I was never the most flexible person, but I’ve found that age is not being kind to me. I was thinking maybe yoga would help, but apart from the quarantine situation, I really don’t want to sign up for a class until I know whether I like it or it does me any good.
Which brings me to my question:
Can anyone recommend a good tutorial site or video for a beginner in her golden years? I know I can Google any number of sites, but since I don’t know anything about it, I risk picking a bad one. Hence, my question.
I can’t recommend a specific site because I haven’t tried any of them, but based on your post, I suggest using “gentle yoga for beginners” as your search term. When I do that I find a good selection of 20-40 minute video classes.
I just watched the first few minutes of three of the top rated You-Tube classes and out of the three I liked this one best, simply because she was the only one that suggested / demonstrated the sitting position using a folded blanket. This doesn’t even rise to level of a real recommendation but these classes are short and you could try a few different ones.
This style is really gentle with an emphasis on breath and stretching. There is a lot less potential for injury than there is with more active styles but you should always pay attention, back off if anything hurts or feels wrong. If you try this a few times and want something a little more vigorous, look for classes labeled vinyasa flow.
Yoga Download is a great site. Although they have ‘download’ in the same, it’s also a streaming channel. You can watch on your computer or smart TV. They have lots of classes broken up into different categories depending on your mood. They also list classes by duration if you only have a certain amount of time to do a yoga.
Consider getting a month or two membership in a dedicated yoga site so you can start out with the best possible set of classes. Once you get the hang of it and decide what type of classes you like, it’s easy to find similar yoga sessions on youtube or wherever.
I would also recommend searching for chair yoga. That will get you lots of results for yoga sessions tailored for the venerable adult. Also, you’ll be in a chair, so the dog won’t think you’re playing!
I would, in fact, completely ignore the presence or absence of the label “yoga”, which is a general term covering a lot of ground including advanced meditation— indeed do not search for anything involving “yoga” at least for starters— and instead focus on simple routines for warming up properly (jogging, star jumps, push-ups, etc.) and proper stretching exercises (lunges, arm circles, hips, all sorts of mat stretches, etc)
I do Classical Stretch which I watch on PBS. It is not yoga but has improved my flexibility in the two months I’ve been doing it. And I’m taller. I lost an inch over the last ten years, and I got about half an inch back.
Chair yoga sounds very much within my abilities. The classical stretch also sounds worth a look. Thanks! It’ll be a few days before I can do any serious searching, but all these suggestions will get me started.
Our city’s Rec Center offers Silver Sneakers classes. My mom (68) LOVES them and so does every senior in the tri-city area. It’s available for free with Medicare and many other independent health plans. You can get streaming videos online on their website and if you like them maybe you could join a local class later.
ETA: I checked YouTube. There’s a ton of Silver Sneakers content there too, for free!
It gets less press in the US but worldwide there is another very popular exercise that helps with balance and flexibility - Tai Chi. Yoga is about assuming static forms and holding. Tai Chi utilizes slow, gentle, and continuous movements. It is especially popular as an exercise for seniors in China where it originated. Since it emphasizes movement it is not really all that surprising that it has been found to do things like reduce falls.
Tai Chi for Beginners by Dr Paul Lam is worth a look for more information and a first exercise routine.
