One of the best things about yoga is that it’s truly adaptable for individuals of all ages and abilities. There are yoga classes available for every experience level, and even options for individuals who may struggle with mobility.
At Sun Rock Yoga, we offer a variety of low-impact, adaptable, and accessible yoga classes for our students. These are great for older individuals or those recovering from an injury to start to build their strength and balance.
One sometimes overlooked benefit of regular practice in a yoga studio are healthier joints. Healthy joints make it possible to enjoy daily activities like walking, standing, or bending without pain. Wondering how yoga can help you reduce joint pain? Keep reading to find out.
Yoga and Your Bones and Muscles
Before we can discuss the benefits of yoga classes for your joints, it’s important to understand how yoga can impact your bones and muscles.
If you’ve tried any yoga classes in the past, you no doubt know that yoga is great for building strength in your muscles. Many yoga poses target your core, legs, or arms, or a combination of the three. Using only your body weight, different yoga poses aim to help you practice stability, increase mobility and flexibility, and build strength.
Over time, practicing weight-bearing poses can actually help to strengthen your bones and improve your bone density. At the same time, your muscles are also growing stronger. These two factors add up to another big benefit: stronger joints.
Yoga and Your Joints
Our joints are what allow us to walk, jump, bend—and perform various yoga poses! Joints are lined with cartilage that protects our bones from rubbing against each other. Over time, that cartilage can break down. This leads to joint pain, and also contributes to the development of arthritis.
Healthy, strong joints begin with strong bones and muscles. Strong muscles can help to take some of the pressure off of your joints, which means less rubbing against the cartilage. Strong bones are less susceptible to damage as well, which means less pain.
Staying healthy can also help to contribute to healthy cartilage in your joints. Individuals who aren’t active or mobile may experience more rapid deterioration of the cartilage, which means more joint pain.
When your muscles are stronger and your balance is improved, your risk of suffering a fall or other injury also goes down. Because trips, falls, and other injuries often lead to joint damage, this is just another way that yoga can help to protect your joints.
Yoga for Seniors
Anyone, regardless of their age, can benefit from stronger muscles, bones, and joints. Starting your yoga journey now can help you to enjoy a healthier future, as you stay active and strong, which helps to keep your body healthier over time.
But starting yoga at any age can help to improve your health, reduce your risk of injuries, and reduce pain caused by conditions such as arthritis. This, combined with the fact that there are many styles of yoga designed to be adaptable and low-impact, makes yoga a great exercise for senior citizens.
There are many reasons why seniors can benefit from regular yoga classes. Osteoarthritis and joint pain often begin when individuals are between the ages of 50 and 60. While beginning yoga before this time can help prevent or reduce pain, starting after this time can still reduce the pressure on your joints and strengthen your muscles and bones, leading to less pain.
Regular visits to a yoga studio can also reduce an individual’s risk of suffering a fall. Every year, more than 36 million falls are reported among older adults in the U.S. Around three million of these falls lead to a visit to the emergency room, while one in every five falls leads to a serious injury, such as a broken bone, hip fracture, or a head injury.
In addition to stronger joints and less pain, taking regular yoga classes can also build strength, stability, and balance, leading to fewer falls. This means fewer other injuries, as well. Stronger bones are also less susceptible to fractures, another common injury among older adults.
The Best Yoga Classes for Joint Health
Every style of yoga can help you build strength and stability, contributing to stronger bones, muscles, and joints. But if you’re an older adult looking for yoga classes to help reduce pain and lower your risk of injury, there are a few yoga classes that might be a better choice.
The best beginner yoga classes for seniors are those that offer low-impact exercises to build strength and stability without causing pain or increasing an individual’s risk of a fall or injury. Our St George yoga studio offers a variety of classes that are great for seniors or anyone looking for a low-impact, accessible style of yoga.
Chair yoga is one of the best beginner yoga classes for seniors or anyone who struggles with mobility and strength. This is one of the most gentle yoga classes available. Every pose is performed while seated in a chair or standing next to it, using the chair for stability and balance. Over time, individuals will build strength and flexibility, and improve their balance. This not only helps to reduce pain and lower your fall risk but can also help you to then move on to other classes at our yoga studio.
Another great choice for seniors or beginners at our St George yoga studio is our Yoga Foundations class. This class moves at a slower pace and is designed to be an introduction to yoga classes and various poses. Your instructor will teach you how to move safely into various positions, how to listen to your body and the foundations of breathwork and meditation.
Yoga Classes and Your Health and Wellness
From stronger joints, bones, and muscles, to improved flexibility and balance, there are many healthy benefits to enjoying regular yoga classes. Whether you stick to low-impact classes like Chair Yoga or move on to more challenging options at Sun Rock Yoga, you’ll likely begin to notice the physical benefits after just a few classes.
If you’re ready to take your health into your own hands, now is a great time to start your yoga journey. Check out our class schedule today to find the right class for you.