YOGA FOR SENIORS

In today’s popular culture, fitness is defined in quite narrow terms. We tend to view fitness primarily as an aesthetic pursuit. It’s about looking good! Some focus on “functional fitness” and “functional movement” has been introduced in the last decade or so, but even these fitness approaches tend to exist somewhat removed from the greater context of our lives. For example, a functional fitness class at the gym does not emphasize other important aspects of wellbeing,  like personal relationships, self introspection, and, ironically, physical health. (Repetitive strain injuries anyone?) The inadequacies of the fitness paradigm are particularly so for seniors, who are in a phase of life that doesn’t align with  performance and aesthetically goal oriented approaches. 

 

As life expectancy rises globally, more of the world population is entering seniorhood, and seniors are leveraging their influence to establish their well-being as a fixture on the social landscape. Recognizing the shortcomings of the traditional fitness approaches, seniors are demanding methodologies that take an integrated approach to physical fitness; those that appreciate the individual as a complex, whole being and  place an emphasis on  quality of life and overall health. As many have already discovered, yoga fits the bill across the board.