Yoga For Older Adults: Brain, Memory And Ageing Notes From Flametree
Yoga for older adults: the short version
Have you walked into a room and forgotten why? Ageing well is about the brain as much as the body, and yoga for older adults works on both. This page gathers everything Flametree has written on the ageing brain, memory, heart health and blood sugar. Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree. Learning new poses, carefully, keeps the mind working as hard as the muscles.
Yoga for older adults in short form
- The brain: attention, memory and learning new things.
- Seniors: what the SAGE trial did and did not test.
- Heart and blood sugar: blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
- Staying active: gentle classes that still build strength.
- Classes: over 50s and gentle yoga, studio or LIVE online.
- First class free: for newcomers, plus a half price pass.
This page is one of the topic hubs in Yoga Notes From Flametree.
Why does learning poses matter for the brain?
Because every new pose is a puzzle for the brain as well as the body. You have to notice your feet, your knees and your breath all at once.
New Yoga Notes on the brain and memory, with the studies they rely on, will be listed here as they go live.
A chair and a belt support an upright seat for breath practice.
Is it safe to start yoga later in life?
Yes, with good teaching. Poses are adapted with chairs, walls and blocks so you can start where you are. The seniors article covers the evidence in detail.
If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, and tell us before class.
Standing forward bend (Uttanasana), legs straight, head down.
Start here: the main yoga for older adults articles
These are the owner pages. Each answers one main question in depth.
- Yoga For Seniors: What The SAGE Trial Did Not Test, the place to begin.
- Yoga activities for seniors in Darwin.
- Fuzzy thinking from menopause, and a course for yoga.
- Lower Blood Pressure with Iyengar Yoga.
- Yoga For Type 2 Diabetes: What The Research Says, And How To Start Safely.
- Darwin Heart Foundation walking and yoga groups.
- What Is A Sattvic Mind? The Yoga Idea Behind Feeling Clear, Calm And Steady.
Yoga Notes for older adults
More notes are being added. You can also browse every Yoga Note in one list.
Classes for older adults
- Yoga for over 50s, in the studio or LIVE online.
- Gentle yoga.
- The beginner timetable.
Try a gentle class
Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree. New students, and anyone who has been away three months or more, can also get a half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, to use online, in the studio, or both.
For the studio, check the beginner timetable and just come along. For a LIVE online class, go to our online class list, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join.
Questions about this older adults page
What will I find on the Flametree older adults page?
You will find every Flametree article and Yoga Note on older adults, grouped so you can start with the main articles and then read the shorter notes. Each link goes to one page that answers one question, so you are not reading the same thing twice.
Which Flametree article on older adults should I read first?
Start with the yoga for seniors article, which explains what the research did and did not test. Then see the seniors classes page for what a class is like.
Are Flametree’s older adults notes only for people in Darwin?
No. They are written in Darwin, from our teaching at Woolner and Coolalinga, but the poses apply anywhere, and classes are also taught LIVE online, so you can join from anywhere in Australia.
How often are new older adults notes added?
New Yoga Notes are published in batches of about twenty, and this page is updated each time a note on this topic goes live. Older Flametree blog articles stay linked here too.
Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin, at Woolner and Coolalinga, and LIVE online anywhere.
General information only, not medical advice. Talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, before changing what you do.
