I've fallen and I can get up

            Check out the benefits of yoga for safe and healthy aging
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In a way, it’s fitting that September is both National Yoga Month and National Falls Prevention Month. I often talk to my yoga classes that are primarily filled with those 65+ about the benefits of yoga for preventing a fall – or minimizing the impact of a fall.

The nonprofit Age Safe America notes that falls are now the leading cause of death due to injury for older Americans. Falls account for 40 percent of all nursing home admissions and are the leading cause of injury related emergency room trips for older adults. Falls are the major cause of hip fractures, and responsible for more than half of fatal head injuries. And too often, older adults are unable to resume independent living due to an injury from a fall.

So much of yoga practice is about balance, improving overall balance in the body and also in the mind – the yin and yang of things. Similarly, one of the Pilates principles is using control to move the body, isolating certain movements within sections of the body so that we’re able to control movement from the correct skeletal and muscular groups.

Improving balance will increase the chances that you will be able to right yourself and avoid a dangerous fall. Strengthening the core area of the body and the back muscles will also give you a greater ability to pull yourself back from a fall. Of course, it’s not an absolute guarantee that a yoga or Pilates practice will help prevent a fall. But if you do fall, perhaps the fall can be buffered by more balance and control of the body. The stronger and more flexible you are, the quicker you will be able to get up and back on your feet after a fall.

Susan Mondi Bowen, founder of Thrive Yoga in Rockville, MD, lives this reality every day.  She has practiced and taught yoga for about 20 years.  A chronic foot issue challenges her balance. 

"I have to regain my balance daily due to bone spurs in my feet," she said. "I engage and lift up immediately and drishti (a gazing point that develops concentration) just happens naturally due to meditation."

One study published by the British Geriatric Society in 2015 concluded that yoga interventions resulted in small improvements in balance and medium improvements in physical mobility in people aged 60+ years. The results of this meta-analysis were slightly higher for yoga as a way to improve mobility in older people. However, consider that mobility is a key factor in maintaining a higher quality of life as we age. Another 2018 research project in India studied 50 adults aged 60 years and older. They were invited to attend a 1-hour yoga class, twice weekly for three months. At the end of three months, participants had improved ability to rise from a chair, weight loss, increased step length and a reduced fear of falling.

The sequence of poses used in that study is:

• Uttana Padasana (Raised leg pose)
• Chakra Padasana (Leg rotation)
• Pada Sanchalanasana (Only forward movement cycling)
• Jhulana Lurhakanasana (Rocking and rolling)
• Shava Udharkarssanasana (Spinal twist)
• Navasana (Boat pose)
• Namaskarasana (Salutation pose)
• Vyagrasana (Tiger pose)
• Ushtrasana (Camel pose)
• Hasta Uttanasana (Hand-raising pose)
• Tadasana Tree pose
• Tiryaka tadasana (Swaying palm tree pose)
• Tiryaka kati chakrasana (Swaying waist rotating pose)
• Dhruta Utkatasana (Dynamic energy pose)
• Dwikonasana (Double angle pose)
• Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
• Artha shalabasana (Half locust pose)
• Eka Pada pranamasana (One legged prayer pose)
• Eka padasana (One foot pose)
• Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand pose)

Here’s another list of five simple yoga poses that can help prevent falls. National Falls Prevention Awareness Day is September 22nd. So do yourself a favor during National Yoga Month. Take a yoga class on September 22nd or at some time this month. Here’s to wishing you strong balance and body awareness.

Namaste', 
Caren

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