Practising yoga is great exercise for everybody - the elderly, the frail, even the wheelchair-bound. Fiona Tyrrell reports
No matter how restricted the movement or ragged and shallow the breath, yoga can be practised and be of great benefit to older people, says Adrienne Crowe, who has been giving yoga classes to residents in Bellvilla Community Unit in Dublin for the past two years.
As long as you have breath in your body and the capability to move, even the tiniest restricted movement, then you can practise yoga, she says.
Twice a week she gives hour-long classes to the residents and day-care patients at the public nursing home on South Circular Road in Dublin. Among those attending the class are people suffering from motor neurone disease, stroke, acute arthritis and dementia. Many are wheelchair bound.
Her classes are gentle and easy-going. Warm-up exercises involve anti-arthritic rotations and manipulations of the hands, feet, elbows and knees. This is followed by back stretches, twists and exercise to gently stimulate various muscle groups, joints, eyes and the neck.
The approach taken is the same as in any other yoga class, however she also encourages her students who cannot move parts of their bodies because of stroke damage to visualise that they are doing so in sync with the rest of the class.
"We work through the range of movement that is available and we visualise the rest."
By imaging the muscles working out, she believes you can fire the nerve synapses in the brain and con them into thinking the muscles are still in use. Breath exercises help stimulate the lungs and release pent-up emotion, she adds.
"Breath is so important. People who experience massive loss, feel and ache in the heart and chest. Think of the massive loss that older people feel - loss of the person you once were, loss of independence and loss of God only knows how many friends and family."
For some of her patients, the classes are an opportunity to fight against the inevitable muscle wastage as a result of sitting so long in wheelchairs. One patient works hard on anti-arthritic exercises so she can continue to smoke.
The benefits of yoga for the elderly are many, says Crowe. Patients can develop and strengthen postural muscles and strengthen the spine, which is so important when they spend so much time seated.
"No matter how restricted the movement, it can be reinforced, strengthened and even visualised into development muscle mass, bone density and confidence. No matter how ragged and shallow the breath, gentle yoga techniques can calm the mind and steady the breathing, deepening it and relaxing and centering the patient.
"The staff, the clients and their families can see the visible difference that even an hour a week makes and many of the students practise quietly in their wheelchairs in between classes. We have seen many improvements in posture, range of movement and that hardest-to-define increased quality of life."
It makes her sad to hear people say they "can't do yoga", people who have "given up on themselves". "I encourage my clients to work with what works If they don't use it, they will lose it."
For Paula Boukard, who teaches yoga to the elderly in a number of centres including Brú Chaoimhín on Cork Street and St Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park, fun and laughter are one of the most valuable benefits of yoga for older people.
So many of the activities available to older people, particularly those in residential care, are quite sedentary, Boukard says. Yoga can offer them the chance to get active and have a laugh, she says.
"We have great fun. We sing while we do yoga. We do the hokey pokey. I have a 92-year-old man in one of my classes who can still touch his toes. They really enjoy it."
It's also good for the patients to have contact with people outside of the centre, she says. Aside from that it is a great talking point for visitors, she adds.
She finds that older people can often be more open to yoga than younger adults.
"They are often very open and curious about it, similar to children," she says.