmic stretching and flexing in yoga, which alleviates aches, pains and arthritis.
- Yoga improves balance. Yoga poses strengthen the muscles that help you balance and train you to balance. This is especially important to seniors because it will help prevent falls.
- Yoga is a new, social adventure. You'll likely learn a ton of new things and meet a fun group of new people.
Finding Yoga Classes for Seniors
Now that you understand the benefits of yoga for seniors, you may be wondering why you should go to a yoga class. Yoga is a form of exercise you can easily do at home, but starting out as a senior yoga practitioner, you should not do yoga at home initially.
Although senior yoga is not taxing on your body at all, just like any other form of exercise, there is the potential for injuries - especially if you've never tried any yoga poses before. It takes time and guidance to learn the proper yoga techniques and breathing patterns. For this you'll need a well-qualified and patient yoga instructor.
Call a local yoga studio, and see if anyone of the teachers specializes in senior yoga. Also try the YMCA/YWCA, as these organizations often have beginning yoga sessions.
You can also try sites like Yoga Class Search or Yoga Finder. These sites break out class options by location and style.
Going to a senior yoga class can be incredibly fun and good for your health. You will likely meet other seniors who have the same skill level and experience as you do.
