The Yoga for Seniors “Continuum of Practice”: How to Create Safe and Effective Posture Modifications
Yoga enthusiasts are typically pictured as young, fit, and flexible, yet the reality is that more than a third of Americans who practice yoga are 50 years and older. This article outlines essential safety recommendations for teaching yoga to older adults and explains a methodology we have created to help yoga teachers skillfully translate evidence-based movement considerations into safe, effective, and enjoyable variations of classic yoga postures.
July 2023 | Open PDF
Making Yoga Accessible to Seniors
In recent years, there’s been a growing interest in making yoga accessible to everybody—thanks, in large part, to the work of Jivana Heyma...
February 2022 | Open Outside Website
Relax into Yoga for Seniors: An Evidence-Informed Update – Enhancing Benefits and Reducing Risk in a Uniquely Vulnerable Age Group
Many commonly taught yoga poses may present risks for seniors, which may explain why people aged 65 and older have a greater rate of injury from practicing yoga when compared with other age groups. This article outlines the Carson-Krucoff Principles of Practice, which integrate Western medical knowledge with traditional yogic teachings, and offers evidence-informed Relax into Yoga Safety Recommendations to help reduce risk and enhance effectiveness when teaching yoga to older adult beginners.
August 2020 | Open Outside Website
Looking for a Yoga Teacher? This is Worth Knowing
While yoga's roots are ancient, the modern yoga class is a relatively recent phenomenon, as is the concept of a yoga teacher-training program.
December 2017 | Open Outside Website
More Older People are Doing Yoga, But They are Also Racking Up Injuries
Yoga may hold a key to aging well, suggests a growing body of research into its potential benefits for body and mind — benefits that include reducing heart rate and blood pressure, relieving anxiety and depression, and easing back pain.
December 2017 | Open Outside Website
11 Books You Need to Read If You’re Over 65
Senior Homes Magazine picks Kimberly and Carol’s book, “Relax into Yoga for Seniors” as a “must read” for older adults and people who love them.
June 2017 | Open Outside Website
Yoga Therapy Today: Special Considerations When Working with Older Adults
Seniors can be the most complex--and the most rewarding--yoga clients, write Kimberly and Carol in the August 2016 issue of Yoga Therapy Today.
August 2016 | Open PDF
Easing Into Yoga
Consumer Reports on Health recommends that beginners with stiff joints look for an instructor trained in Carol & Kimberly's "Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors."
October 2014 | Open PDF
Yoga for Healthy Aging: Yoga May Be the Best Activity for the Elderly
Inviting elderly people to try yoga can be challenging, since many harbor the common misconception that you must be young and fit—or at least able to get down and up from the floor—to practice.
November 2015 | Open Outside Website
The Heart of Healing
Exploring how yoga can be used to prepare for surgery and bounce back.
October 2010 | Open PDF
Yoga for Bone Health
Yoga can help those with osteoporosis and osteopenia maintain bone mass, build strength, and prevent injury.
September 2013 | Open Outside Website
Yoga for seniors can help with balance, agility and strength. But injuries do happen.
Some poses can stress older bodies or cause injuries. Some tips to maximize benefits and avoid risks.
August 2014 | Open Outside Website
Yoga Therapy Today: Yoga as Supportive Care in Healing From Cancer
Kimberly and her husband James Carson, PhD, explore how yoga practices can be powerful tools to promote the process of healing from cancer.
April 2015 | Open Outside Website
Yoga for Seniors teacher training
International Association of Yoga Therapists' write-up on Yoga for Seniors teacher training.
| Open PDF
Teaching Yoga to Seniors: Essential Considerations
Program directors Kimberly Carson and Carol Krucoff, along with faculty members from Duke University Medical Center, published an article entitled "Teaching Yoga to Seniors: Essential Considerations to Enhance Safety and Reduce Risk in a Uniquely Vulnerable Age Group" in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
August 2010 | Open Outside Website
