Yoga Classes to Target Seniors

BY Rachel Cagle
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"As you age, it's normal to become less limber, reports Harvard Health Publishing. Your muscles shrink and your tendons lose their water content, which makes your body stiffer. But add in less activity from a sedentary lifestyle and your lack of flexibility can become even worse."

"'When you sit too much and don't move around, the muscles in your hips, legs, and calves get tighter,' says Dr. Lauren Elson of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Harvard-​affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and faculty editor for Harvard Health Publishing's special reports, Stretching and Starting to Exercise."

"This lack of flexibility can increase your risk of strains and other injuries, and add difficulty to everyday movements like reaching a high shelf, twisting to look behind you in the car, raising your arms overhead, walking up stairs, or squatting or bending to pick up something."

"The good news is that it's never too late to slow or even reverse the loss of flexibility. 'You just need to approach your flexibility like any other aspect of your health,' says Dr. Elson."

"The main trouble spots for people are the hips, legs, low back, and shoulders and chest. 'These are the areas that you rely on most when performing routine movements, and the ones that suffer most when you're sedentary,' says Dr. Elson."

"Stretching is the best way to improve flexibility. 'You should stretch every day,' says Dr. Elson. 'It should be like brushing your teeth. Stretch after a workout or walk, after a hot shower, or as a break from a long period of sitting.'"

According to AudienceSCAN, Yoga Enthusiasts are 60% more likely than other adults to pay for physical therapy this year. Within the last month, 63.8% of these consumers used a search engine to research a service they were considering. The internet is where they should be finding out about the health benefits of yoga. Google is the preferred search engine of 91.4% of these shoppers and only 22% will go past the first page of search results.

"Adopt a whole-​body stretching program that targets all the major areas and moves your limbs through their full range of motion."

"Supplementing your daily stretching with yoga, tai chi, or stretching classes at a community center can further improve flexibility. 'They offer routines that may help you focus on your stiffest areas, especially the low back and hips,' says Dr. Elson."

Yoga studios and businesses offering yoga instruction can advertise their health benefits to aging Yoga Enthusiasts through digital advertisements. Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, these shoppers took action after receiving email ads (54.3%), ads on daily deals websites (53.9%), either receiving ads via text or seeing ads on their mobile smartphone apps (48.7%) and seeing ads in both digital and print magazines (50.7%). Don't be afraid to mix in some traditional advertisements, though. Last year, 66.2% of these consumers were driven to action by TV commercials and 38.2% were motivated by outdoor ads.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.


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