Still Strong: Everyday Practices That Support a Well-Aging Body
- Bee Feuless
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
With our thanks to guest co-author, Sharon Wagner of Senior Friendly. Visit her at https://www.senior_friendly.info
Aging invites change—sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once. Muscles tighten, sleep shifts, focus drifts. But the body, even in its later years, responds well to care. Movement, rest, nourishment, and rhythm still shape how we feel each day. Attention becomes the tool. And consistency, not intensity, becomes the medicine.
Move with gentle yoga
Flexibility is not just about bending; it’s about responding. And there’s no better way to do that than with yoga tailored to older bodies. When practiced consistently, yoga builds muscle tone, boosts circulation, and increases range of motion without punishing the joints. Many older adults find yoga classes that cater to their unique needs and bodies, such as Yoga on Yamhill’s Wisdom Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Restorative Yoga, which help build joint stability safely and support confidence in everyday movement. It’s not about touching your toes; it’s about walking to the mailbox with confidence and a spring in your step! With breath guiding the pace, movements become less of a workout and more of a conversation with your body. Keep it slow, focus on sensation, and let your spine feel the luxury of alignment.
Choose snacks that energize
Food is fuel, but it’s also rhythm. Grabbing a soda or chips between meals might feel easy, but it often leads to energy dips and sugar crashes. Instead, keep snacks like fresh berries, almonds, or yogurt within reach. These foods don’t just curb cravings—they help you make smarter snack choices that keep you energized and emotionally steady. If a big meal feels like too much, grazing on nutrient-dense small bites might work better. Hydration matters too—don’t overlook the power of herbal teas or a simple glass of water. Over time, your body starts to trust the consistency and reward it with steadier strength.
Embrace sound for calm and healing
Sometimes the body doesn’t need more doing—it needs resonance. Sound healing at Yoga on Yamhill offers that. With singing bowls, tuning forks, and layered frequencies, a sound bath bypasses your logic and lands directly in your nervous system. Seniors report less tension and better sleep after just a few sessions. If you’re dealing with anxiety or the emotional residue of chronic illness, this is worth exploring. You don’t have to believe in energy work to experience therapeutic benefits of sound bath sessions—just show up and listen. The hum of a bowl may not erase pain, but it can soften your grip on it. That’s enough to start breathing differently.
Organize your health history
The more you know, the better you can advocate. Seniors who digitize their medical records often experience more empowered appointments, faster care coordination, and fewer medication errors. Having your lab results, imaging, and prescriptions accessible can shift a visit from frustrating to productive. Most smartphones include apps for tracking your health, and many providers offer apps and websites that keep all your important medical information and even appointments for you. Even more apps are available from third-party providers. Some apps that might help you include:
Apple Health: Integrates data from devices like the Apple Watch, along with test results from many providers and more to show you graphic trends and give you alerts relating to cardiovascular, sleep, activity, mobility, respiratory and general health and is likely the best app for monitoring and improving your health.
Samsung Health: Similar to Apple Health, but for those with Samsung phones and watches.
Google Fit, Apple Activity: Activity and Fitness Tracking
AARP Staying Sharp: Brain health tracking, challenges, and activities for improvement
AARP Now: Information on the SilverSneakers fitness program and access to health-related events.
MyFitnessPal: Track your calories with their enormous user-created database of recipes and foods. Just select, brand foods, dishes, or even combine ingredients into the typical recipes you make at home, and then compare your total intake to your calorie consumption (either based on your measurements, or through integration with another health app, watch, or fitness tracker).
Using tools like these, you won’t just be organized, but be more able to be in charge of your own health by understanding where you are, what goals you want to reach, and how well you are doing toward reaching them.
Meditate to sharpen the mind and soothe stress
Mental chatter has a way of growing louder with age—memories, worries, unfinished things. Meditation and Yoga Nidra at Yoga on Yamhill are where the volume turns down. It’s not about stopping thoughts; it’s about making peace with them. With just ten minutes a day, many older adults report fewer mood swings, more clarity, and steadier focus. Regular practice can improve emotional resilience even in the face of grief, illness, or memory shifts. Don’t chase the perfect technique. Start with your breath. Let your thoughts come and go like birds over water.
Explore Reiki and energy balancing
You don’t need to touch pain to heal it. Reiki works through presence. This hands-off practice at Yoga on Yamhill involves gentle energy work by a skilled practitioner. For many seniors, reiki helps promote restful sleep and emotional well-being without introducing any new medications or physical demands. It’s especially welcome for those who live with chronic illness, insomnia, or anxiety. You can lie back, breathe, and receive. That’s it. In a world that asks so much of us, reiki offers rest without expectation.
Use Ayurvedic rhythms for vitality
Routines can rescue us. In Ayurveda, daily rituals matter more than dramatic changes. Waking with the sun, eating at regular intervals, and sleeping by 10 p.m. are more than preferences—they’re energy-preserving moves. Many older adults benefit from daily Ayurvedic self-care rituals for seniors, including gentle oil massage, sipping warm water throughout the day, and eating cooked foods that are easier to digest. These aren’t exotic add-ons. They’re grounding tools that sync your body with time. When your habits echo nature’s cycles, fatigue softens and digestion flows more smoothly. For professional Ayurvedic treatment, join us for our regularly-recurring event The Body-Mind Bliss-Out: Ayurvedic Yoga Nidra with Marma Massage with Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH, ABOIM, DipABLM, E-RYT, YACEP is an Ayurveda-trained, triple board-certified physician, clinical hypnotherapist, and medical director for The Buddha's Medicine.
Use plant-based medicine for whole-person health
Plant-based medicines ranging from cannabis, peyote, mushrooms, and other roots, berries, and herbs have been combined by native healers in brews like Ayahuasca to help with anything from ailments of the body to injuries and physical or emotional trauma, as well as spiritual growth and awakening. At Yoga on Yamhill, we offer special classes that are framed around these ideas, offering experiences and movement that are designed around your own use of plant-based and traditional medicines (we do not provide or sell these, students should partake as they so choose prior to class), that include sound healing, cannabis-centric yoga, and Vinyasa Flow.
Discover the transformative power of yoga at Yoga on Yamhill, where inclusivity meets community in the heart of Portland. Explore our diverse classes and events, all offered on a sliding scale to ensure everyone can join the journey to wellness!
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