Yoga for Fitness

All types of exercise improve physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.  Performing many different forms of exercise can prevent boredom, help reduce overuse injuries, and keep you challenged.  “Yoga is a popular mind-body exercise focusing on muscular work and an internally directed mindful focus on awareness of the self, the breath, and energy” (Woodyard, 2011).  Yoga requires mental focus and discipline to enhance one’s skills. 

Improved flexibility is one of the major benefits of yoga.   With continued practice muscles and connective tissue lengthen which increases a joint’s range of motion.  Yoga also challenges balance and improves mobility in older adults (Tiedemann, O’Rourke, Sesto, Sherrington, 2013).  This is particularly important because adults 65 and older are more prone to falls which are the leading cause of death from injury (Shumway-Cook, Gruber, Baldwin, & Liao, 1997).  The benefits of yoga are not just physical.  Yoga inspires those who practice to relax and slow one’s breath helping to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress (Woodyard, 2011). 

Yoga is non-competitive and may be practiced by all.  However, those who regularly participate in high-intensity exercise may find it challenging to yoga’s slower pace, but give it a try.  The more you practice yoga the more benefits you’ll gain! 

 

References

Shumway-Cook, A., Gruber, W., Baldwin, M., & Liao, S. (1997). Mobility, and fall risk in
     community-dwelling older adults. Retrieved from:
     http://www.physicaltherapyjournal.com/content/77/1/46.full.pdf

Tiedemann, A., O’Rourke, S., Sesto, R., & Sherrington, C. (2013). A 12-week iyengar yoga      program improved balance and mobility in older community-dwelling people: a      pilot randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Gerontology.  68  (9):  1068-1075. 

Woodyard, C. (2011). Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and it’s ability to increase quality of life. International Journal of Yoga. Jul-Dec 4 (2), 59-54