TY - JOUR AU - Krucoff, Carol AU - Carson, Kimberly AU - Krucoff, Mitchell PY - 2021 DA - 2021/01/07 TI - Relax into Yoga for Seniors: An Evidence-Informed Update for Enhancing Yoga Practice Benefits by Reducing Risk in a Uniquely Vulnerable Age Group JO - OBM Geriatrics SP - 150 VL - 05 IS - 01 AB - Teaching yoga to seniors is often considered an entry-level job for a yoga instructor since older adults are unlikely to attempt complicated, “advanced” postures. Unfortunately, this ill-informed attitude puts the most vulnerable students with the least-trained instructors who may unknowingly put their students at risk. Even experienced yoga instructors often do not understand the vulnerabilities of older adults, and many commonly taught yoga poses may present risks for seniors. This could explain why participants aged 65 and older have a greater rate of injury from practicing yoga when compared with other age groups. This article discusses the safety principles central to the Integrative Yoga for Seniors program. Offered since 2007 at Duke Integrative Medicine, this professional training for yoga instructors is designed to help yoga teachers enhance the benefits of yoga for their older adult students by learning how to work safely with the increasing number of seniors coming to yoga classes. Drawing on specific Principles of Practice that we developed to integrate the knowledge gained from Western medicine with yogic teachings, we offer our evidence-informed Relax into Yoga Safety Recommendations to help reduce risk and thus enhance effectiveness when teaching yoga to older adult beginners. We highlight two areas that pose the greatest risk of compromise to older adult students: cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. SN - 2638-1311 UR - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.geriatr.2101150 DO - 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2101150 ID - Krucoff2021 ER -