Why Does Yoga for Seniors Matter?
Among the many populations we work with, PYR offers the benefits of yoga to Senior Citizens.
Here is how, why, and the impact our community partnership programs are making!
Support Yoga for Seniors
Support Yoga for Seniors
Check out the programs you will be helping us highlight and support by donating to #ampitup!
“Project Yoga Richmond has given members of the Brook Road Academy community opportunities to better understand the dynamic interactions among the body, brain, and breath – an integral part of learning that fosters critical reflections and self awareness.” – Ben Walters, English Dept. Chair, Brook Road Academy
“Our Transition Program has an adapted yoga class with teachers from Project Yoga Richmond once a week. It has been a great way for our students to engage in physical activity at their own level.” – The Founder’s Center of Commonwealth Autism
“Freedom Yoga was a doorway to yoga for us because there weren’t any other places we could go that were calm, relaxing, enveloping, and welcoming to yoga students with special needs, and now we even go to a gentle yoga class together on the regular schedule with all the other students! … It has opened up a whole world of opportunity.”
-Parent of a Freedom Yoga Student
“I feel very calm and I can forget about the things that I do not like to think about. I calm down and then don’t need to be so upset anymore. I am grateful because you have taught me to control myself, thank you for your teachings, to be able to control my breath”. – PYR Programs Student
“For those moments when I feel scared, sad, joyful, disgusted, accepting, ashamed, loving, gentle, or anything and everything else, there is immaculate calm inside me. It’s beautiful. It’s imperfect. It is why I do yoga.” -PYR Programs Student
Written by: Lucy Wyndham
Your eyelids are getting heavy. Your brain is moving at a snail’s pace. Whether you are sitting in your office chair on a boring afternoon or trying to wrangle your children after work, the struggle with fatigue is real. Fortunately, these yoga poses will help reinvigorate you.
Savasana
Savasana improves mental concentration, offers total relaxation, and is a fantastic way to relieve fatigue at home. You start by lying on your back with your legs stretched in front of you. Your feet will fall to either side. Close your eyes and place your arms on the sides of your body with palms up. You can hold this pose for five to ten minutes or for however long you want. Breathe into your belly. Keep the focus on your inhales and exhales or engage in breathing exercises and meditations.
Supine Twist
The supine twist releases the lower back, opens the shoulders, quiets the mind, and improves digestion. You start by lying on your back with your feet on the ground and your knees bent. Keeping your left shoulder and the sides of your feet on the ground, let both of your knees fall to the right side of your body. Lastly, look over your left shoulder and put your arms out to make a T.
Legs Up the Wall
You can do this with a chair or against the wall. Begin parallel to the wall. Lean backward as you twist your legs toward the wall. In a comfortable position, let your legs rest on the wall. If you find the floor uncomfortable, you can use a blanket or pillow for your hips or head. Notice your breathing as you place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
Cat/Cow
Start with your hands shoulder distance apart and knees hip distance as you are on your hands and knees. Roll the shoulders back, lift up your hips, look forward, and let your belly lower as you inhale. Round the spine, let the head drop, and tuck the hips as you exhale. This improves digestion, relieves back pain, and opens up the spine.
Child’s
With your knees a few inches wider than your hips and your feet together, sit on the floor. Rest your forehead on the floor by walking your hands forward. Use a blanket or pillow under your forehead if it does not reach the floor. Take deep, slow breaths.
Butterfly
Relieve fatigue by sitting on the floor with the soles of your feet together. Open the feet like a book and round the spine. Then, fold forward towards your feet.
In addition to the physical and mental benefits, yoga provides a sense of belonging and community. One of the populations where we have seen these benefits is when offer Yoga for Seniors.
“This particular site started as a residence for Russian seniors. One of the first things I noticed was that all of my students, regardless of nationality, began to look out for each other. They took interest in what was going on with their fellow yogis, despite nationality. I have called it my mini-UN because the population is so diverse!” – Sarah Humphries (PYR Ambassador at Marywood)
Project Yoga Richmond has offered Yoga for Seniors since 2012, and we currently offer programs at Marywood Senior Apartments with Sarah Humphries (PYR Ambassador) and Senior Center East at Peter Paul Development Center with Twylah Ekko (PYR Ambassador).
Unroll your mat with us at our pay-what-you-can studio and Saturday Salutations at the VMFA on August 5 as we highlight Yoga for Seniors.Support our outreach programs by paying-what-you-can when you sign up for this event! And know that anytime you pay-what-you-can for class at our studio 7-days a week, you are supporting outreach like this!
If you would like to learn more about how to support Yoga for youth or to sponsor one of our outreach programs, you can make a donation by clicking here 365 days a year or contact holly@projectyogarichmond.org for more information!