Exercise is essential for your health and any age and there are certain activities, such as yoga, that are suitable for everyone and help to keep your body feeling and looking younger. Yoga is used by some of the world’s top athletes to keep themselves in shape, particularly footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is still the betting favourite to score in any match at the age of 37 years.

Yoga can be described as a spiritual discipline that is aimed at bringing harmony between the mind and the body. It has been practised all around the world for centuries and is thought to have originated in Northern India over 5,000 years ago.

There are a vast range of reasons that people practice yoga. From increasing muscle mass, strengthening bones and improving metabolism to lowering blood sugar, improving mental wellbeing and boosting self-esteem.

So, how exactly does yoga help those over the age of 60? Here are just a few of the top benefits for doing yoga:

Helps to alleviate some aches and pains

Having some aches and pains is common as we get older and yoga has even proven to be beneficial for those living with chronic pain. For example, there are many gentle yoga stretches that can be used to ease tension in the back and the neck.

For those unable to sit on the floor there are many yoga positions that can be adapted for sitting on a chair or lay on a mat. Breathing techniques used in yoga can be used to help cope with and breathe through pain.

Reduces likelihood of depression

Yoga can be particularly helpful to those struggling with low mood or at risk of depression. The different body poses, meditation and breathing techniques that the activity involves can help to naturally increase serotonin.

Serotonin plays a part in improving an individual's mood and creating feelings of happiness and relaxation.

Exercise is well known to boost a person’s mental wellbeing and yoga is an activity that you can take at your own pace and do at a time and place that suits you.

Group yoga can help combat feelings of loneliness

While yoga can be enjoyed alone, it is usually easy to find a local yoga group or class at a local fitness centre or gym. At these groups, you can learn didn’t poses and techniques together and enjoy socialising in a supportive and peaceful environment.

You do not need to be a pro at yoga to participate in a group, there are often different groups for different skill levels and some groups cater specifically for those above the age of 60.

While joining a new group can feel intimidating, everyone once started off as a beginner and so you are likely to find others to be helpful and encouraging as you learn new poses.

Better flexibility, coordination and balance

Exercise is great for improving your flexibility and balance and many sports also improve coordination. Gentle forms of exercise like yoga and swimming are ideal for those that want to build this up overtime and want to minimise the risk of strains and other injuries.

Better flexibility, coordination and balance can help reduce the risk of falls and accidents. Yoga is an activity that can help to improve your overall quality of life and slow down the more challenging effects of ageing.

Lowers stress levels

Daily life can be stressful at times and when we are rushing around trying to get everything done, we sometimes forget to take a moment to relax and look after our own wellbeing. Having a regular schedule of yoga is a great way of prompting yourself to take a break away from stressful tasks and take some time to yourself.

Yoga is also shown to help reduce your resting heart rate. Stress is known to be very harmful to both your mental and physical wellbeing and this form of exercise will help you to stay on top of it.

Helps to reduce the risk of broken bones

Naturally, as we age our bone mass starts to decrease and for women especially, there is the risk of Osteoporosis. Doing yoga regularly can form an important part of a healthy, active lifestyle aimed at keeping bones strong.

It can be difficult to measure the direct effects of doing yoga for this purpose, but research does show that regular yoga over a long period of time does have a significant positive impact on bone strength.

Final thoughts

So, there we have it, yoga is an enjoyable and accessible form of exercise with a huge range of benefits. Whether you wish to enjoy yoga privately in the comfort of your own home or meet other yoga-enthusiasts at a group or class, this activity will have a positive impact on you, mentally, physically and spiritually.