The Benefits of Chair Yoga for Seniors
Not all workouts involve heavy weights or high-energy exercises. In fact, you don’t even have to leave your chair to get the benefits of some workouts. One example is chair yoga, a popular adaptation of traditional yoga created with senior wellness in mind.
What is Chair Yoga?
Yoga involves a series of poses, breathing techniques and meditation, all designed to create a sense of harmony between your mind and body. Some of the postures or poses are fairly simple, while others are so complex you might think they’re only possible for a human pretzel. It’s a popular choice for people of all ability levels and ages because it’s so easy to modify — including adapting the poses to work from a seated position.
Many retirement communities offer chair yoga for seniors because it’s a form of exercise that offers numerous health benefits. As strength and flexibility improve, the postures can be adapted to continue challenging and pushing participants to the next level.
Chair yoga can be especially appealing to seniors who have concerns about their balance, strength, or joint pain. The chair offers a sense of safety and security so you can focus on the workout rather than worrying about whether you might fall. In addition, using a chair when you practice yoga allows you to remove some of the pressure from your joints.
What Are the Benefits of Chair Yoga?
From a seated position, you can capture many of the same health benefits as a traditional yoga workout, including:
Improved circulation: Getting your blood pumping through physical activity is good for your circulatory system since movement propels more oxygen to your cells. Yoga also involves relaxation, which benefits circulation, as well.
Reduced blood pressure: Similarly, chair yoga can help reduce your blood pressure. In one study, researchers focused on yogic breathing exercises and determined yoga is an effective way to control blood pressure, even for those who struggle to control the condition with medication.
Lower anxiety and stress: Mindful breathing and meditation are two effective methods for managing your mental health, with or without yoga; incorporating them as part of a yoga session translates into less stress and anxiety afterward.
More flexibility: Without use, muscles and joints grow tight, making movement less fluid and potentially more painful. With yoga, you’re continually stretching your muscles, and over time you’ll find your range of motion and flexibility are improving.
Enhanced strength: As you move through various yoga poses, you’re using your body weight against the chair (or floor) to hold each pose. Maintaining a pose requires more strength than many people realize, and the muscles you engage will grow stronger for the effort.
Better balance: Executing — and holding — specific poses require you to be very in tune with your body and its orientation in relation to your surroundings. That awareness, paired with improved strength and flexibility, can have a remarkable impact on your sense of balance.
Less chronic pain: Exercising releases feel-good endorphins, and a workout like yoga — even chair yoga — is no exception. That brain chemical boost combined with yogic breathing techniques are two strategies for controlling pain naturally.
Make Living Better a Way of Life
Contact us to learn more about how we offer activities centered around senior wellness in our communities across the country.