Yoga and meditation have been around for a long time, but it’s only in the last few years that they have become mainstream around much of the world. This means that many seniors won’t know much about the practices or simply assume that they are a younger person’s game. However, both have the potential to help seniors live healthy, long lives.

What Is Yoga? 

Yoga is an ancient spiritual and physical practice developed by Hindu priests over 5,000 years ago. It became known to many in the 20th century and has gradually gained mainstream popularity since the ‘90s. 

What Is Meditation?

Meditation isn’t physical and is usually practiced sitting or lying down. It uses deep breathing and a variety of visualization and sensory techniques to clear the mind of distractions. In its purest religious and spiritual form, this is a path to enlightenment. For many modern practitioners, this has become a way to combat the stresses and anxieties of modern life.

How Can They Help Me?

There are many ways in which yoga and meditation can be beneficial for seniors. Let’s start with yoga. As a form of exercise, it covers areas of the body that seniors should be working on:

• Flexibility – Stretching is an essential part of yoga, and flexibility is one of the most obvious and visible benefits of a regular yoga practice. It is also an important area for seniors to work on since it can boost energy, improve posture, and prevent injury.
• Balance – According to the National Council on Aging, falls are the leading cause of injury in seniors. Balance poses are common in yoga and can greatly reduce the risk of falling in the elderly. 
• Strength – Many poses are great strength trainers, with the arms, legs, and core regularly getting a good workout. This helps prevent and fight against loss of muscle mass, which is common as we grow older. 
• Oral health – Yoga alleviates stress and improves posture, helping to reduce jaw pain. It can also stimulate saliva production, which can aid in preventing gum disease. 

Then there are the mental health benefits. Yoga is an excellent mental health tool because it combines exercise, which in itself helps combat depression and anxiety, with deep breathing, a known stress regulator. Deep breathing is also part of what makes meditation so good for you. In fact, the simple act of stretching has numerous benefits on your mental health, as it can reduce tension and stress and helps ease both your mind and body.

However, the health benefits of meditation are harder to pin down, but they are extensively backed by scientific research. It can reduce stress, pain, and anxiety while improving mood, focus, self-confidence, creativity, and memory.

How Can I Start?

The easiest way for a senior to get involved in yoga and meditation is to start a home practice. This is less intimidating (and less expensive) than doing a public class, making it accessible to almost anyone. Start by clearing a space in your house for yoga and meditation, as this will help you take the practice seriously. 

There is a huge variety of free yoga videos on the internet. Check out this list by Greatist of the best ones to try out a few different options and see what you like. As long as you are careful, follow the instructions, and don’t push yourself too hard, you will be safe. Also, meditation apps are huge these days, with several to choose from, but tech-shy seniors can just look up guided meditations on YouTube, where there are thousands to choose from.

Living a healthy lifestyle can hugely influence the quality of your yoga practice. This includes getting enough sleep each night, refraining from smoking and excess drinking, and keeping up with your nutrition. Since many seniors have nutritional gaps, it’s a good idea to take a multivitamin in case you’re missing any nutrients. These vitamins have the added benefits of increasing your energy and improving bone and skin health. 

The most important thing to understand is that yoga and meditation are ongoing practices. You won’t be “good” at them right away — no one is. It’s much less about being “good” than it is about the continuous act of showing up, trying, and slowly improving. Being older is no excuse for not doing yoga or meditation because you are only ever doing your best. It doesn’t matter what level of fitness or concentration you start from — we can all get there.

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