Peace in Pandemic: How Yoga Helps Seniors Cope
Older adults practice chair yoga with PYR Ambassador Twylah Ekko (top right), as part of the Spirited Senior Series in partnership with Freehorse Arts.
If the past year has left you feeling lonely and overwhelmed, you’re not alone. Sadly, it’s affected seniors in especially devastating ways. In addition to managing the stress of being most at risk for COVID-19, seniors are more likely to feel isolated and hopeless, now more than ever with the pandemic complicating social gatherings.
That’s why we’ve partnered with FreeHorse Arts to provide a series of online yoga and mindfulness sessions for the seniors at Beth Sholom Senior Living.
PYR Ambassador Twylah Ekko leads the seniors in practices aimed to relax and restore the mind, body, and spirit. As with all FreeHorse Arts programs, Twylah’s sessions are intended to increase awareness through the arts, inquiry, and introspection as well as explore themes of giving back to our families and communities, while caring for the natural world.
Studies show that older adults obtain significant health benefits with just a moderate amount of physical activity. It also helps seniors control weight and reduce depression and anxiety. When done in community, like this class, yoga helps decrease feelings of isolation.
According to Lucretia Anderson, Associate Director at FreeHorse Arts, most of the seniors in the program are chair-bound and have limited mobility. “The yoga practices are helping to explore ranges of motion, coordination, and the added gift of investigating the world around them with mindfulness and the spark of imagination,” Lucretia says.
Twylah, who also leads our senior program at Peter Paul Development Center, says it’s been a delight to work with the Seniors at Beth Shalom. “In a recent session we worked with a raisin,” she explains. “We thought about where it came from and how long it took to grow. Then we ate it mindfully, enjoying its sweetness and noticing all the little things about it. The students made me laugh when they said their favorite part was being able to eat their project.”
In January, we partnered with FreeHorse to lead yoga sessions for adults with autism at the Autism Society of Central Virginia. We hope to continue this fruitful partnership to bring the benefits of yoga to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
When you make a donation or pay for your class, we hope you’ll remember that you are simultaneously improving the quality of life for seniors and so many others in our community. At Project Yoga Richmond, your practice really does have power.