I have made a commitment to do one yoga pose, each day (six days per week), for one year. Holding myself accountable by writing about it on my twitter feed (@smarton_health, #1pose1day1year). I need to work on flexibility and balance. One loses balance/flexibility with every decade of aging. Lack of balance contributes to falls in old age. Definitely a concern especially if one lives alone. Let’s not use that life alert button shall we? Yoga seems to be the ticket for working on these things.
I’m drawn to Ashtanga because it’s vigorous movement and gives you great cardio. Sadly, it’s contraindicated for me. I’m fragile and tend to get injured. A lot. 
Iyengar style with its emphasis on precision and correctness and holding poses to build strength is probably what I need. All that and there are remedial variations for those of us with issues.
I’ve practiced yoga intermittently and half-assedly for almost two decades. I’m 48. The earlier I get consistent, the better I’ll be when I’m (with luck) in my 90s. I think consistency is better than volume when it comes to adding a new habit into my life. So I challenged myself last fall to doing one single sun salutation six days per week for a year. I did pretty well in 2019. Many months with consistent runs of 4 times per week or more. Quite a few stretches of 6 times per week. I never hit perfection on my goals. That’s ok. It’s called practice for a reason. I track stuff to keep myself honest. A sticky note on a calendar for each day I do a thing motivates me. I can give myself credit whenever I practice a habit. Looking back on a calendar full of gold stars feels awesome. I’m such a first grader.
This year I have chosen tadasana — mountain pose — for my daily practice. My posture absolutely sucks. I have some serious structural imbalances. Changing how you hold yourself after a lifetime of keeping your body in a certain position will likely take the rest of your life. And it means some poses will be extra challenging and uncomfortable, perhaps painful. One should never hold oneself in pain! The FBI calls it a clue that you should be doing a remedial pose or an easier variation.
Asanas (Sanskrit for pose) are also a form of spiritual work. I recall reading some guru who said that an entire yoga practice can be contained in tadasana. There is pranayama (breathing practice) involved as well as meditation while holding the pose. The guru meant the “entire practice” in a physical sense. The pose works on every muscle.
Today I did the work. I held it for a full minute. I’m impatient and want to get on with it so I can get my tick on the tracker and move on to starting work for the day. Launching the coaching practices is constantly in my thoughts and my resistant mind provides excuses like “you should be working on priorities” and “this is boring I have better and more exciting things to do.”
But my aches and pains remind me that yoga is necessary and non-negotiable in my day. We’ll see how successful I am in keeping that commitment to self-care in 2020.
You’re so right about the idea that loss of balance contributes to senior falls. I had thought bone density degradation was to blame, but when my mom took a spill last year, I learned otherwise. Love this sentiment. We’ve got our own medical alert now, but we’re working together to rebuild some balance and stabilizing muscles.
That’s great you’ve got a practice and share it with your mom. I think the medic alert is a good idea, not just for seniors but for anybody who lives alone. I’m lucky I’ve never hurt myself badly when I’m by myself but I’ve had enough drive-myself-to-urgent-care trips to know it would be nicer to call for help.