Stretch and Flexibility (The Senior Connection)

 

Regular stretching reduces stiffness and keeps your joints flexible, which in turn makes everyday activities easier.  Boring, you say?   I suppose it is; most exercise is if you look at it as a chore, but if you stick with it long enough you will notice a difference.  One of the fun ways to incorporate stretching into your lives is by taking a yoga class.  I am on my way to my yoga class right now, and would like to invite you to join me.  We start out by sitting in a chair just stretching and breathing.  We learn how to more slowly and gently and are reminded to breathe into each movement.  That doesn’t sound too hard does it?

 

Senior Centers all over the country are introducing seniors to a gentle sequence of poses that have been adapted to the needs of the older practitioners.  It is often referred to as Flow Yoga.  I love Flow Yoga.  I have never felt that it was a dummied down version of the “real” thing at all.  We still do all of the standard poses, just at a slower and more deliberate pace.  Our knees might not lunge quite as low when we do our “warriors” and we may never get our feet planted flat on the floor as we strive to do “downward facing dog”.  It doesn’t matter; we can still experience the joy of the “sun salutation”, albeit as a slower pace with a few additional “child’s poses” (resting position) thrown in. 

 

Yoga exercise moves each joint in the body through a full range of motion.  Even students in their eighties and nineties can reap the benefits.  Yoga is an exercise without judgment that can be adapted to students of any age and physical ability.  The benefits for seniors are the same as for the general population (strength, flexibility, balance and lung capacity).

 

Socialization is important so a class is probably the way to start, but if you would rather invite a few friends over to your house, that is okay too.   You can find exercise videos for seniors or have your grandkids hook you up to a Wii-Fit exercise game in the privacy of your living room.  One of the best benefits of yoga is that it impresses your grandkids.