The CDC reports that reduced physical activity is the main reason behind the loss of strength and stamina that is related to aging. They note that by the age of 75, approximately 33% of males and nearly 50% of females take part in no physical activity, which can be due to or the cause of health-related issues. For a person of any age, healthy eating and exercise can assist in preventing disease, injury, and keeping your physical body in good shape. However, meditation works as a brain-training exercise as well as physical, which keeps your mind sharp and offers an array of health benefits. Seniors who often struggle with joint pain, stress, imbalance, osteoarthritis, and other physical limitations can benefit from incorporating yoga into their daily lives and healthcare routines.

Improving Balance, Flexibility & Stability

All of these three physical components are intertwined and become even more important as an individual ages. In fact, in one study conducted that looked at the effectiveness of yoga as an exercise to manage osteoarthritis in elderly women, it was found that it provided therapeutic benefits. Due to the flexibility the exercise introduces on your joints and muscles, you are stretching daily in a way that allows your supporting muscles to grow and support your entire body.  Yoga also known as one of the most beneficial ways in which you can work to build balance and stability, which not only helps to prevent falls, but increases the body’s ability to bounce back and recover from a fall should one occur. By strengthening your muscles through low-impact exercises such as yoga, you are improving your balance and learning how to stabilize yourself with your core.

Oxygenating Your Blood

Another study showed that a 12-week yoga program significantly improved respiratory function in elderly women. Because so much of the practice focuses on deep breathing techniques, you are not only strengthening your respiratory system, you are oxygenating your blood, which can have profound effects on not only your body, but your brain as well. This is why yoga users report feeling refreshed and more clear-headed after a session! As you continue to engage in yoga, you will learn how to breath deeper and continue to consume more oxygen, increasing your lung capacity and the amount of oxygen that goes into your muscles, blood and brain.

Low-Impact, High Value

A low-impact exercise that is easy on the joints and muscles of an aging person is ideal in that it provides a way for the person to engage in physical activity without too much fear or risk of injury. Yoga is the perfect exercise for seniors as it aids in building strength and stamina in the exact ways that their body requires and also increase respiratory functions that serve to strengthen and protect the mind and body alike.