Yoga may hold the secret to healthy aging. Yoga is a spiritual discipline based on a foundation that we need to find harmony between mind and body. Yoga is a type of art or subtle science that can be an integral part of any exercise routine, especially if you are a woman over the age of sixty.
Yoga For Older Women: Top Eight Benefits You Should Know About
Yoga for women over 60 has many positive benefits for the person's body, mind, and soul. Yoga for all seniors can help manage health issues, improve flexibility and balance, and even act as a relief for stress and anxiety. Down below are eight specific reasons how Yoga can improve your life.
Strengthen Bones
Practicing Yoga can actually help strengthen bones which can help prevent the onset of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis makes bones weak and brittle and occurs when new bone can't keep up with the decrease of bone mass that occurs as you get older. Eighty percent of Americans suffering from lost bone density are women over the age of 50, and one of every two senior women will experience a bone injury due to osteoporosis. Keeping bone health and increasing your strength is a super important benefit of exercise.
Even a softer, gentler yoga practice can produce positive results when it comes to bone health. Yoga for seniors that includes stretches and delicate twists can even help prevent osteoporosis and actually help with pain management.
Related: Avoid Alcohol-Based Products for Muscle Relief
Reduce Aches and Discomfort
Exercise doesn't get any easier as we age. Aches, body discomfort, strains, and inflammation can attack our muscles and joints at any time, especially after exercise or intense stretching. It is essential to choose a yoga routine or class that is a good fit for your activity level and experience.
Talk to a professional about what class and poses might be the best for your condition. Hatha yoga and other restorative Yoga are really great for people over 60. They are slower-paced and, in some poses, actually utilize chairs for balance, making them easier to hold.
To help ease the aches that come with starting a new yoga habit, try Blue Stop Max.
Related: The Truth About Blue Stop Max
Increase Flexibility, Mobility, Balance, and Strength
In movement, we find our balance. In balance, we perfect our movements. Furthermore, our actions improve our flexibility and help us get around. Truly, Yoga is all about finding that balance. Both physically and mentally. This form of exercise has no age limit, and you can start at any time in your life. You can low-lunge to your 60s and excel at "tree pose" in your 90s. The best way to improve your health is by staying active.
The slower, rhythmic movements involved with the many yoga poses can lead to better flexibility. They can strengthen your core and aid in getting you around, which is critical over the age of 60. Falls happen, and they are the leading cause of injury among seniors. Yoga helps provide the tools you need to improve your mobility so you can get around more efficiently and do it with more confidence and safely!
Decreased Hypertension (Blood Pressure)
Many people are on blood pressure medications, especially as we age. Researchers found that Yoga significantly affects systolic and diastolic blood pressure, reducing your risk of strokes and coronary heart disease.
These reasons make yoga practices for women over 60 an ideal and valuable heart-healthy workout. Since heart and artery disease is more common in females, this might be one of the main benefits of Yoga.
Yoga has basic principles, and three of them are proper posture, meditation, and breathing techniques. Researchers believe this is why Yoga has proven to decrease hypertension and naturally lower blood pressure.
Reduced Stress and Anxiety
Yoga calms the mind and body. Not only does Yoga teach you how to slow your breathing down and use your breathing to help get you through your workout, but it also induces a relaxation response at the end of each session. The process is called savasana, and it eases your heart rate, relaxes your muscles, and slows your breathing so that you feel more mellow and calm. You can Namaste!–and relax your way into a state of less stress and anxiety, and let Yoga redirect the negativity and tension we all experience.
Improved Sleeping Habits
Yoga can be so relaxing, and many individuals report that they are sleeping longer and more soundly after adding it to their daily routine. More than 50 percent of older adults have some form of insomnia, women and men alike. Sadly this can coincide with other conditions and is most often left untreated.
Enhanced Respiration
People tend to develop respiratory problems later in life. Slow, difficult, or limited breathing means low oxygen intake, leading to a slew of serious health issues. Breathing techniques are a primary part of practicing Yoga and can re-teach us how to breathe to receive full oxygen. When we are mindful of our breathing process, we actually will breathe more efficiently.
Pro Tip: Get an at-home pulse oximeter to check oxygen levels and heart rate before and after Yoga.
Final Factors to Consider
Age is just a number. Yoga promotes youth, health, love, and kindness, especially at 82. It is about feeling happy and being the best you possible, living our best lives with gratitude and free of suffering, finding peace and stress relief from everyday problems, and being connected and calm with the earth.
Getting older can often come with new aches and muscle soreness. While you re-train your body with yoga, find fast relief with Blue Stop Max.
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