Even if you’re 50, it’s never too late to get into yoga. Yoga has a lot of benefits so you should start incorporating it to your regular workout program. Some of the benefits of yoga include increased flexibility, protection from injury, and increased strength.
We know how intimidating it is to join a class for your age so it’s okay to skip a class as long as you get a good yoga DVD at home. The best yoga DVD for beginners over 50 should have easy-to-follow routines and an inspiring instructor. Here are our recommendations and guidelines.
Quick Answer:
1. Gentle Yoga: 7 Practices For Your Day
Gentle Yoga is a perfect DVD for seniors age 40-80 years old to improve flexibility, strength, and posture. If you love nature, then you’ll love this yoga DVD because all the exercises are shot outdoors. It offers seven programs including three sequences made for different times of the day from morning, noon to night.
2. Stronger Seniors: Yoga Chair Exercises For The Mind & Body
For those who don’t want to leave their seats, there’s a whole yoga DVD program that you might enjoy. Stronger Seniors Chair Exercises allows you to perform different yoga poses in the comfort of your chair. No more lying down on the floor or do difficult poses that might harm your fragile bones.
3. Gentle Yoga For Balance, Flexibility, and Mobility
Not just for beginners, Gently Yoga shows various yoga routines that fit for all levels. This particular yoga DVD consists of four 20-minute sessions, which you can opt to follow sequentially or choose one or two. You might need to prepare some pillow or bolster to cushion your joints for certain poses.
Editor’s Pick Best Yoga DVDs For Beginners Over 50
Beginners’ Yoga DVDs For Seniors Buying Guide
Getting the best yoga DVD is important if you want to get the maximum benefits of yoga. To help you in your shopping, here’s a simple guide you can follow.
What To Look For
Easy-to-follow Instructions
As a beginner, you’ll want the instructions to be as easy as possible. There should be no difficult terms that will make you confused in the middle of the yoga session. Each yoga pose should have a clear explanation of how it should be achieved.
Certified Yoga Instructor
A good instructor is important for a yoga DVD to help you get the right form and posture in every yoga pose. In this respect, the experience is a big factor. The instructor should have a long experience in practicing yoga and of course, certified in this field.
Yoga Routines
The many yoga routines, the better. A beginning yoga DVD can be boring so you’ll need more variety to pique your interest in the long run. Of course, they should be simple so you can build a nice foundation for your practice.
3 Tips To Practice Yoga At Home
1. Research
Before you start into any yoga, do the proper research. Read about yoga and familiarize yourself to various terms like Asana, comfortable seat, and meditation.
2. Find the perfect spot
You should practice yoga in a well-ventilated place with enough light. Space should be big enough for you to move around and free from any obstructions.
3. Get the right equipment and clothing
Yoga mat and a sturdy chair are the common equipment you should prepare to practice yoga at home. If you have bad knees and hips, get a bolster or pillow to provide extra cushion. As for clothes, wear anything that makes you comfortable, preferably, stretchable ones.
4 Best Yoga For Seniors DVDs Review
1. Gentle Yoga: 7 Practices For Your Day
Gentle Yoga was made especially for people age 40 to 80 years old. Its goal is to increase the flexibility, balance, strength, and posture of older people while relaxing the mind and body. The instructor of this DVD is yoga specialist Jane Adams, who was amazing in giving clear instructions despite the music on the background.
This DVD contains seven practices which total to 192 minutes of run time in the pleasant scenery of Glacier National Park. Among them are three sequences made for specific times of day, like:
- Morning Energy standing movements for 18 minutes
- Mid-day Relief from Desk & Computer Work for 19 minutes, and
- Evening Practice of simple inversions, forward bends, and lying exercises for 29 minutes.
The other three practices are meant to address particular needs of the old life, such as Improving Balance for 22 minutes, Core Strength & Flexibility for 34 minutes, and Standing Poses to improve grace for 23 minutes. The last section is a beautiful guide relaxation for 8 minutes.
PROS:
- Breathtaking natural scenery
- Relaxing background music
- Simple yoga poses fit for beginners
- Offers a variety of yoga poses
- Easy user-interface
CONS:
- The instructor may use difficult terminologies
Best For:
Gentle Yoga is perfect for people in their 40s to 70s. If you easily get bored to monotonous yoga poses, you’ll surely love this DVD as it offers more than 100 yoga poses.
