Yoga for fear of falling: rebuilding confidence in later life

Comparisons and follow-up help you choose a realistic goal

Another exercise can have an advantage on an outcome that matters to you. A quasi-experimental study involving 20 women aged 60–70 randomly allocated participants to yoga or square-stepping exercise, a form of stepping practice. Both groups were assessed before and after 12 weeks. Static balance favored yoga, whereas dynamic balance and fear of falling favored square stepping.[13] The result makes the goal of exercise central to the choice, rather than assuming one activity must win on every measure.

The investigators used the stork test, which assesses holding a one-legged position, for static balance. Dynamic balance was assessed with the Berg Balance Test, and fear with the Falls Efficacy Scale International. For the between-group fear comparison, the reported effect size was η² = 0.396 and p = 0.003; fear was significantly lower in the square-stepping group.[13] In this comparison, yoga favored static balance while square stepping favored dynamic balance and fear of falling.

The distinction between holding a position and being confident about movement gives the findings practical meaning. Someone may primarily want to work on steadiness in a held position. Someone else may be most concerned about worry during activity. The study’s different results across outcomes encourage a discussion of that priority.[13] They also give families a useful alternative to debating whether yoga is “good” in general. Ask which difficulty the chosen program is intended to address.

Bartos and colleagues also assessed falls-related self-efficacy, but the published summary does not report the amount of improvement in that measure. Their physical-function and quality-of-life findings are covered in the companion balance-and-falls feature.[14] Including a psychological measure in a study is useful, yet the particular reported result still determines what can be said about it. For this article’s question, the direct fear comparison in the square-stepping study is more informative than filling in an unreported figure elsewhere.

Time after a program ends is another important part of the evidence. In the general exercise review, 4 studies following participants for less than 6 months after the intervention produced an effect size of 0.17, with a 95% confidence interval of −0.05–0.38. For follow-up at 6 months or longer, 3 studies produced an effect size of 0.20, with an interval of −0.01–0.41. Neither longer-term result was statistically significant.[2] The evidence of improvement immediately after exercise and the evidence about persistence therefore differ.

The review found few trials with a low risk of bias. Many studies came from high-income countries, including 8 from Australia and 7 from the United States.[2] The large combined participant count gives a broad view of exercise research, while the study quality limits certainty. Its conclusion calls for high-quality trials to strengthen the evidence. For a reader in Tokyo, it is useful to retain both the encouraging immediate finding and this request for better research, instead of letting either erase the other.

The yoga-specific integrative review similarly reported psychological and physical benefits, including reductions in anger, anxiety and fear of falling, and gains in well-being, self-efficacy, strength and balance. Its 6 randomized trials involved community-dwelling older adults, most commonly using hatha yoga, with good acceptance and adherence.[5] It also called for longer interventions and follow-up. Being willing to continue a program and retaining benefits after it finishes are related practical concerns, but they remain different research questions.

The comparisons involving 20 women and 26 nursing-home residents describe small groups in particular circumstances.[11][13] Their findings are useful starting points for discussing options, including an option other than yoga. A pleasant experience with yoga can be part of your decision, and choosing another suitable exercise can serve the same goal of addressing worry. The research supports a focused conversation about what you want to change, rather than loyalty to a particular label.

A study can include fearful people without reporting fear relief

A randomized controlled trial followed 56 community-dwelling adults aged 60–80 with balance impairment or fear of falling over 12 weeks. Both occupational therapy alone and occupational therapy with yoga improved balance and gait scores; added yoga produced larger gains in several components. The published summary did not report a change in fear-of-falling scores.[18] The companion balance-and-falls feature covers the physical findings. Here the relevant distinction is between including people with fear and demonstrating relief of that fear.

Common misconceptions

“You have never fallen, so there is nothing to worry about” misses the concern itself. The background to the YOFEAR protocol states that older adults can experience fear whether or not they have a history of falling.[10] If someone is avoiding a movement because they are worried, their fall history does not finish the conversation. A family member can ask what they avoid and what feels difficult, instead of using the absence of a previous fall to close the subject.

Fear is also more than a failure of willpower. A discussion of falls describes a pathway in which fear after a fall restricts activity and contributes to physical deconditioning.[8] Telling someone simply to stop worrying leaves that pattern unaddressed. Naming the reason for avoiding activity helps establish a purpose for suitable practice: is the concern about supporting the body, about fatigue, or about a particular movement? The person’s answer can make a consultation more concrete.

“Better balance means the fear must have gone” merges two outcomes. The Iyengar pilot trial reported changes in standing and mobility, while the square-stepping comparison favored different activities for static balance and fear.[13][15] A physical gain can be welcome even when the person still feels uncertain. Asking about that uncertainty gives it a place in the assessment of progress. It does not diminish the physical achievement; it identifies what remains important to the participant.

