Elderly people practice yoga together to keep fit

Many elderly people believe that only young people with soft arms and legs are suitable for practicing yoga, while elderly people with weak legs and feet and getting harder and harder bones cannot join the ranks of practicing yoga. But in India, the hometown of yoga, people of all ages practice yoga, and the majority are middle-aged and elderly people. Zhong Yan, a yoga teacher at Beijing Chanzhou Yoga Studio, explained that there is no age limit to practice yoga and there is no need to have much flexibility. Practicing yoga for the elderly can not only strengthen limbs and promote blood circulation, but also regulate mood.

The reason why the elderly are prone to falls, sprain, and cervical spine diseases is that as people get older, their body functions will show various declines, their flexibility will become worse, and their arms and legs will become more inflexible and have no strength. Teacher Zhong said that some elderly people who came to Chanzhou Yoga Studio to practice yoga initially had difficulty even straightening their arms and walking. However, after practicing yoga for a period of time, the flexibility of their hands and legs has been greatly improved. Yoga accelerates blood circulation in the body by stimulating and dredging various parts of the body, achieving the purpose of relaxing muscles and bones, enhancing strength, and increasing muscle elasticity. Elderly people who have just come into contact with yoga should start with basic postures and breathing methods.

In addition, many postures of yoga have auxiliary treatment effects on chronic diseases in the elderly, such as hypertension, heart disease, and impaired cardiopulmonary function. But Teacher Zhong reminded that when practicing, the elderly must move slowly and gently. When doing the bottom-up movement, you must first look up and slowly lift your body to prevent cerebral hemorrhage from getting up too quickly. (Internship Editor: Wu Jinyu)