Keeping in good shape during old age is vital for anyone’s physical well-being. But it can often be hard to find the right exercises for seniors. However, providers of home health care offer alternatives you can go with. One of these is yoga. Let’s explore how you and your loved ones can get into it.
What Is Yoga Anyway?
If you are not familiar with it, yoga is a system of mental and physical practices that help people improve their health and well-being. It originated in India and has thousands of years worth of history. The practice is associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. However, it has become popular on a more secular level, letting people from different walks of life practice it.
Whatever belief you have, yoga will help you clear your mind and better relax your body. It will also let you have a better perspective of your surroundings. All of these will contribute significantly to your well-being.
The Health Benefits Of Yoga For Seniors
While yoga’s benefits have often been spiritual, various studies have shown in recent years that it does have more tangible health benefits. Here are some of the major ones that older people can specifically gain from it.
Improved Strength
One of the significant changes brought about by old age is that your body starts to weaken considerably. Weak bones and joints are the obvious effects here. And because of that, it can become harder to do your daily activities.
While this process is inevitable, yoga can help you maintain your strength further. It does that by training your bones through various poses. The practice can particularly help you deal with osteoporosis, a bone disease commonly affecting older people.
Coupled with that, yoga can help you improve your muscle strength. That is crucial as it will help you perform more activities that you want to do. Additionally, regular sessions will help you combat the onset of arthritis. The various poses ensure that your joints are flexible enough and won’t easily be damaged.
Reduce Weight
Weight loss can be challenging for older people. Because they aren’t as active as before, they might find it hard to burn away those extra pounds. Yoga can help you do that without you exerting too much physical effort.
According to studies, a weekly yoga session for at least four years can help you lessen your weight gain by up to 1.4 kilograms. That is crucial, as maintaining an ideal weight can help you better control various diseases and conditions.
Improving Heart Health
Another major benefit of doing yoga is that it boosts your heart health. The different breathing exercises strengthen your heart muscles and make them less prone to damage. You also improve its efficiency.
Managing Heart Disease For Seniors
The practice also lessens the risk of hypertension. Through the relaxation exercises, you also get to relax your blood vessels. You can see improved results in as little as three months after getting into it. You can also experience other benefits like reduced cholesterol and blood sugar levels. That helps prevent other conditions like diabetes.
Improves Your Mental Health
As mentioned earlier, yoga also has positive effects on mental health. Firstly, it can relieve you of stress. That is especially vital for seniors who are going through a lot. You can use it to reduce anxiety and calm your mind.
Helping Seniors Cope With Stress
Additionally, doing yoga can help you maintain your focus. That is especially helpful for dealing with things like memory problems. In particular, it can be beneficial for lessening the risk of conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Lastly, it can help improve your sleep patterns.
How Seniors Can Get Started With Yoga
With all those benefits, you would definitely be encouraged to try yoga. And the best part is that anyone can get into it, even if you are already in your senior years. However, it can seem daunting the first time around.
The biggest question here is where to start. As it is, yoga isn’t a singular exercise routine. There is a wide selection of programs available out there. Each of these programs would suit individuals of different fitness levels. You may also want to pick a yoga routine for specific purposes.
The following are some of the most popular types for older people like you.
Hatha
Rather than a specific routine, hatha is the general term for yoga routines that focus on physical postures. These will often posture various sitting and standing poses you can do anywhere. There is also a greater emphasis on proper breathing and stretching.
Iyengar
Like the above, Iyengar yoga also focuses on poses. However, it is more methodical and has a stronger emphasis on getting the right form. As such, this can be considered a step above hatha yoga. The style is well-suited for seniors dealing with arthritis or other chronic conditions.
Restorative Yoga
As the name says, restorative yoga aims to help you restore balance to your body. The style is more focused on releasing tension passively. It is characterized by holding poses for a long time, sometimes as much as 10 minutes. Interestingly, it is not uncommon for practitioners to fall asleep during sessions. But that is also part of the goal of relaxing your body.
Yin
Yin yoga is similar to restorative yoga with a focus on holding poses. However, the former also add stretching exercises. These help you work out your connective tissues and are great for alleviating stiffness and improving flexibility.
Vinyasa
Vinyasa yoga is perhaps the form most commonly associated with the word yoga. It consists of continuous movements that flow from one pose to another. As such, it might require a certain degree of physical exertion. However, reasonably fit seniors can get into it with no worries.
Chair Yoga
This is a novel yoga program where the poses are modified so you can do them while sitting on a chair. That makes yoga even more accessible to older people. It is one of the practices that you can do wherever you are.
Doing Yoga With The Best Home Health Care
One of the great things about yoga is that you don’t need fancy equipment. This makes it an ideal workout option for seniors under home health care. And when you sign up with us at Amavi, we can help you get started. We will connect you with some of the best yoga teachers. Meanwhile, our healthcare team is ready to oversee your sessions and ensure you are safe.
So, don’t wait anymore. Contact us today and we will help you get started with your sessions. With our help, you are on your way to fitness even in your senior years.