Yoga and Mindfulness for Seniors: Strategies for Managing Stress and Anxiety
Aged Care Mount Maunganui
Seniors may be more likely to have less of a support network, due to the isolation that they often experience. When mobility is restricted, maintaining interpersonal connections to support and reduce stress can be difficult, which results in increased anxiety.
Having a plan for managing this stress and anxiety is therefore a really important part of caring for a senior, or for creating a plan to maintain your own independence. One way to do this is through mindfulness exercises and yoga.
Why Yoga and Mindfulness?
Yoga is particularly beneficial for stress management. This is because each movement focuses on both exercising and stretching the limbs, releasing endorphins to reduce stress, and ensuring that you focus on the breath.
Mindfulness in yoga comes from focusing on the passage of breath throughout the body and following through with the movement of each pose. By focusing on the breath, you can let go of the stress and anxieties that come with managing a new transition to your senior life.
Practical Tips for Yoga
Some great poses for seniors to start with are poses that don’t require much bending, or much balancing. This is particularly true of seniors who live by themselves, because trying any new exercise can introduce an element of risk.
We recommend starting yoga in the form of an in-person class, where your yogi will be able to tell you what modifications are suitable for you, and when you need to step back and slow down a bit to stay safe.
If you are trying yoga at home, make sure that someone is able to check in on you, especially if you have a history of falls. It is best to have someone with you in person, but if that isn’t possible, having someone do a wellness check over the phone can be a great way to make sure you stay safe when exercising.
In terms of which yoga poses to try, we would recommend talking to your local yoga instructor as a starting point. As a general rule, all poses can be modified to be more accessible. Some of the most accessible forms of yoga include things like chair yoga, where all poses are done while sitting.
The level of benefit you get from exercise is entirely dependent on how much you can put in, so make sure to challenge yourself, but still be safe about testing out your limits when starting something new.
Mindfulness Techniques
We mentioned earlier in the article that yoga can be great for mindfulness because it focuses on the breath. The idea behind mindfulness is simply to ground yourself in the present moment.
For some people, this looks like counting things they can see, hear, feel, smell, or taste. For others, it could look like practising big breaths and focusing on internal feelings like in yoga. You can even practise mindfulness in small moments between activities or tasks.
Leveraging Pacific Coast's Amenities
Pacific Coast has a great range of amenities that allow you to practise yoga or mindfulness exercises. This includes a Hair Salon and Treatment Room for self-care, and a variety of craft and activity rooms to help you ground yourself by undertaking a focused activity.
Pacific Coast also has a Gymnasium & Cardio Studio and a range of peaceful outdoor areas where mindfulness exercises or yoga poses can be practised.
Conclusion
Incorporating yoga and mindfulness into your routine can be a great way to help to keep your lifestyle and mindset positive when moving into your senior years.
Focusing on something like yoga and mindfulness can help to remind you that there are more important things in life than stressing about the little things. Yoga also functions as a gentle exercise, which is always great for keeping up physical health as you age.
Pacific Coast Village has a real focus on increasing the wellbeing of their residents, and does so through creating a welcoming and vibrant environment.
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