For too long, media images have portrayed yoga practitioners as slim, bendy, youngsters—who are usually white females. So it’s not surprising that prospective yoga students often express concern that “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.” In more than two decades of teaching yoga in medical settings, I’ve heard this wistful phrase from countless people who have mistakenly assumed that yoga isn’t for them. Yet despite the common misconception that yoga enthusiasts are all young and flexible, the reality is that more than a third of Americans who practice yoga are age 50 and older.

This segment of the population often come to the practice after hearing about yoga’s numerous health benefits—including improving blood pressure, heart rate and insulin resistance, relieving anxiety and depression, easing back pain, and alleviating sleep problems. And there is also a growing trend for health care providers to “prescribe” yoga as a complementary therapy to help prevent and treat a variety of medical conditions.

By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT

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