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 (http://www.Kendal.org) in Lexington, Virginia. Karen is available nationally and internationally for seminars, workshops and individual coaching and training. She can be reached at Karen@RockbridgeMag or at her blogs http://RockbridgeCoaching.blogspot.com and http://KarenCohenYoga.blogspot.com
