--- title: Yoga and Music Relaxation: Anxiety and Depression in Older Adults description: For adults with anxiety and depression, relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, massage and progressive muscle relaxation are effective canonical: https://time.com/3834499/yoga-elderly-depression/ author: Mandy Oaklander article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-24T17:13:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:21.243Z article:section: Health og:title: Yoga and Music Relaxation: Anxiety and Depression in Older Adults og:description: For adults with anxiety and depression, relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, massage and progressive muscle relaxation are effective og:url: https://time.com/3834499/yoga-elderly-depression/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bc987ff3e48a595/6987ecb806f2c1a7f1337e72/old-yoga.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: old-yoga og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Yoga and Music Relaxation: Anxiety and Depression in Older Adults twitter:description: For adults with anxiety and depression, relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, massage and progressive muscle relaxation are effective twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bc987ff3e48a595/6987ecb806f2c1a7f1337e72/old-yoga.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Yoga Helps Older Adults Battle Depression and Anxiety > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=562c47e8-ecc1-4507-9a6e-555d6803b2d2&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: We Tried This: Aerial Vinyasa Yoga [Watch (HLS stream): We Tried This: Aerial Vinyasa Yoga](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/68PN7sJl.m3u8) (1:28)  _Published 2012-08-20. A total body workout while you hang from a hammock._  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Apr 24, 2015 5:13 PM UTC  Older Caucasian woman practicing yoga Older Caucasian woman practicing yoga Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Apr 24, 2015 5:13 PM UTC For many older adults, the thought of stepping into a yoga class swarming with yogis more flexible than Gumby might provoke anxiety. But the practice itself may be just the antidote the over-60 set needs, suggests a recent [review](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13607863.2014.997191?journalCode=camh20#) of studies about relaxation exercises. Those who did yoga and other calming activities saw greater reductions in their anxiety and depression than people who didn’t. The body of literature on yoga’s relaxation benefits spans all kinds of people, but the authors thought adults aged 60 and older deserved their own analysis. Up to 40% of older adults report anxiety, they note, and anywhere from 15-20% of the elderly experience depression. So in the review published in the journal _Aging & Mental Health_, researchers scrutinized 15 studies—12 of them randomized controlled trials—from the past two decades that looked at different methods of relaxation. They gauged the effectiveness of six techniques: yoga, listening to music, tensing and relaxing different groups of muscles, massage therapy and stress management training. **MORE**: [Is Bikram Yoga Safe?](http://time.com/3831712/bikram-yoga-safety/) The most effective ways to alleviate depression were yoga, the music intervention and the muscle tensing and relaxing exercise—called PMRT, for progressive muscle relaxation training. The music and yoga interventions were the best for anxiety. Yoga had the strongest staying power. Positive effects from the stretching, breathing and meditation exercises stuck around six months later in older adults. “It could help counterbalance the negative effects of ageing, improve physical functioning, postpone disability, decrease morbidity and mortality, stimulate the mind, and increase hope, reducing the risk of anxiety and depression,” the study authors write. **MORE**: [15 Ways Exercise Makes You Look and Feel Younger](http://time.com/3761592/exercise-look-younger/) And good vibes from PMRT lasted 14 weeks after the intervention ended. “It is believed that the PMRT has a tranquilising effect, triggers a sense of peacefulness, helps participants retreat mentally from their problem and curtails negative thoughts, reducing depressive symptoms,” the authors write. The most effective intervention, of course, is the one you enjoy doing—and these results suggest that it’s never too late to find your favorite way to unwind. ## Transcript [00:04] [ MUSIC ] This is [00:09] Aerial Vinasa. Using the strength of your thighs to [00:11] control. A type of fusion yoga that combines traditional [00:15] Vinyasa Yoga, with the art of aerial dance. [ MUSIC ] [00:20] One of the things about the hammocks is that you're [00:21] gonna be using muscles in different ways than you [00:23] would in your regular Vinyasa class. And exhale right. [00:27] I'm Alexandra Sifferlin for Time. I decided to visit the [00:30] OM Factory in Manhattan, and see how these [00:33] hammocks add to the yoga experience. So say for a [00:37] warrior three pose, right, which is usually a challenge [00:40] for a lot of people. So with the hammocks we can [00:43] actually use it as a tool to stabilize the upper body and [00:46] that way we can work on squaring the hips towards the [00:49] ground. This fusion still maintains the basic [00:53] elements of Vinyasa Yoga, letting your breath guide the [00:55] movement. And as you exhale, just release, sink into [00:59] the fabric and let it help you stretch. The result [01:03] is better controlled movements as you strengthen your [01:06] core muscles. Pull yourself all the way up to stand. And [01:10] as I discovered, using a hammock adds one very [01:12] important element to a yoga class. In a regular yoga [01:16] class sometimes you forget to have fun and to smile, [01:19] and the hammock really brings out the kid, in, in the [01:22] yogi. You guys are troopers. I like it. 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