Of all the exercising you can do, yoga may be one of the best for keeping your body and mind young. That’s because it’s low impact, requires little or no equipment (a mat or towel, at the most), can be done almost anywhere and has few restrictions for practitioners based on age or ability. In addition to the benefits to the body, yoga has also been shown to help with anxiety and depression.
A large-scale study
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland analyzed the findings of 22 randomized and cluster-randomized clinical trials to assess the benefits of yoga for adults 60 and over.
The various yoga programs, which lasted between 30 minutes and 90 minutes for 1 to 7 months, were found to help improve balance, flexibility and limb strength. They also improved sleep quality, boosted vitality and decreased depression.
The results seemed to create more improvements that were seen in other low-impact physical activities, such as walking.
“A large proportion of older adults are inactive and do not meet the balance and muscle strengthening recommendations set by the government and international health organizations,” says the review’s lead author, Divya Sivaramakrishnan. “Based on this study, we can conclude that yoga has great potential to improve important physical and psychological outcomes in older adults. Yoga is a gentle activity that can be modified to suit those with age-related conditions and diseases.”
Previous studies
This isn’t the first time yoga has been shown to provide great benefits to both body and mind.
A 2016 study showed that older adults who practiced yoga had a lower risk of cognitive decline.
In 2017, a series of studies showed that people who participated in yoga programs had less depression and anxiety.
In addition, research in early 2019 found that just 8 weeks of intense yoga reduced rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. The study was published in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.
