Malchia Olshan took her first yoga class in 1967, when she was raising a family in White Plains, N.Y., and recalls needing "something to help me keep my head on straight." Over the years, she says, yoga became her "secret weapon," turning her hot flashes into "cool breezes," keeping her aging body strong and supple and even improving her swimming so that she clocks faster times today than she did back in high school.

But one of best benefits of yoga is that "it impresses my grandchildren," says the 67-year-old grandmother of three who now lives in Ojai, Calif. "My grandson Martin was so impressed with my handstand that he invited me to his kindergarten class for Show and Tell so his friends could see Grandma stand on her head."

Olshan is one of a growing number of older adults who credit yoga with helping them stay healthy as they age. As the popularity of the 4,000-year-old discipline has boomed in this country--attracting celebrities such as Madonna, Raquel Welch and Jerry Seinfeld--more seniors are taking classes to combat the effects of aging.

As Bodies Age
"The accepted view of aging is that it's a process of stiffening, rigidity and closing down," says yoga instructor Suza Francina, who specializes in classes and workshops for people over 50 at her Ojai Yoga Center in California. "But that's because most Americans don't get proper exercise, so their bodies contract with age and they lose height, strength and flexibility."