2. Stronger Seniors: Yoga Chair Exercises For The Mind & Body
This Stronger Seniors DVD offers a comprehensive yoga chair exercise program to help the elderly build strength and improve the ability to function every day. It also aims to enhance respiration and circulation, as well as, minimizes tension. All exercises are performed on a chair.
The instructors of this video are Anne Pringle Burnell, James Kulackoski, and a young man assisting Anne. All are lovely teachers and they rotate teaching you a different way to do the yoga pose. This DVD offers seven chapters of different yoga chair exercises.
PROS:
- Good instructors, especially Anne Burnell
- Easy to follow movements
- Doesn’t strain the muscles and joints
- Very helpful in improving mobility
- A good program to relax
CONS:
- Not enough variety
Best For:
The Yoga Chair Exercises DVD is great for seniors with a health problem or with a limited range of movement. The program is very simple to follow and there’s no risk of hyperextending your body.
3. Gentle Yoga For Balance, Flexibility, and Mobility
Make your yoga session with Gentle Yoga. With its customizable menu, you can select one, two, or all the 20-minute yoga flows to fit your schedule or body needs. There are four yoga flows in this DVD:
- Flow 1: This session aims to release the stress and tension on your neck and shoulders.
- Flow 2: This session works on your back and chest. It relieves the pain along the spine and improves posture.
- Flow 3: It’s a series of balance and mobility building movements. It focuses on your hips and knees.
- Flow 4: This session provides a relaxing, full-body stretch, which is our favorite.
The instructor of this DVD is certified yoga trainer Jessica Smith. Her instructions are clear and she always reminds you to focus on breathing. To do this program efficiently, you’ll need a yoga mat, a sturdy chair, and a bolster or pillow to cushion your bad knees.
PROS:
- Easy and gentle routines
- Lovely and relaxing setting
- Instructions are very clear
- Customizable workout program
CONS:
- A bit awkward with the lack of background music
Best For:
Gentle Yoga is great for seniors who want to customize their yoga session. Depending on your schedule or body needs, you can choose one, two, or four yoga flow sessions to incorporate in your regular exercise program.
4. Yoga Over 50
Yoga Over 50 DVD offers eight separated workout routines to help seniors improve flexibility, balance, and strength. The video workout routines have different run times from 20-60 minutes. All you need are a yoga mat, chair, and a bolster for extra cushion.
The eight workout video routines are Flexibility & Strength, Seated Poses, Flowing Sun Salutations, Guided Relaxation and Meditation, Gentle Yoga on a Chair, Osteoporosis, and Osteoarthritis. The instructor is popular yoga instructor Barbara Benagh who has more than 40 years of yoga experience. All routines are shot close to the lovely Glacier National Park.
PROS:
- A variety of yoga routines
- Instructions are easy to understand
- The instructor has a soothing voice
- Gentle stretches
- Breathtaking setting and scenery
CONS:
- Some movements may be difficult for those over 70
Best For:
Yoga Over 50 is perfect for seniors who suffer from osteoporosis and osteoarthritis as there are yoga practices dedicated to each of this medical problem. The 8 customized routines can be done separately or all at once, depending on your schedule.
FAQs:
Q: What type of yoga is perfect for beginners?
Hatha, Yin, and Restorative are among the best type of yoga for beginners. Hatha yoga is very slow-paced focused solely on holding every pose for a few breaths. Yin yoga is more into stretching movements while Restorative yoga is simply meditation.
Q: What are the most important yoga poses for beginners?
Some important yoga poses that you should know are the mountain pose, triangle, and tree. The mountain pose is simply standing with your feet pressing the floor, kneecaps lifted, and abdominals in as you raise your chest. The triangle is stretching your waist to the side while the tree pose is standing with one foot and hands in prayer.
Q: How often should I practice yoga?
It all depends on your body, but as a general rule, perform yoga around 3-5 times a week.
Conclusion
Our top pick as the best yoga DVD for beginners over 50 is Gentle Yoga which offers seven programs in a total run time of 192 minutes. It offers more than 100 yoga poses, so you don’t get bored easily. The scenery is breathtaking plus the instructor is very easy to follow if you know all the yoga terms.
If you don’t like to lie on the floor or stand for too long, a good alternative is the Stronger Seniors Chair Yoga Exercises. Most of the routines are done in the chair. There are three instructors to demonstrate the right positions and form.
Allen Wei is someone who believes in living his best life, focusing on balance, happiness, and relaxation. He fosters a positive lifestyle in terms of his body, mind, and environment, and he is a huge proponent of learning to be balanced via relaxation techniques integrated into our busy lives.
