YOGA FOR OLDER ADULTS

Currently 17% of individuals over age 50 and 6% of individuals over age 65 have tried mind-body therapies (Wolsko et al. 2004); 16.5% of yoga practitioners are age 54 or older (Saper et al. 2004). National survey data indicates a large portion of mind-body therapy users implement these practices for the management of disorders which are either psychological or psychosomatic. Among yoga practitioners 63.7% reported implementing yoga techniques for wellness and preventative benefits and 47.9% reported implementing yoga techniques for the management of specific health conditions. Because increasing numbers of older adults are engaged in yoga it is important to understand how yoga impacts this population. We studied the impact of a yoga intervention on the psychological health of senior citizens. Yoga participants improved in anger anxiety depression well-being general self- efficacy and self-efficacy for daily living. Changes in self-control were associated with changes in general self-efficacy and trait anxiety. Self- control is proposed as a mechanism underlying the impact of yoga on psychological health.