Yoga helps older women stand taller

April 11, 2008

Study: Nine-week program added a centimeter to their stature

Elderly women showed measurable improvements in their walking speed

and balance after a nine-week yoga program — and they gained a

centimeter in height, on average, Philadelphia researchers report.

" The only explanation may be that they are standing more upright, not

so much crouching, " study chief Dr. Jinsup Song of Temple University

told Reuters Health. Song presented the findings April 4 at the Gait

and Clinical Movement Analysis Society's Annual Meeting.

While past studies have investigated yoga for helping improve balance

in elderly women, Song noted, they have typically used a relatively

demanding form of the practice. In the current study, he and his

colleague n Garfinkel, a certified yoga instructor, worked with

B.K.S. Iyengar, the originator of Iyengar Yoga, to develop a program

specifically designed for older people. " The poses were very basic —

how to stand upward, how to bend forward, sideways, " said Song, who

admitted he found some of the poses challenging himself.

Song and colleagues enrolled 24 women aged 65 and older into their

study. The women performed an hour-and-a-half yoga session twice a

week, gradually building up the intensity of the exercise.

After the program, the women walked faster, used longer strides, and

could stand for a longer time on one leg. They also felt more

confident in their ability to balance while standing and walking.

While the women had been balancing their weight on the ball of the

foot as they walked before they had yoga training, afterwards their

weight was more evenly distributed across the bottom of their feet as

they walked, Song noted, which could contribute to greater stability.

Song, who is a podiatrist, noted that both strength and flexibility

are important for helping people avoid falls, a leading cause of

disability among older people, especially women. He and his

colleagues are planning further studies to determine if the Iyengar

program is an effective fall prevention strategy.

April 11, 2008

I noticed that after starting yoga, I stood up taller. Though at 6'9 " I didn't

need to stand taller. I noticed I'd bump my head in doorways just a tad lower on

my forehead.

O

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