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How Yoga Can Improve Your Life

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Fitness

As you grow older, it is increasingly important to stay active and keep your body healthy. In order to keep your body fit, exercise will have to become a close friend of yours as you age. A popular way for senior citizens to keep their body in shape without much exertion is yoga.

Today, yoga is more popular than ever before, with varying practices intended to target different age groups, levels of physical capability, and health status. While yoga has always been good for one’s health, today it is tailored to suit one’s ability as well. Anyone can do yoga, and with the right practice, you can reap a host of benefits.

Physically, yoga can improve your body in miraculous ways. Not only does it have positive impacts on your balance, stability, and flexibility, research has shown that it improves orthopedic (bones and joints) health, making it an effective way of managing osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, both of which can be debilitating to senior citizens. According to studies, just 10 minutes of yoga a day helped increase bone density in the hips and spine of people with osteoporosis or osteopenia!

Regular practice of yoga can also improve respiratory health. Research has indicated that yoga could help reduce the levels of oxidative stress in the body. As oxidative stress is a key underlying cause of high blood pressure and cardiac arrest, yoga may help keep these ailments at bay. In addition to improving your cardiovascular health, consistent yoga can improve renal function and digestion as well.

And these are only the physical benefits of yoga! From destressing to managing anxiety and depression, yoga has immense benefits for the mind as well. It can help bring clarity, focus, and peace. Even simple breathing exercises and pranayama are trusted therapies for anyone undergoing some form of mental strain.

Yoga is simple, and can be done from the comfort of your own home! The holistic benefits a consistent practice can offer are endless and the impact to your quality of life is sure to be highly positive. It’s never too late to take care of your body, and what better way than with yoga!

References
Worstell, C. (2021). 10 Benefits of Yoga for Older Adults. MedicareAdvantage.com.
https://www.medicareadvantage.com/benefits/yoga-for-elderly

Kristoffer, H. (2012). 8 Reasons Yoga Beats the Gym. Shape.
https://www.shape.com/fitness/8-reasons-yoga-beats-gym
 

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