A further misconception is that difficult postures are the route to overcoming fear. The studies reporting changes in fear included a program combining preparatory movement, postures, breathing and meditation, and a nursing-home hatha yoga program.[1][11] They provide no explanation that mastering difficult poses produced the fear reduction. The more useful goal is participation in suitable practice and attention to the outcomes the person values.

Do not make difficult poses homework for someone who is afraid of falling.

The research assesses movement and concern after participation in programs.[1][11][15] For a reader returning to exercise, expressing a difficulty and choosing something manageable can be a meaningful starting point. For family members, that means supporting the conversation about appropriate participation rather than urging a parent to copy someone else’s posture. Confidence can be discussed honestly without turning the class into a test of courage.

What you can do today

• After checking suitability with your doctor or instructor, consider supervised yoga twice a week for 12 weeks, the frequency and duration used in the standing-posture pilot trial. If you feel unsteady, establish whether standing practice is suitable before attempting it. Do not keep going through pain.[15]
• As an alternative to the first plan, consider 12 weeks of preparatory movement, postures, breathing and meditation, at a suitable frequency agreed with your doctor or instructor. Start within 1–3 sessions a week, the most common range in the mixed exercise review rather than a yoga-specific schedule; the yoga study supplies the program composition and duration.[1][2]
• With a family member if helpful, note which movements felt manageable and which felt frightening before starting, during practice and after 12 weeks. This is a reflection plan informed by studies assessing participants during a program and at 12 weeks, rather than a home diagnostic test.[10][11]
• If you have a chronic condition or take medication, consult your doctor before beginning. This includes people receiving care for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or osteoporosis. Ask whether exercise is appropriate and what suits your condition. Tell the instructor about movements that increase fear or positions requiring support, and avoid forcing them.

A weekly place to practise with confidence at On the Shore Tachikawa

When fear of falling makes movement feel daunting, a fixed weekly time to keep moving can give your practice a place in the calendar. On the Shore Tachikawa (オンザショア立川店) opens every day from 8:00 to 23:30. It is a 1-minute walk from JR Tachikawa Station’s North Exit, at 3F Etoile Bldg, 2-14-10 Akebonocho, Tachikawa, Tokyo.

Older guests should start with room-temperature yoga. Anyone sensitive to heat or with a chronic condition should check with their doctor first. Guests who have been told by a doctor not to exercise cannot join. Pregnant guests cannot participate in lava-stone hot yoga.

Many of our yoga instructors speak English, and the studio’s owner often helps guests from the US bases in English herself. The lava-stone hot yoga studio has more than 25 kinds of yoga lessons, including room-temperature yoga. It also offers Pilates, women-only kickboxercise, boxercise, HIIT and personal training. A 60-minute trial yoga lesson costs ¥1,980 including tax, with rental of 2 bath towels, 1 face towel and a yoga mat. Read the studio information, check prices and choose a date through trial booking.

References

1. Effect of Yoga Practices on Postural Stability, Fall Risk, and Psychological Wellbeing in Older Adults — S. Shete et al., 2026, Geriatrics. DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics11010016

2. Exercise for reducing fear of falling in older people living in the community: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. — Arun Kumar et al., 2016, Age and ageing. DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afw036

3. Yoga Interventions Involving Older Adults: Integrative Review. — Nancy Martens, 2022, Journal of gerontological nursing. DOI: 10.3928/00989134-20220110-05

4. Does yoga reduce the risk of falls in older people? — G. Tew et al., 2020, BMJ. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3246

5. Effect of yoga on balance, falls, and bone metabolism: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials in healthy individuals — P. Bajaj et al., 2024, Osteoporosis International. DOI: 10.1007/s00198-024-07307-x

6. Yoga therapy on elderly patients with fear of fall: an open-label randomised controlled trial (YOFEAR trial) — Kritartha Kashyap et al., 2023, BMJ Open. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070540

7. The Effects of Hatha Yoga and Specific Balance Exercises in Older Adults Living in Nursing Homes — S. di Fronso et al., 2021, journal not specified. DOI: 10.26773/smj.210618

8. Comparison of Memory, Balance and Fear of Falling in Older Women After Performing Yoga and Square-stepping Exercises — M. Eskandari, 2024, Salmand. DOI: 10.32598/sija.2023.3632.1

9. Effectiveness of Yoga versus Exercise for Reducing Falling Risk in Older Adults: Physical and Psychological Indices — L. Bartos et al., 2022, Perceptual and Motor Skills. DOI: 10.1177/00315125221100820

10. A 12-week Iyengar yoga program improved balance and mobility in older community-dwelling people: a pilot randomized controlled trial. — A. Tiedemann et al., 2013, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glt087

11. Effectiveness of Yoga along with Occupational Therapy Intervention on Balance and Gait in Older Adults — P. Bhama et al., 2025, International Journal of Health Sciences and Research. DOI: 10.52403/ijhsr.20250621

Cover photo: Stairs and handrails on the esplanade outside the Fukuoka Art Museum. (Photo: Hirho / CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons)

Information as of October 2026. For your own health, consult a doctor.

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