Teaching yoga to elderly students

I was SO EXCITED this week to share a Facebook Live conversation with a wonderful yoga therapist who specialises in working with elderly students. If you work with older students or want to know how to approach teaching frail and elderly people, read on – you’ll want to know what Nana Chresta has to say (plus there’s a FREE ‘yoga for older adults’ class plan for you!)

Nana has a background in social services and is no stranger to working with vulnerable students. As an Adore Yoga Therapy Teacher Training student, I’ve watched Nana skilfully weave her yoga therapy training with her great love of working with the elderly.  I caught up with her on a Facebook Live to explore her approach to working with these students. I was surprised by the emphasis she placed on yoga philosophy when working with her older students – I’d naively assumed that she would be focusing on strength and mobility. But no, it’s the yoga philosophy that really helps her students thrive. 

Of course, the philosophy is complemented with a practice designed to meet the unique needs of elderly students. What are those needs? Independence is right at the top of the list. For active older students, that can mean overcoming the fear of falling and staying strong and mobile enough to continue to live at home. For more frail students, independence means the ability to get in and out of a chair unassisted and to look after their own personal hygiene. So how does Nana support her students to meet these goals?

Watch the recording of this fascinating Facebook Live and discover the most important tools for any yoga teacher working with elderly students. 

FREE CLASS PLAN DOWNLOAD 

Access your free chair yoga practice – ideal for working with elderly students.