In honor of National Family Caregivers Month, BrightStar Care took a look at the most popular family caregiver activities across the country. Based on national search data from Google, yoga with seniors is popular in the Southwest region.
Yoga offers a wide array of physical and mental benefits, no matter your age. If you’re looking for a way to help your aging loved one be more active in his or her daily life, gentle yoga for seniors might be the answer. Southwesterners certainly think so — yoga is a popular activity in this region for family caregivers to do with their loved ones. Take a break from your everyday tasks and enjoy a therapeutic yoga session; keep reading to learn more from BrightStar Care about yoga poses for seniors. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise routine.
Physical Benefits of Yoga for Seniors
Yoga targets many of the core tenets of physical fitness, including balance, flexibility, and strength. As we age, our joints naturally stiffen and lose their range of motion. Yoga can help combat this. Yoga can also improve your senior loved one’s balance and stability, which may reduce the risk of a fall. Regular yoga sessions have even been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, aid in sleep and digestion, and improve blood flow throughout the body. We recommend starting slow to gain balance confidence with Mountain Pose: stand tall with big toes touching and heels together, relax your shoulder down and back, then take five to eight big breaths while actively engaging your leg muscles.
If your loved one is hesitant about attempting yoga poses, chair yoga for seniors is a great workaround. With chair yoga, seniors can modify poses to receive the same stretching and flexibility benefits while sitting in a chair — without having to worry about balance or muscle strength. Check your local senior centers for senior yoga and chair yoga classes near you.
Mental Benefits of Beginning Yoga for Seniors
Yoga is known for its therapeutic, mood-boosting benefits. It’s been to shown to improve a sense of well-being in those who practice regularly. Regular yoga can also reduce stress and anxiety, as well as lessen symptoms of depression — all ailments that commonly affect seniors. Practice yoga two to three times per week to boost mood and brighten spirits.
For even more inspiration, learn about other popular family caregiver activities by region with BrightStar Care.