Best Yoga for Your Age

40s REBOOT

Yoga is a great way to flex and firm—but it’s yoga’s spiritual side that can really uplift you in your 40s. At this time of life, you tend to be swamped by the needs of others, and yoga lets you put your focus back on yourself—at least for an hour.
More reflective yoga styles (Satyananda, for example) can teach you breathing techniques that leave you calm, refreshed and ready to tackle your to-do list.

“Restful, restorative yoga poses train the body to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system¬—the mechanism that can restore the body’s balance after stress,” says Dr Daniel Lewis, a Melbourne-based rheumatologist.

A simple wind-down: Child’s Pose

Lower your rear end to heels and your head to the floor with arms forwards; rest for a
few minutes.

50s BONE UP

Your body and mind are navigating some big hormonal changes in your 50s, and yoga can help ease the transition. For instance, this decade is critical for boosting your bone mass, and a yogic approach offers gentle weight-bearing and toning.
You can also tweak some of the more adaptable yoga styles, such as Iyengar, to help with other health issues that may strike during this time, including insomnia, back problems or energy and mood fluctuations, says Eve Grzybowski, a Mitchells Island (NSW) yoga instructor with 30 years’ teaching experience.

Add tone and boost bone: Warrier Pose

Place one leg in front and one behind, then lunge onto front leg and stretch arms out—one forwards, one back. Hold, then switch legs.

60s BRANCH OUT

Yoga participation often drops off among people over 60—but it needn’t. Because it tones muscles and ligaments, and works on proprioception (your position sense), it’s great for your balance, says Lewis. Yoga novices in this age group can regain lost flexibility. Yoga veterans, though, may start to gravitate towards gentler, more restorative postures; your yoga teacher can suggest ways to modify your practice to suit your ability.
Build strength and confidence with postures that emphasise standing and balance, says Kati Patterson, a Melbourne-based yoga and meditation teacher.

Find your centre: Tree Pose

Stand tall and balance weight on left leg. Bring sole of right foot to inside left thigh and raise arms overhead, then switch sides.