If you’re retired, you now have plenty of time to enjoy your free time and take up new and exciting hobbies. While there are many activities you can take as a senior, yoga might be the best one. If you’ve never tried this ancient practice before or never considered yourself capable of it, here are a few reasons why you might sign yourself up for classes right away:
Better flexibility and healthier joints
All those who need a gentle exercise that will also boost flexibility should look no further than yoga. If your joints are often stiff or painful, there are plenty of yoga exercises that can help. According to research, yoga is quite effective when it comes to managing osteoarthritis in the elderly while also providing various other therapeutic benefits. Yoga doesn’t just help with joint flexibility, but it also strengthens your muscles around the joints, providing even more support.
Improved breathing
Breathing is the most fundamental element of life. Humans can go days without water and weeks without food, but just a few minutes without oxygen can leave serious consequences on the body. Therefore, it’s crucial to invest time, money and effort into keeping your respiratory system in top shape. As we age, we often start to experience certain breathing limitations, especially during exercise or any other physical activity. And the reduced flow of oxygen in the respiratory system obviously negatively affects the body and mind. According to recent studies, a guided 12-week yoga program can boost breathing functions in elderly people significantly.
Healthy blood pressure
Did you know that high blood pressure is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease and one of the top causes of kidney issues? Well, not you know that concerning fact, it’s time to take good care of your hypertension and take all the necessary steps to control it. Through yoga, it’s possible to reduce oxidative stress, the underlying cause of hypertension, and reduce your risk of serious health problems like stroke or heart attack.
Reduced anxiety
Yoga practice, especially when guided by experts, can be very calming and restorative. Through this practice, it’s possible to relax your muscles, stretch the problematic parts and let your mind slow down for a bit. Through regular practice, yoga can reduce your body’s fight-or-flight response and help you get rid of all sorts of inflammatory processes in your body that can make your senior years harder. For the best effect, you can consider taking a yoga-focused trip. On your yoga retreat in Bali, you will reconnect with yourself and re-examine your gratitude. After your trip, you’ll feel relaxed yet full of positive energy.
More mindfulness and presence at the moment
Many parts of yoga are focused on breathing, listening to your body and paying attention to what’s going on in your life from a centered perspective. Through this practice, you’ll manage to expand your self-awareness and practice your mindfulness. You will become aware of your body and its abilities, but also of your emotions. This practice helps with grounding (especially if you do it outdoors) and makes you more connected with the environment, community and entire planet.
Better stability
In yoga, many movements and poses are focused on stability and balance, both of which are crucial in old age. As you strengthen your muscles and work on your balance, you can prevent many accidents and falls. And if you happen to take a tumble or injury yourself in any way, your increased stability and strength will help you recover and break your fall. People who are in good physical shape have a much better rate of full recovery after any type of accident or illness.
Healthy weight maintenance
Yoga is a practice that doesn’t include jumping, quick movements or anything else that might be hard for seniors to do, yet it still does wonders for your weight management. It activates your muscles, boosts respiration and raises your heart rate, all of which can help melt away some of the extra weight you’ve put on since retirement. It’s a great weight-loss activity that’s easy on your joints and muscles yet very beneficial for your metabolism.
If you get the chance, try to join a yoga class for seniors, and in a guided and safe setting, you can work on every aspect of your health for much happier, healthier and comfortable aging.
This guest post was graciously provided by Diana Smith. Diana is a full time mom of two beautiful girls interested in alternative medicine and latest DIY projects. In her free time she enjoys exercising and preparing healthy meals for her family.