The Benefits of Yoga Over 60

Group of woman going yoga
Practicing yoga is a great way to improve both your physical and mental health. By incorporating breathing techniques, meditation, and poses, yoga helps to encourage relaxation and reduce stress.

Staying active with yoga

Many people think they need to already be flexible in order to practice yoga or that yoga presents too much of a risk of falling. But it is by practicing yoga that you can become more flexible and can help to improve your balance. For older adults, practicing yoga is a great way to stay active because of its simplicity. No special equipment is needed, many of the exercises are simple, and it can be done anywhere.

Yoga can improve more than flexibility

Yoga uses a series of postures and breathing techniques to both strengthen and calm the body at the same time. Yoga is a unique exercise that connects the mind and the body, and can improve more than just flexibility:

  • Stress reduction – Yoga combines physical activity with breathing exercise and mediation to help reduce stress and anxiety, and increase your feeling of calm.
  • Bone health – Yoga incorporates weight bearing activity through physical poses to help strengthen bones. Stronger bones can help to reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis or experiencing a fracture.
  • Heart health – The controlled breathing used in yoga exercise can decrease nervous system activity, which can help manage blood pressure levels. 
  • Balance – Yoga helps improve your balance and stability through physical poses. Improving your balance can help you to prevent falls, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults.

How your plan helps

CarePartners of Connecticut HMO and PPO plans make it easy to stay active with yoga:

Practice yoga in your own home

If you want to practice yoga at home but want the benefits that come with having an instructor guide you through the exercises, try Ompractice. CarePartners of Connecticut HMO members can use their extra discounts to save on Ompractice to access live, online yoga and meditation classes led by an instructor from the comfort and privacy of your own home. For details visit www.ompractice.com/carepartnersct.

Discounts and services included in the Extras program are not plan benefits and are not subject to the Medicare appeals process.