There are many benefits to mind-body exercise. Physical fitness level, or strength and flexibility, affects both the body and the brain.
No matter what the fitness level of the baby boomer generation and beyond, the effects of aging are recognized by all. As quoted in the book, “The New Yoga for Healthy Aging,” by Suza Francina, 2007. Seventy-year-old yoga teacher Eleanor Williams states, “There is a vast difference between young-old age and old-old age!” The book goes on to state, “Even if you are someone who considers sixty as ‘the new forty,’ the issues we face in our sixties have a heightened intensity. The challenges at this stage of life and how we choose to approach them will determine to a great extent the quality of our later years” (Francina, 2007).
Many people in the baby boomer and older populations are finding that their fitness goals can be accomplished by participating in various mind-body classes. Mind-Body training specifically addresses range of motion conditioning by lubricating our muscles, ligaments, and joints through poses designed to improve posture, muscular strength, and endurance, balance and flexibility. Specific focus is given to lengthen, rotate, flex and extend through the spine while providing emphasis on breath awareness through the postures which enhances mental clarity and stress reduction.