If your elderly family member is looking for a way to become more physically active, she might want to look more closely at yoga. Yoga can be relaxing or challenging, depending on the types of poses your senior tries. Sticking with yoga can give your elderly family member long-term benefits that can really boost her health and her overall well-being. Here are the benefits of yoga for seniors, and how home care can help encourage regular movement.
She’s Moving More
Ultimately, most health experts agree that just moving a little bit more than not at all is excellent for people of any age. Ideally, that activity level would continue to increase, too. If your senior has been sedentary or just hasn’t been exercising much, starting any new plan for moving more is a great idea. She should always clear it with her doctor first, however, to make sure that the activity she’s planning to start is safe for her to do.
She’s Stretching Muscles and Joints
The positions involved in yoga are designed to help the body gently stretch and move, which helps both your senior’s muscles, but also her joints and the ligaments that support them. As your elderly family member does yoga more often, she’s able to loosen up her tight muscles and joints even more. This can be really helpful if she’s dealing with health issues like arthritis.
She Can Improve Her Balance
Improving stability and balance can be crucial for your aging family member. This is incredibly important if she has any mobility issues. The advanced poses of yoga may feel impossible for her but starting out with chair yoga or having help from home care providers while stretching may be a great beginning point. As your elderly family member becomes stronger, her ability to balance her body should improve.
She Might Improve Her Bone Health
Weight-bearing exercise is excellent for bone health and if your elderly family member is at risk of developing osteoporosis, she needs to think about all of that. Again, she may want to start out with easy yoga adaptations that allow her to have assistance from home care when she’s starting out. Your elderly family member’s doctor can also help her to understand how yoga can help her to keep her bones stronger.
She Might Even Sleep Better
Staying on a solid daily routine is another way that home care providers can help your elderly family member to live her best life. That often means getting up at the same time every day, having good sleep hygiene, and being active enough during the day. Even doing yoga at some point during the day can be enough activity to help your elderly family member to start experiencing better sleep. That in turn helps to boost her energy levels and benefits every area of her life.
When your elderly family member first thinks about yoga she might think it’s something that isn’t for her. But yoga truly is a physical activity that is incredibly adaptable to any level of physical activity. And as your senior practices more, she can see heaps of improvements in her overall health.
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Parker, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY Home Care of Parker. 303-953-9924
