What follows is a guest article by Carolina Sewald, staff writer for Drug Dangers. Hope you find it to be useful! Robert Tell, Author and Host of The Caregiver Chronicles
Benefits of Yoga for
Seniors
"Yoga has been known for its countless benefits for both
mental and physical health for hundreds of years. This method of alternative
medicine has been used by thousands of people to help alleviate stress, improve
fitness and, in some cases, aid in treating chronic diseases such as depression
or anxiety.
Depression is very common among seniors especially after
moving into an assisted living community. They begin to feel lonely and lose
sight of their happiness. With little activity in nursing facilities, seniors
are seldom given the opportunity to interact with each other and socialize.
Facilities across the country have begun holding monthly
yoga classes and have experienced great success in doing so. Not only do the
residents have the opportunity to interact and be active, recent studies have
shown that yoga can actually improve cognitive function aiding in memory for
those with Alzheimer’s disease.
A study group of 135 senior men and women were
enrolled and participated in six months of yoga classes and after reported an
increase in happiness, well-being, and flexibility. Flexibility is especially
important for senior citizens as they often fall or injure themselves while
bending over or reaching for something.
The necessary focus and concentration needed for poses and
meditation can also help the seniors with remembering things in the short term.
A teacher frequently asks her class, “What pose is this?” in order to work
their memory throughout class and emphasizes the importance on constant
engagement with all students.
Many overlook the benefits of yoga believing it only helps
with physical health without understanding the mental benefits it can have.
Establishing a practice in everyday life can improve overall health for anyone
that decides to participate.
Authored by Carolina Sewald.
Carolina is currently a student at UCF in Orlando, Florida and just recently
became a part of the Drug Dangers
team. She is the content writer and focuses mainly on medical news and
information."
Sources:
3 comments:
I have never considered doing yoga with my grandma before. She is at the age where she can't take care of herself very well, and we are really considering getting her a caregiver. I think it would be fun if the caregiver would do yoga with her a couple of times a week to help her stay flexible. http://www.handlewcare.com/?main_action=content&page_id=3
Thanks for your comment, Edmond. Of course, not every caregiver is trained in yoga. I recommend that anyone chosen to do yoga with our loved ones be a professionally credentialed yogini or yogina.
Yeah this is true that with yoga we can treat depression in very short period. Yoga also improves flexibility in a body, and helps us to shed weight in sometime. I usually do yoga with help of available yoga video online. Thanks for sharing information about Yoga workout.
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