THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN SEDENTARY OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Reduced mobility in older adults has been linked to general disability and limitations in daily activities that enable independent living. To test whether sedentary older adults would attend and benefit from yoga, we compared participant outcomes from a Hatha Yoga intervention and a health education (HE) intervention. Participants were randomized to either yoga (twice weekly instructed yoga classes plus daily home-practice sessions), or HE (10 weekly informational lectures). Pre and post intervention, participants completed physiological assessments evaluating various aspects of gait, stability, strength, and balance, as well as questionnaires evaluating quality-of-life (SF-36) and adverse events (AE). A total of 371 older adults aged 60–89 were screened and 46 (63% female, 83% white, mean age=74) met the selection criteria of no exercise in the past 3 months and low/moderate physical functioning (Short Physical Performance Battery score 3 - 9). Mean attendance was 71% for yoga and 58% for the HE group. No serious AEs were reported, and qualitative data indicated high levels of satisfaction. Compared to HE participants, yoga participants showed significantly greater improvements (p