The world is going to celebrate the International Yoga Day on 21st June and another year has passed by including few more people to the list of the population who embrace the benefits of yoga. Even though yoga finds its roots in India, the branches of it could be found in almost all countries across the world.
Even though yoga is for everyone, seniors citizens, in particular, may feel a bit difficulty while practicing certain yoga postures. Reduced mobility, balance and flexibility would not allow seniors to practice the difficult asanas in yoga. However, there are a few simple postures that help the elders in increasing their body balance, mind and limbs coordination.
In addition, the wisdom and experience that we gain as we age will enhance the consciousness with help of yoga. This results in better coordination between mind and the body which is an essential quality to attain as we age.
As all these yoga asanas are performed on a chair, this is called chair yoga. Here is a list of asanas that help elders to experience the goodness of yoga in their lives.
- Tadasana –
- Sit up straight on a chair and take a deep breath while extending the spine.
- Both feet should touch the floor equally while the knees are bent in 90-degree angle.
- The hands should be down and the palms should face the sides of ties.
- As you exhale, turn your palms to the direction of your face (front) and raise your chest up. Starting from the bellybutton.
- At the same time, firmly raise your feet while keeping all toes in contact with the ground.
- Veerabhadrasana –
- Sit in the same position of Tadasana and take a breath.
- Raise both arms up and touch the palms above the head without bending the elbows.
- Lace the fingers, except the thumb and pointer fingers, on each other.
- The pointer and the thumb finders of opposite hands should extend outside while the other fingers are placed on each other.
- Take at least 5 deep breathes before relaxing the hands and bringing them to their initial position.
- Pachimottasana –
- Sit in the first posture of Tadasana and keep the palms of both hands on either sides of the ties.
- Take a deep breath and bend the spine towards the feet without bending the neck.
- This posture helps in massaging the intestines and improve the bowel the functions.
- Parivrtta Sukhasana
- Take a deep breath, sit straight and keep both feet on the ground with knees that are in 90 degrees.
- Look straight and raise the hands till your shoulders without bending the elbows. The palms should face the ground.
- As you exhale, turn twist the upper body towards your left along with the hands, without bending them.
- Recover to the initial position while inhaling. This asana helps in better blood circulation and better digestion.
Practice these yogasanas after consulting the doctor and in the presence of a trained instructor. Forcing the limbs or the joints beyond the flexibility level may result in some serious internal injuries.
Make a habit of following a daily routine of yoga session for better mobility and balance. While experts recommend the elders to practice only the yoga postures that they are flexible with, all elders could try the simple postures of chair yoga as it involves less physical effort. These postures are ideal for the beginners as well to start off with.
