You may remember the Tin Man from the classic “Wizard of Oz” movie, how he wanted oil to lubricate his creaking joints.
A lot of us may feel the same way, especially in the damp Wisconsin climate. One of the best remedies for this is taking classes in yoga or tai chi.
Yoga is one of the best exercise disciplines that you can do for your body. It’s excellent fitness for all ages, but it’s especially important for us as we get older. Yoga helps us to lubricate creaking joints and give us the flexibility to continue with the same tasks we did when we were much younger.
As we age, things like moving, lifting, getting up from a chair, and even getting out of bed, may become a challenge for many of us. “Oh my aching body” is often heard as you groan in doing something that was a snap when you were in your 20s and 30s, or even early 40s.
Yoga is one of the disciplines that can help mitigate the aging of your body. Some people even feel that yoga moves help keep your body slim.
However, some yoga classes might be difficult for more mature people. Along with the variety of yoga classes proliferating the greater Milwaukee area, there is a yoga that is geared for the Baby Boomer generation, and older, it’s “Yoga for Seniors.”
“Yoga for Seniors” is taught by Sandy Byrne at Elite Sports Club’s River Glen location. Byrne is a certified senior yoga instructor.
Byrne said that generally senior yoga is for those 55 and over, who want to work on overall health and fitness, such as strength, flexibility, balance, and range of motion.
The biggest difference between regular yoga and senior yoga, Byrne said, is that movements are done more slowly, modified for greater ease and stability, through a shortened range of motion.
Byrne cited many examples of people, even in their eighties, who’ve been helped by participating in senior yoga. “I’ve heard from many in my class, and in my private sessions, that they’ve improved their balance, relieved the pain of arthritic joints, and improved the so called ‘dowager’s hump,’” Byrne said.
The “Yoga for Seniors” instructor’s manual, “YogaFit,” enumerates at length the many benefits of the exercise. They include the improvement of posture, range of motion and strength; as well as mental clarity and function. It can help restore joint mobility and flexibility; strengthen lung and respiratory health; decrease back pain and even can improve foot health.
Most importantly, “Yoga can arrest, and may even reverse the deteriorating process that comes with aging,” Byrne said.
Byrne explained how a “Yoga for Seniors” class is conducted. “We begin a longer warm up phase by doing simple seated exercises. Then we transition from sitting, to standing, to do our ‘modern dance’ inspired leg swings. From here we move on toward larger full body movements, which may include marching in place, or a modified yoga sun salutation.”
She spoke of some of the other yoga moves made in the class to help her senior participants. “Rolling our shoulders back and down, and lifting our chests is energizing. The classic yoga movement ‘Downward Facing Dog’ is weight bearing and helps to build bone.”
“I have found that if people participate in ‘Yoga for Seniors’ for as few as three sessions most people will achieve positive benefits in this time,” Byrne said. “Obviously even longer is better, and to achieve the best and lasting results, it should be a definite lifetime part of your fitness regimen.
“You can begin senior yoga at any time and at any level of fitness. It’s never too late to improve the health of the body.”
Tai chi, historically practiced by Chinese seniors, is another great workout for seniors in the Milwaukee area.
It has been offered to Chai Point Senior Living residents for the past 15 years and led by Deborah Solis. Solis teaches the half-hour class once a week at the senior residence on Prospect Avenue.
Solis enumerated the special benefits of the art. She emphasized that the number one benefit is balance, which may be a problem as you age.
Most of the research that has been done on the benefits of tai chi shows that it’s imperative for seniors to work on balance and tai chi helps improve this. So many falls, which can be disastrous to seniors, have come from lack of balance. As people age the sense of balance seems to be negatively affected.
Tai chi helps because all of its movements are slow, and thus it helps build bone mass and connective tissue which is a huge plus for seniors. Because its movements are gentle, it’s one of the few exercise regimes that can be participated in even after bone damage like hip fractures.
“In my class I’ve had several people who’ve had hip surgery and returned to my class with full participation,” Solis said.
Solis said tai chi also improves physical functioning. As you age, you lose both strength and posture. The slow, deliberate and controlled movements of tai chi improve posture and build strength by continually changing from one position to another, Solis said.
There are no age restrictions for tai chi. In China, children as young as five start the exercises, Solis said. “In my class at Chai Point I even had a 99 year old who had no trouble fully participating along with the younger in the class.”
Also, there is no restriction on physical capabilities to participate. “I’ve had many people in wheelchairs at Chai Point who’ve been part of my classes,” said Solis. “They can always do all of the upper body movements with no problems at all and still benefit from the exercise.”
However, Solis said that “the most frequent misconception” she has found about tai chi “is that because you are moving slowly [it] is a cinch to pick up. They feel it might be too easy and thus not help them become stronger.”
But that is not true. “Once people come into class they try the slow movements and they feel good. They are not just moving arms and legs, but breathing in a certain manner, and they have to remember the sequence of movements. Thus it takes your entire being, both physical and mental, to fully participate in the classes.”
Seniors can join tai chi classes at any time of their lives and “after about three classes will have been able to see positive all around benefits physically and mentally,” said Solis.
This article is not intended to provide medical advice. Seniors thinking about participating in any of these exercises might want to consult a physician first.
Arlene Becker Zarmi is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 40 publications nationwide. She was also the producer and host of a travel TV show for Viacom, and is a Jewish genre and portrait artist.
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