Why Strength Matters as We Age and How Yoga Can Help

When I was in my 30s, I tripped on an uneven section of a running trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I didn’t fall, but I twisted my right ankle and immediately felt the pain. As I hobbled back to my car, I was already thinking about what I might have to cancel, including an upcoming 5K.

At home, I treated the injury with the protocol of the day: RICE, or rest, ice, compression, and elevation. In less than three weeks, I was running again and completed my 5K, although a bit more slowly.

Fast-forward about twenty years, and I sprained that same ankle again, this time from a simple trip while walking along my street. Fortunately, my husband was with me and was quickly able to get the car and come back for me. I expected to recover quickly and return to teaching yoga within a couple of weeks.

That didn’t happen.

An X-ray showed no fracture or other abnormality beyond tissue swelling, but this injury was going to take much longer to heal. I was teaching three to four yoga classes a week and taking long walks most days, but suddenly I could barely stand for 15 minutes at a time. It was eight weeks before I could return to teaching, and even longer before I could walk more than very short distances.

At my follow-up appointment, my doctor suggested that I begin building strength, particularly in my core and lower body. My physical therapist had given me similar advice.

Then came the part I didn’t really want to hear.

I was told that muscle weakness was likely a contributing factor in my recent injuries. There had been three in the previous five years. And as a postmenopausal woman (I heard “older, frail women”), I was being encouraged to make strength training a more intentional part of my life.

Ugh.

Although I have practiced strength training with personal trainers, instructors, and on my own for decades, it has not been something I have stuck with. Yoga, long walks, and hiking are more my thing, and I regularly enjoy them. I figured I was getting what I needed, but somehow, I seemed to have “suddenly” lost strength throughout my body, from my ankles (obviously) to my grip. How did this rapid decline happen?

Well, as I have since learned, it didn’t happen suddenly or rapidly.

If you think losing strength as we age is sudden and inevitable, consider this: muscle strength can begin to decline as early as our 30s. Just like our bones, our muscles change as we age and gradually become weaker. We may not notice the changes at first, but they become more apparent as we get older, particularly in our mid-50s and 60s.

But here’s the hopeful part: we can build strength as we age.

Research and growing interest in strength training for midlife and older adults are giving us more information about how to maintain and improve strength throughout our lives. And yoga can be a valuable place to start.

Why Strength Matters As We Age

• We need muscle strength not just to continue doing the activities we enjoy, but to move through our daily lives. Among other daily activities, we need strength to get in and out of bed, a chair, and a car.

• Strong muscles help protect our joints by taking some of the weight and pressure off them.

• Muscles are essential to bone health. Strong muscles support our bones and help keep them strong, which can help protect against breaks and fractures.

• Muscle strength is an important factor in balance. Weakness in our legs, ankles, and core can affect our balance. If you are working on maintaining or improving your balance, remember that building lower-body strength is a key ingredient.

• Functional body strength is vital to maintaining our independence. Muscle strength affects our bones, joints, and balance. It is needed to move through routine daily life and care for our own basic needs. Muscular weakness can lead to losing our independence.

  
  

We Can Gain and Build Muscle As We Age

While natural muscle mass and strength decline over time, science shows that your muscle tissue remains responsive to exercise no matter when you start. As shared by one of my yoga teacher trainers, Andrew McGonigle, a.k.a. Dr. Yogi, “Research suggests that resistance training can help slow age-related bone loss, even without continual increases in load (Howe et al., 2011; Zhao et al., 2015). Active individuals also tend to maintain higher bone mineral density than those who are sedentary (Kohrt et al., 2004).”

Yes, muscle mass and strength will decline as we age, but the good news is that it’s not too late to start strength training. What you need to start is a mindful plan to begin a practice that progressively builds strength.

How Yoga Can Help

A gentle Hatha Yoga practice is an excellent place to start building strength mindfully. No heavy lifting is required!

The variety of weight-bearing exercises found in a typical asana-based yoga class can help build strength in all your major muscle groups. From slow flows to static poses, we can build strength.

And not only are we building strength, but we are also improving balance, flexibility, agility, proprioception, interoception, mindfulness, and cognitive function. If you are practicing in a community, you are also participating socially and being part of a shared experience.

Yoga is certainly a practice that ticks a lot of boxes for health and wellness.

Increasing Strength As Part of Your Yoga Practice

As with any new exercise program, start with a conversation with your healthcare provider, particularly if you have any health concerns or conditions that could affect your yoga practice.

Then, find a qualified yoga teacher with experience working with your age group and your needs. A knowledgeable teacher can help you learn how to build strength safely and give you pose variations so you can start where you are and build from there.

Start slowly and listen to your body. Do not push beyond your limits or practice movements or poses that are contraindicated by any health concerns or conditions you have. You want to feel effort and a sense of being challenged, but you do not want to force your body into a pose it is not ready for.

Practicing twice a week with at least a day in between is a good place to begin. As you get stronger, you can gradually increase the frequency of your practice and the depth or duration of your poses.

Chair Pose, or Utkatasana, is a good example of how a yoga pose can progress as your strength improves. The pose looks much like sitting back into an imaginary chair, with your weight shifted toward your heels and your knees bent. If balance and strength are challenging right now, you can begin by standing behind a sturdy chair and lightly holding the back for support as you bend your knees and sit your hips back.

As you become stronger and more comfortable, you can use less support, eventually letting go of the chair. You can then bring your feet closer together, bend your knees a little more, and reach your arms overhead. Each step increases the challenge gradually, building strength in your legs and glutes while also engaging your core and challenging your balance and stability.

On the days in between your yoga practices, continue or find other physical activities you enjoy, preferably with others. Walking, hiking, gardening, golfing, swimming, and other activities all count. The goal is to keep moving and find activities that you enjoy enough to keep doing.

Yoga works with body weight, so we can only gain so much muscle mass through the practice. As you progress, resistance bands or light hand weights can be another option for continuing to build strength. You might also consider a strength conditioning class or working with a personal trainer. Again, look for someone who understands how to work with your unique body and needs.

Most importantly, give yourself time. Building strength is a process. You do not have to do everything at once, and you do not have to be strong before you begin. You simply need to start.

I’ve begun to build my own strength back through yoga and the physical therapy exercises I’ve been given. It’s a reminder that strength is something we can and need to continue to develop as we age. It is worth making building muscle an intentional part of our practice so that we can move forward, participating in the activities we enjoy and maintaining our independence.