Try this exercise: Take a minute… in fact, take a few minutes to stop and observe how your mind works. Wherever you are, bring your attention to your breath. Try to follow the entire inhale and exhale. Then try to follow the next breath, and so on.
Pretty much everyone who tries this will notice their mind start to wander almost immediately, flying from one thought to another, with seemingly little order. That’s how a normal human mind generally works.
Very simply put, the practice of mindfulness is this: stopping, bringing ourselves into the current moment, and observing the activity of our minds and actions, with compassionate non-judgment, then letting the thoughts go. This last step is especially important, since our goal is only to observe and become aware of our thinking patterns—not to critique ourselves by judging the contents of our thoughts.
Over time, this type of practice has the potential to lead to insights into how our thought patterns and habits may impact (for better or worse) many emotional and physical aspects of our lives. By developing mindfulness, we can choose where to place our attention, instead of spending valuable time dwelling on things that happened in the past or worrying about what may or may not happen in the future.
By increasing our mindfulness, we can improve our safety, human relationships, and overall well-being and quality of life.
Older adults, especially, can benefit from practicing mindfulness.
Unfortunately, aging is often associated with losses in physical ability, mental acuity, social networks, and central aspects of our personal identities. Too often, these inevitable diversions keep us from seeing the one thing that we for sure have, which is the current moment.
Distractions from the moment at hand, at any given time, often place us at greater risk for injury. For example, each year about 1 out of 3 older Americans experience falls, many of which are serious and lead to hospitalizations or even death.
After a fall, many older people understandably reduce their activity levels due to fear of falling again, which then leads to further decline. It is truly a potentially vicious cycle.
The practice of being aware, moment to moment, especially when we’re in situations that involve increased physical risk, like climbing into the bathtub, maneuvering stairs in or around our homes, or walking out on icy Wyoming winter sidewalks, can significantly reduce those risks.
Developing habits of mindfulness can also reduce emotional risk when interacting with friends, colleagues, and family members in relationships that may have been wounded in the past. Mindfulness allows us to approach each interaction with a fresh perspective.
Studies on the effects of practicing mindful awareness on health and quality of life support the notion that mindfulness exercises can benefit individuals regardless of their age.
Mindfulness practices have been shown to help with depression, anxiety, mental acuity, and symptoms of pain that are often associated with age, injury, and chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.
Thirteen different studies have explored the effects of yoga on balance across various ages, including those 65 years of age and older.[1] In as little as four weeks, all studies found improvements in balance among study participants when practicing yoga three to five times a week. These studies used a variety of yoga styles, including Hatha, Vinyasa, Bikram, and Iyengar yoga.
Many fall prevention programs exist in Wyoming that incorporate exercise regimens, changes in the physical environment, and bringing awareness to change behavioral patterns to decrease the risk of accidents.
Across the state, both in centers that provide programs specifically tailored to meet the needs of older people and in community recreational settings available to residents of all ages, there are programs that offer opportunities to improve our awareness of the current moment.
For example, Laramie County Senior Services, operating in Cheyenne, offers yoga classes to improve mindful breathing and to build strength in core muscles that improve stability and balance.
The Senior Center of Jackson Hole offers Tai Chi classes, which are designed to improve awareness of our body’s movements and are centered around breathing practices. Some have described Tai Chi as “meditation in motion.”
For those less inclined to join formal classes, many of the following practices are easy to try at home!
Seated meditation: One style of seated meditation involves the use of an “anchor.” The anchor is the thing on which you try to maintain awareness. The breath is a classic anchor. For some people, however, following the breath can actually increase anxiety. If that’s the case for you, other possible anchors include feeling your feet on the floor or your hands resting in your lap, noting sounds you hear in your space, or silently repeating a mantra (e.g., I am grateful, I am at peace, or I am enough). Once you’ve chosen an anchor, find a comfortable seated position in your favorite chair. If it’s comfortable, close your eyes. Otherwise, take a soft gaze towards the floor. Then bring your awareness to your anchor. Because you are human, your mind will wander. That’s okay! As soon as you notice your mind has wandered, just bring your awareness back to your anchor. You can start with as little as two minutes, and gradually increase the time spent meditating. Ten to fifteen minutes is a good target. And no, you are not “bad at meditating” if your mind wanders. The very fact that you were aware that your mind wandered means you were meditating perfectly.
You can find a 5-minute guided seated meditation here.
Walking meditation: In walking meditation, your footsteps become your anchor. You can either bring your focus to the moving point of contact of your foot with the ground or you can add a mantra to each footstep. This could be as simple as thinking “left” when your left foot hits the ground and “right” when your right foot hits the ground. Or you can use two meaningful words for you, such as grateful, healthy, strong, happy, etc., repeating one on the left foot and one on the right foot. Just like in seated meditation, your mind will likely wander. That’s okay! Just bring your awareness back to your feet and begin again.
You can find a 5-minute guided walking meditation here.
Yoga: While learning yoga in person from a well-trained teacher is ideal to get feedback on your practice, there are many online resources for those without access to a studio. We’ve included a 20-minute practice designed to improve balance and a 20-minute practice designed to increase leg strength.
Authors: Kelly A. Grogan (kgrogan1@uwyo.edu) is an economist and associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. She has practiced yoga for about 17 years and taught yoga for 7 years.
Bernard A. Steinman (bsteinm1@uwyo.edu) is a gerontologist and associate professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. He is an ongoing practitioner and student of mindfulness meditation.
Both currently teach at the University of Wyoming in the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources.
[1] For a review of these studies, see: Bajaj P, Nagendra L, Bajaj A, Samuel M, Chandran M. Effect of yoga on balance, falls, and bone metabolism: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials in healthy individuals. Osteoporos Int. 2025 Feb;36(2):193-224. doi: 10.1007/s00198-024-07307-x. Epub 2024 Nov 28. PMID: 39607489.
(Also see this companion piece by UW Extension educator Larrisa Bonnet, Finding Your Balance, in this issue of AGE.)
The traditional image of retirement—days filled solely with leisure and relaxation—is being redefined for a growing number of older adults across the nation, Wyoming included. Many individuals are choosing, or needing, to remain in the workforce well past the “traditional” retirement age of around 65. This isn’t just a passing phenomenon, it’s a culture shift driven by economic realities, personal fulfillment, and evolving demographics.
Each spring when I teach my class on aging, I ask young students–who are usually in their early 20s–what we should call people over the age of or around 65.
I hear pretty much the same list year after year: elderly, senior citizens, aged, elders, senile and geriatrics.
© April 2025
