10 Best Reasons Older Adults Need to Practice Yoga and the Soft Martial Arts

Today, millions of older Americans are experiencing a higher quality of

life by taking an active and positive approach to their personal wellness.

They are enjoying improved health and successful living by becoming

self-educated, personally responsible and proactive. The most

successful are those who adopt a whole-person wellness model,

addressing the needs of the body, mind, and spirit.

Most people know about the research that shows that regular exercise

provides a wide range of health benefits and, perhaps most importantly,

can preserve function and independence. Fewer realize that their

choice of exercise activity can produce another host of unexpected

benefits. By choosing mind/body exercises, such as yoga or soft martial

arts (like Chi Gung and T'ai Chi), older adults can unleash even greater

health and vitality.

Yoga and Chi Gung (as well as all other soft arts) are ideal choices for

older adults because they positively affect the whole person: body,

intellect, emotions, and spirit. They increase vital energy while

strengthening and soothing the body, focusing the mind, and nurturing

the spirit.

The ten best reasons older adults need a mind/body practice are:

Body - Caring for the body improves health, preserves your

ability to function and preserves independence. Yoga and Chi Gung

offer powerful protection from falls - a major threat to older adults!

1. Strengthen Muscles and Bones... Yoga especially builds

muscle strength and bone mass. The vital weight-bearing postures of

yoga stimulate the bones to retain calcium. In yoga, both the upper and

lower body receive the benefits of bearing weight, unlike walking or

running.

2. Improved Heart and Respiratory Health... Chi Gung and

the soft martial arts have been shown in studies to improve circulation,

heart health, and respiratory function. Yoga breathing exercises are very

powerful tools to increase respiratory function, breath capacity and

physical energy. Both increase vitality and sense of well-being.

3. Increased Flexibility... Yoga and Chi Gung both increase

overall flexibility, contributing to improved everyday functioning and

mobility, and protection from falls. Despite popular notions, you do not

need to be flexible to practice yoga. The idea is to practice at your

current level with patience and compassion, gently becoming more

pliable.

4. Better Posture... Good posture calls upon our new strength

and flexibility to keep our spine healthy and strong. Healthy body

posture supports digestive and respiratory functions as well. Poor

posture in combination with osteoporosis leads to stress fractures.

5. Improved Balance... Balance gives older adults the

confidence to move freely and to engage in physical activities. One of

the most important parts of a senior fitness program is balance training.

Seniors who exercise and practice balance activities, like those found in

yoga and Chi Gung, can avert the devastating effects of a fall - the

second leading cause of accidental death for seniors. Balance is an

intangible force that many people take for granted.

6. Increased Energy... Yoga and Chi Gung are, in essence,

ancient renewal and balancing systems for our vital energy. More than

the sum of their parts, these practices gently revitalize the body. The

term "Chi" itself means "energy", and "Chi Gung" literally means "energy

work".

Mind - Challenging the mind is crucial to staving off diseases

like Alzheimer's. Be sure to stimulate your intellectual dimension

through learning new information and exploring topics that require

judgment and decision-making. The physical aspects of a mind-body

practice lead directly to a mental sense of rootedness, stability and

balance.

7. Intellectual Stimulation... Learning a mind-body exercise is

like learning a new language with its own vocabulary and rules. It takes

focused attention. It is a practice...a journey of exploration. Yoga and

the soft martial arts also invite us to explore a way of thinking that may

be very unfamiliar to us.

8. Emotional Support... The philosophies infusing yoga and

Chi Gung encourage us to be mindful of the present moment, to be

aware and grateful of all around us, and to let go of our attachments of

how we think things should be. This positive outlook leads to a sense of

calm and well-being.

Spirit - A new study shows that once people retire, they adopt a

new sense of time and their place in the world as their values and

beliefs begin to change. Adding a spiritual dimension to your exercise

activities offers additional wellness benefits. In addition to yoga and Chi

Gung, consider nature walks and 'mindful' strength training and

meditation in all forms.

9. Connecting with the Big Picture... A mindfulness practice

is a direct way to practice connecting with a truth larger than ourselves.

Practicing becoming quiet and receptive allows our inner wisdom to be

heard. Older adults have indicated a desire to search for "the meaning

of life". Practitioners of yoga and the soft arts create a deep sense of

richness and unity in their lives.

10. Inner Exploration... Central to the spiritual dimensions of

the older adult is the desire to explore the inner self. Beyond the

physical exercises of yoga and Chi Gung, they challenge us to look

deeply at ourselves, to "be" with ourselves. We learn to celebrate our

strengths and forgive our weaknesses while practicing patience and

focused concentration.

Copyright 2005 Karen B. Cohen All Rights Reserved.

Karen B. Cohen C.L.C. RYT500 is a wellness coach and master yoga instructor, writer and speaker, residing in a college town in rural Virginia.

Karen leads people to their own limitless supply of creativity and vitality so that they can express their talent and abilities fully in the world. She incorporates her expertise in mind-body techniques to work with a wide spectrum of clients. Karen offered the first senior exercise classes in her region in 1992 and currently teaches yoga and Chi Gung to older adults at Kendal retirement community (Kendal.org Kendal.org) in Lexington, Virginia. Karen is available nationally and internationally for seminars, workshops and individual coaching and training. She can be reached at