Practising yoga can boost muscle strength and balance in older adults as well as improve mental wellbeing, a study has found.Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK reviewed 22 studies that had investigated the effects of yoga on physical and mental wellbeing in older adults. The yoga programmes varied in length from one month to seven months, and duration of sessions ranged from 30 to 90 minutes.tatistical analysis combined the results of the studies to see the effects of yoga compared with no activity, and compared to other activities such as walking and chair aerobics.”A large proportion of older adults are inactive, and do not meet the balance and muscle strengthening recommendations set by government and international health organisations,” said Divya Sivaramakrishnan, from University of Edinburgh.”Based on this study, we can conclude that yoga has great potential to improve important physical and psychological outcomes in older adults. Yoga is a gentle activity that can be modified to suit those with age-related conditions and diseases ,” Sivaramakrishnan said in a statement.The researchers found that people who practiced yoga had improved balance, flexibility, leg strength, depression, sleep quality, vitality and perceived mental and physical health—compared with no activity.
Compared with other activities yoga improved lower body strength, lower body flexibility and depression.The research improves understanding of the benefits yoga can offer an ageing population, researchers said. It provides evidence for promoting yoga in physical activity guidelines for older adults, he said. As it happens, Western science is starting to provide some concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve health, heal aches and pains, and keep sickness at bay. Once you understand them, you’ll have even more motivation to step onto your mat, and you probably won’t feel so tongue-tied the next time someone wants Western proof.I myself have experienced yoga’s healing power in a very real way. Weeks before a trip to India in 2002 to investigate yoga therapy, I developed numbness and tingling in my right hand. After first considering scary things like a brain tumor and multiple sclerosis, I figured out that the cause of the symptoms was thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve blockage in my neck and chest.Despite the uncomfortable symptoms, I realized how useful my condition could be during my trip.
