Meditation And Relaxation Techniques For Elder People

Your golden years should be about picking up hobbies, spending time with family & friends, reading, indulging in activities, good food and taking care of yourself. However, ageing can be a challenging experience with medical conditions, food restrictions, financial strain and loss of independence, among others.

Handling such issues can cause stress, which can lead to various other concerns and before you know it, you may be in a constant loop of chronic stress.

Meditation And Relaxation Techniques

The good news is that you don’t have to live a life of constant stress, you can use various meditation and relaxation techniques to reduce stress levels.

Benefits Of Meditation And Relaxation Techniques

• Apart from reducing stress, these techniques help in relieving anxiety and depression among the elderly, while also taking care of their overall emotional well-being.

• These techniques are said to increase awareness among seniors and help them to be more present, which can prevent falls and injuries.

• Memory loss is a common concern among seniors. Hence, practising meditation techniques can release the telomerase hormone, an enzyme that works to reduce progressive memory diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Here are a few techniques that will surely help you reduce stress.

Yoga

Yoga for the elderly is a perfect choice, as it is a relaxing low-impact exercise. It helps slow down your thoughts and mindful of the thoughts running through your head. This relaxing technique helps to let go of the tension you are holding onto, specifically in the shoulders and upper back.

It is also associated with boosting mood, as the gentle conscious movements stimulate the release of endorphins (natural mood boosters). Yoga can be very relaxing, which can also help sleep better. It is also linked to lower blood pressure levels. You can also try laughter yoga exercises, instead of the conventional yoga exercise.

Deep Breathing Exercises

You can feel stressed at any time of the day. One of the best tried and tested techniques to help reduce stress levels is deep breathing. Deep breathing is an amazing relaxation strategy when feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed.

This technique activates your parasympathetic nervous system, helping the body to calm down. This way, your body and mind go into a relaxation mode. 

Mindfulness Meditation

You can practice mindfulness or guided meditation, helping you be completely focused in the moment. While you sit in silence, you can allow thoughts to pass without judgment. You can assess and analyse your thoughts, helping you to figure things out.

This practice makes you more aware of your thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations. While mindfulness meditation offers a range of benefits, it can be difficult to sit with all your thoughts. You can start with 5 minutes of meditation daily by yourself or group meditation and increase the duration as and when comfortable.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Known to provide a list of benefits such as controlling anxiety, relieving stress and tension headaches and offering better sleep, among others. PMR involves alternately tensing and relaxing your muscles. You can start from one body part and work your way up.

The best part, PMR is self-guided and it can be done anywhere. However, it is best and most effective when lying down. This practice will surely relax and provide a sense of calm.

Aromatherapy

While exercise and certain activities have been proven to be effective for relieving stress, you can try simple techniques such as aromatherapy. This technique is an ancient form of treatment that continues to captivate our senses even today. The use of aromatherapy dates back thousands of years.

Some of the common techniques of aromatherapy include inhalation of steamed or diffused essential oils, massage and baths.

The way this technique works is essential oils release tiny molecules into the air that enter your nose when you inhale. The receptors in your nose pick up on the scent and send alerts to your brain via the olfactory nerve.

This process sets off activity within a part of the brain that controls your emotions, hence, why you feel calmer and more relaxed.

Art Therapy

Another simple but effective relaxing technique is art therapy. Seniors who make art as part of their daily routine are seen to be happier and calmer. You don’t have to be an artist or be good at drawing and painting. Art therapy is a guided practice by Art Therapists guiding seniors to use different art forms to enhance physical and emotional well-being.

This technique is particularly beneficial for seniors who have mobility and cognitive issues and are constantly stressed.

You can try the meditation and relaxation techniques mentioned above and see which one works best for you or a loved one.

Primus Senior Homes is committed to providing seniors with a calm and stress-free environment. Primus offers senior-friendly homes, along with a wide range of amenities and facilities that are designed keeping seniors in mind. You have access to facilities such as healthcare, 24/7 ambulance service, nutritious meals, housekeeping services and whatnot. Contact us to know more about our senior-friendly apartments and services.