Adaptable yoga classes support Calderdale’s senior residents

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A Halifax-based yoga teacher is delivering chair yoga sessions to help those with limited mobility to give yoga a try. Adele Wills, owner of Adeles Yoga, has recently partnered with local charity, Waterhouse & Mackintosh Homes, to provide chair yoga sessions for residents at the almshouses.

Chair yoga is an inclusive and accessible practice that allows participants to stay seated while taking part in yoga. Class attendees can still experience many of the wide-ranging benefits of a yoga practice but can easily adapt the poses to suit their needs. It is particularly useful for older adults or people with certain disabilities and health conditions.

Almshouse residents take part in chair yoga session

Adele Wills said:

“The yoga stereotypes we regularly see in the media make so many of us think that yoga isn’t for us. So often, people ask me if you must be super fit and flexible to take part in a yoga class and, honestly, the answer is no! Real yoga can be done by everybody, no matter your age, body type or level of ability, with just a few small modifications.

I’m so pleased to be working with the residents of Waterhouse & Mackintosh Homes to offer this chair yoga practice and see the benefits it is bringing to this fabulous group.”

Waterhouse & Mackintosh Homes is a local charity which provides modern and affordable housing to 60+ year olds who live within Calderdale, or who have a strong connection to the area. Chair yoga is part of a wider programme of activities provided to keep residents socially active and support their health and wellbeing.

Cath Giddings, Warden at Waterhouse & Mackintosh Homes, said:

“Our residents are really enjoying the chair yoga sessions with Adele and find that they are helping with relaxation, as well as mobility. Older adults are also at an increased risk of loneliness and social isolation so it’s a great way to get our residents together too!

I join in when I can, and it really is for everybody. You can do it to your own level, and it can be adapted to be a little bit harder or a little bit easier depending on what you need.  It helps me to stop, relax and reset as I’m always on the go.”

The group smile for photos after the chair yoga session

Pam, seventy-six-year-old resident at Waterhouse and Mackintosh Homes, said:

“I enjoy getting to know people and chair yoga is another way of meeting the other residents. It also helps me get rid of kinks in muscles I didn’t even know I had. Yoga is so different to anything I ever expected but I’m so glad that I gave it a try.”

If you’d like to take part in a chair yoga session, contact adele@adelesyoga.com.

To find out more about Adeles Yoga, visit: www.adelesyoga.com.

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