Yoga has always been a great form of exercise and meditation for all ages and is one of the better types of exercise for seniors.
It is extremely gentle and very easy on your bones as well as your joints.
This is often recommended for those seniors who seem to be suffering from depression because it tends to lift the spirits and helps a person stay young in the mind and body at the same time.
It is also great for those who can't do harder exercises because they are generally weak or they have a disability that won't allow them to do other exercises.
It also is known to be able to lower your blood pressure and relieve arthritis symptoms as well.
If you are considering taking up Yoga, as with any kind of exercise you first should talk to your doctor before starting the program.
Even though Yoga is extremely gentle it still has a few risks that might affect people with dizzy spells, have weak muscles and if you are a diabetic, blood sugar levels may go extremely low during this type of exercise.
When you first begin it's import to start with all of the basic poses, the ones that are static and will give you endurance without any injury.
These are called asanas.
Three of these are the Corpse Pose or Savasana, the Easy Pose or Sukhasana and the Cat Pose or Bidalasana.
All of these will require very little flexibility and are always good for the beginner to help them with balance.
You will also need to learn a special breathing technique that is called Kapalabhati or cleansing breath.
This is a short but rapid way of breathing that must come from the diaphram and is often used to clean your sinuses and to clear the mind.
Another and very important pose you should learn to master is the Dog Pose or also called the Adho Mukha Shvanasana.
This is probably the most basic of all posses and is great for your spine and your back muscles.
With this pose you get on the floor on all fours and make sure that your hands and your shoulders are all aligned up with your knees and hips.
Then you can take one of the knees and lift them off of the floor and bring it up to the point where your body makes a V shape and your head is lowered to the floor.
This pose is used the most when you are putting together a Yoga routine.
If you are doing this on your own you need to make sure that you have not only books on how to perform basic Yoga but you should also have videos of people actually doing the poses so that you know exactly how they should be done.
Better yet, you should probably try to find a Yoga teacher that actually specializes in teaching Yoga to seniors.