“Most people have no idea how good their body is designed to feel.”
- Kevin Trudeau
What do we think of, in the western world, when we think of elderly people? Wisdom, experience, knowledge? Contentment? Helping people to live well into old age is part of my job, as a psychiatrist for older adults. Sadly older life is sometimes not everything that it could and should be, and so much more can be done as a society to help with this.
I’m going to talk about how yoga can be a great addition to some elderly people’s lives, and can be in no way less valuable than for younger bodies. In this post I’ll mention some of the physical and emotional benefits, and also a few tips to try to make yoga accessible and fun for older people.
From a physical point of view, one of the things I hear from my patients are some of the difficulties of an elderly body – for example, aches and pains and stiffness limiting what people can do. Of course this is part of getting older, but yoga can help. Slower practices like yin yoga can help with faschia release, and I think this is something that has huge potential in the elderly – as our bodies slow down and stiffen up, fascia can become tense and cause pain or posture changes – so gentle release and stretching can have huge benefits. Sarcopenia (a loss of muscle mass) happens to almost all people as they get older, and yoga can help rebuild and strengthen muscle.
Falls are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly, and the development of core strength and increase in proprioception, that can come with yoga practice, can help reduce the risks of falls. Self confidence in our own bodies can reduce as a result of a fall, and again yoga plays a role in getting to know and trust our bodies again. Slowly developing hip strength and balance, through a safe yoga practice, can help significantly with falls reduction.
Next, what about the emotional point of view. This is obviously an area of interest to me, as a psychiatrist, and I think that the additional offer of interventions other than medications or counselling, and to think holistically and creatively about our treatments, is a welcome step. Yoga can help with a sense of peace and wellbeing, and the social aspect of being in a class with people and maybe even making friends, can help with isolation. Pranayama and meditation in particular can help with sleep and anxiety. And just generally a sense of going inward, making time for yourself after maybe decades of work and looking after others can be valuable – the Vedas talk about how your later years can be a time to go inwards.
So, how do we make yoga accessible for the elderly? How do we make coming to a yoga class in later life a really great experience that people will want to repeat?
The first thing I think is planning. Education about anatomy, frailty, balance problems and falls risks will go a long way into planning classes – as well as being adaptable to issues that might occur, like hearing or vision problems, or joint pains. It might be a good idea to have classes that are dedicated to older people, perhaps to start with, so there isn’t an element of apprehension from seeing bodies that are very different to them. But obviously this will depend on the student – some will welcome the opportunity to join in with all ages
Another thing to plan is the environment – is it easily accessible for elderly people, is it well located, is there possibility for disabled parking nearby? Is it well lit and with good sound acoustics for people hard of hearing? Or even is there a possibility for outside treatment – it might be that elderly people might have limited opportunity for time in the open air and in nature, so could this be a part of the class too?
The second thing is individualised treatment. To have teachers that are able to talk to people individually, if they want, to get to know the student in front of you and their needs and health problems, and adapt the class accordingly. For example, for a person who has never done yoga before and has had problems with falls, balancing poses or headstands would not be a good way to start! There is also a place for chair yoga for people that are perhaps a bit more frail – the stretches and pranayama exercises that can come from chair yoga can be a wonderful addition to someone’s week. And the anxieties that come from starting something new can make anyone apprehensive, so try to make time to talk through those worries with people if you can.
The third thing is the class itself. There might be poses that might not be sensible to try for elderly people – not wanting to make any assumptions, some elderly people are hugely flexible and would surprise us! But as we are taught at medical school, first do no harm, and it is a fact that statistically elderly people will be more susceptible to falls and injuries from physical activities if not done carefully. Padded mats, use of props like bolsters, gentle and slow poses to start, and concentration on alignment and adaptations to postures, can reduce the chances of injury. Perhaps, in terms of styles of yoga, a good place to start is a gentle and rounded hatha yoga class, as opposed to anything too dynamic, or heated. As with so many things, we can encourage our students (and ourselves) to start where we are, not where you think we should be.
Lastly, ask people themselves. What do they want from the class? Get feedback after, how did they find it? What would they change? What would make them want to come back?
As a teacher I hope to make my classes welcome to all – and learn from my students as much as the other way around. And to bring the benefits of yoga to anyone who wants to learn, regardless of age or body type, will bring me a huge amount of joy I am sure.
My next blog post will be about mental health problems and yoga – how yoga can help with trauma, and what it can do for the brain.
“Yoga begins right where I am – not where I was yesterday or where I long to be.”
- Linda Sparrowe
From Age and Ageing, published in 2015.
From Eric Groessl et al, published in Yoga and Physical Therapy in 2013.
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