Namaste! Welcoming Boston seniors to yoga

Free fitness programs in Boston are offering older adults a welcome way to re-energize and reconnect.

“People bring friends, sisters, husbands and wives to class,” said Ivor Edmonds, a chair yoga instructor with the Boston Park Fitness Program which is sponsored by the not-for-profit health plan Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

One of many offerings in the program, which reaches every neighborhood in Boston, the chair yoga class was created specifically to benefit older folks as well as people who are obese or have mobility issues. The class, which incorporates most traditional yoga poses, has helped provide a fitness outlet for seniors and, perhaps more importantly during a time of isolation, a sense of community.

“The seniors will call their friends when they are not in class and say ‘oh so and so is supposed to be here,’” Edmonds said. “They jump out and call their friends and bring them in.”

Studies have found exercise is not only important for physical health, but can help improve emotional health, build social connections and lower stress levels.

“Exercise is proven to be a mood booster,” said Jennifer Widener, who manages the Boston Park Fitness Program, “and it decreases symptoms of anxiety and depression.”

The vast majority of people who take his chair yoga class have never practiced before, Edmonds said.

“I think people come in generally scared to do this type of movement and stretching, but after the first class they generally like it,” Edmonds said.

While Zoom classes are offered for people who might want to work out in their homes, Edmonds says he enjoys in-person instruction too.

“The seniors I work with treat me, not quite like a son, but they have an emotional connection to me," he said. "They are excited to come back.”

Widener said she has also gotten to know a number of the older adults who take Edmonds’ chair yoga classes or other classes.

“The community has been fantastic,” Widener said. “It grows and people look out for one another.”