Abstract

In the last century yoga has been increasingly practised in the West. It has evolved, from its origins 5000 years in India, into a multifaceted industry with many different approaches and schools of thought about what yoga is, how it should be taught and practised and what the benefits might be. There is a large body of research related to the ways in which yoga can improve health and wellbeing and also the mechanisms for this. I advocate and teach what I call Mindful Yoga, which involves a synthesis of yoga and mindfulness. Like yoga, mindfulness has been shown to impact on health and wellbeing. Positive ageing is a growing area of concern due to increasing numbers of over 65s in our population.

I was interested in how a mindful approach to yoga might impact on ageing well. I am therefore undertaking a qualitative study over a 12 week period, gathering data to inform a framework for a 12 week mindful yoga programme aimed at positive ageing. The study participants are existing attendees of my yoga classes who are age 50 and over. I am employing action research using a constructivist approach and using thematic analysis to determine themes that will show the ways in which a mindful yoga programme affects wellbeing as we age, with a view to providing a loose framework for others to follow. I hope that such a programme will contribute to the growing and much-needed research into positive ageing.

Currently, I’m at the halfway point in my data collection and I will outline themes I have discovered so far, and how it will inform delivery of the programme going forward.