Belmont Village Quarterly Newsletter
on Senior Living

Yoga & Tai Chi:
Alternative Routines
for People with Arthritis

May is Arthritis Awareness Month and a good time to take a new look at an old idea.  Tai Chi and Yoga have been practiced for centuries in eastern cultures, and have gained renewed popularity in the west for their gentle effectiveness as an exercise for health. As we get older, our bodies lose the power to resist and fight diseases. This is the stage in our lives that gives rise to diseases such arthritis, which results in pain, swelling, redness, and heat that may be caused by tissue injury or disease in the joint.

While experts encourage the benefits of exercise for the elderly, arthritis limits the types of work-outs many can practice. Yet the practice of milder forms of exercise, such as yoga and Tai Chi, breaks the boundaries of age and shape of the body. Both not only improve a particular part of the body, but also improve the health of the body as a whole. And both work at the physical as well as the mental level for a more fit body, calmer mind, and more relaxed person overall. 

Yoga is beneficial in the prevention and control of common health and emotional challenges that commonly affect the elderly. This ancient system of exercise uses special postures to stretch, strengthen and align the body. Yoga also uses breathing exercises and meditation to focus the mind and promote relaxation.

People of all ages, shapes and sizes, including people with arthritis, are discovering the joys of an exercise that calms the mind while toning muscles and loosening joints. If you have arthritis, a gentle yoga program may be a great way to keep moving without putting too much strain on your joints. Done correctly, there is no bouncing, no impact and no pushing yourself beyond your limits. A well-trained yoga instructor, who is sensitive to the needs of older adults and the limits that diseases such as arthritis place on the body, can show you how to modify the postures as needed to provide a good quality workout.

The program itself consists of 12 movements with a warm up and a cool down. Once becoming familiar with the 12 movements, the program is designed to provide continual challenge by reversing the direction of the movements. The movements are graceful, continuous, relaxed and gentle, like swimming on land. The rule is to use mind, and not force, so you feel relaxed with a happy and warm inner feeling after Tai-Chi exercise.

Many Belmont Village communities currently offer Tai Chi or yoga classes (or both) for residents, along with more traditional senior exercise programs.  Potential benefits include:

• Relief from pain and stiffness
• Relief from stress
• Improved concentration
• Improved balance
• Improved posture
• Improved heart and lung function
• Integration of body and mind

Belmont Village at Buckhead in Atlanta has been offering resident yoga classes for a year and a half, with very positive results.  Belmont Village Activity & Memory Program Coordinator Jennie Stoner has witnessed the benefits of yoga for her residents firsthand. 

“I’ve seen such wonderful improvements in body and spirit for our residents who participate regularly.  Their mobility is enhanced by the gains in strength, flexibility and balance, and the visible relief from pain and stress is as significant a change as the physical effects,” said Stoner.  “Residents tell me that they feel invigorated and more free in their bodies.  I don’t think you can ask for better results than that.”

However, she stresses the importance of talking to your doctor before starting any exercise routine.  “Ask if there are any specific moves you should avoid. Then, be sure to discuss any limitations or concerns with your instructor,” she concludes.

For more information about resident programs currently available, please contact your local Belmont Village community.  Please click here for more information.

More resources:

http://www.arthritis.org/tai-chi.php

http://www.niams.nih.gov/

Winter 2008