Yoga: The Latest Health Trend for the Over-50 Set

Yoga is an age-old meditative practice that has often been associated with younger Americans. But it is fast becoming a hot health trend for people over 50 who are looking to improve their mental and physical well-being, and stave off the chronic ills of aging.

“Yoga is a great way to prevent aches and pains and also helps to maintain flexibility and help the mental state as well,” Dr. Gerald McGwin tells Newsmax Health.

“In addition to the physical aspect of it, there is something about yoga that helps to clear the mind,” adds McGwin, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

The number of people practicing yoga in the U.S. was up to 36.7 million in 2016, compared to 20.4 million in 2012, according to a recent Yoga in America Study.

Of these, about 14 million are over the age of 50, and 4 million people age 55 and over have taken up yoga since 2012, according to the study, which was sponsored by Yoga Journal and the Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit organization representing yoga teachers, schools, and studios.

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“Yoga has a number of benefits for people who are older,” says Stephen Fletcher, a certified yoga instructor and owner of Yoga Circle in Birmingham.

“As people get older, they may fall into the mindset that says, ‘I’m getting old, so there are things I can’t do.’ Yoga helps expand those boundaries, and opens people up to future possibilities of what they can do.”

Yoga is a group of mental, physical, and spiritual practices that originated in ancient India. In the U.S., it is mainly practiced for health and relaxation. While there are several styles of yoga, commonalities include breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures.

Studies have shown that yoga has a number of health benefits, working to ease stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, and even alleviate the pain of arthritis in older Americans.

But yoga for older people is not without risk, says McGwin, director of the Center for Injury Sciences. His own research has shown that although yoga is basically safe for older people, there is a risk of injury for some.

According to McGwin's research, the injury rate for yoga participants aged 65 and older was 58 per 100,000, compared to 18 per 100,000 for those ages 45-64. People 18-44 years of age had the lowest rate of injury — 12 per 100,000.

"There are many benefits to yoga, but there is a risk for older people that should not be ignored,” he adds.

Research has found that yoga can help to ease pain from several chronic conditions, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and low back problems. It has other benefits, as well, including enhancing mobility, balance, memory, sleep, and mood, and alleviating joint stiffness, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and inflammation.

Yoga can pose physical challenges for some older people who lack muscle strength, balance, or are afraid of falling while engaging in the practice. For such individuals, a form of the discipline, known as chair yoga, may be a better option.

Chair yoga is a gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting on a chair, or standing using a chair for support. Often the poses, or asanas, are adaptations of hatha yoga poses.