When you see the word “yoga”, we are going to bet that you automatically think of young people twisting themselves into a pretzel like state and not at all something that you would see someone over 60 taking part in.
However, we believe that keeping active and taking part in gentle exercise is an excellent way to keep those joints moving, and yoga just happens to be one of the best forms of exercise for the older generation to get involved in!
Physical Benefits
Yoga involves the gentle stretching and toning of the entire body, increasing flexibility and keeping your muscles strong, which is vital as we grow older.
With less mobility, our muscles tend to shrink and we aren’t as strong as we once were. With these gentle exercises, your muscles will begin to stretch and tone back up with use, making you feel stronger!
It also focuses a lot on balance, which can help prevent those stumbles and falls which can lead to serious consequences in older people.
Cognitive and Mental Benefits
Yoga isn’t all about the stretching. It is heavily based on meditative behaviours such as controlled breathing exercises and focusing activities.
This stimulation of your brain encourages you to be able to focus more on everyday tasks which you may otherwise find difficult to concentrate on for long periods of time.
As it is a form of exercise, yoga helps to alleviate depression, anxiety and stress. The calming properties that it provides allow the body and mind to relax in situations where usually it might not be able to.
Exercise releases endorphins; the feel good hormone, and being a less strenuous form of exercise, yoga is the perfect candidate for older people to have this rush of positive energy while keeping fit at the same time!
Yoga can be done in the safety of your own home, or in a specially tailored yoga class for the older generation. The benefit of attending a class is that it gives you a social situation to work in, which lets you make new friends while you work out!
Water yoga is another option that is beneficial for older people, as the water takes some of the strain off the joints and muscles in your body, as well as providing some resistance. This decreases the risk of any strain from doing exercise, as well as making your body work a bit harder against the resistance of the water.
Here at ALS Stairlifts, we understand how important your mobility is to you. We think that yoga is an excellent idea for your entire wellbeing, not just keeping you fit and mobile! We do suggest that you consult with your doctor before taking up any exercise, just to make sure you don’t do too much!
If you do have mobility issues, and are looking into investing in a stairlift to help make your life a lot easier, both mentally and physically, take a look at our wide selection of stairlifts for sale. For more information on any of our products, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team by calling 0800 046 3438. They will be happy to help with any enquiry that you may have.