If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best yoga wheel for seniors is, then I’d recommend the Chirp Yoga Wheel as the best one.
Seniors need equipment and routines that are suitable for their current lifestyle and abilities.
Yoga wheels are low-impact workout tools that are great for seniors. For this article, we’ve reviewed countless yoga wheels in search of the best yoga wheel for seniors.
Here are the top five we encountered, plus great information about yoga wheels and their benefits.
Here are the top yoga wheels we’ll be reviewing:
- Prosource Fit Yoga Wheel
- Gonex Yoga Wheel
- Yogi Bare Yoga Stretching Wheel
- Tranquil Yogi Yoga Wheel
- Chirp Yoga Wheel Back Pain Bundle
Benefits of a Yoga Wheel for Seniors
Yoga wheels offer a lot of benefits for amateur to advanced yogis, but these benefits are greatly enhanced for seniors.
While there are many seniors who are more in shape than the average adolescent, the average senior needs a little more support when it comes to exercises like yoga.
The yoga wheel fits that bill. Here are a few of the more obvious benefits of a yoga wheel for seniors.
Balance and Stability
It’s a fact of life that as we age, our balance and stability can take a hit. Practicing yoga helps with that, but seniors may still need some help in this area.
The yoga wheel provides stability support through yoga poses. This makes it easier for seniors to keep their balance, especially during the more challenging poses.
Strength
Another area that can take a hit as we age is strength. Scientifically speaking, our muscles tend to degrade over time as we age.
This doesn’t mean that seniors are weak. There are some seniors out there that could give a young gym rat a run for their money.
However, it’s still a fact that our muscles get old just like the rest of our bodies.
For seniors who aren’t superhuman, the yoga wheel allows them to do poses that would otherwise take a lot of strength that they simply don’t have anymore.
This way, they aren’t missing out on anything, but they also aren’t struggling to get through a yoga session.
Movement
Mobility tends to be a big concern in the senior community. Many people just don’t move like they used to once they hit a certain age.
A round wheel is great to help seniors “roll in” to certain positions. It’s also instrumental in rolling back out of the position.
Solo Exercising
For seniors, exercising with a yoga wheel could be like exercising with a partner for all the reasons stated above.
A yoga wheel can help a senior move around better, stay balanced, and avoid falling or not being able to get up. The risk of injury is reduced making it safer for a senior to do yoga alone.
Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of a yoga wheel for seniors, it’s time to move on to choosing the best yoga wheel.
If you thought you could just pick an affordable one and be done with it – think again.
There are some differences among them that will determine which one is the best yoga wheel for your situation.
Choosing a Yoga Wheel
When choosing the best yoga wheel, there are some qualities that you should pay close attention to.
Some of these qualities may not matter to you but others could be everything. Here is a list of all considerations, and you can pick out the ones that are most important to you.
Size
A typical yoga wheel is going to be about 12 inches in diameter. However, one size does not fit all, so you’ll be able to find a variety of sizes on the market.
You may even be able to find yoga wheel sets with multiple sizes in one package. For seniors with mobility concerns, a smaller wheel may be a safer option.
Surface
Yoga wheels can have a smooth, flat surface, a grooved surface, a wavy surface, a bumpy surface, and much more.
Typically, anything that’s not a smooth or flat surface is meant for some type of therapeutic use such as body massages.
These massages can feel amazing but depending on the quality of the wheel as well as your body’s sensitivity, they can also hurt!
If you want a massage, go for it. If not, stick with a smooth surface.
Active seniors can benefit greatly from a good, deep back massage.
Material
Yoga wheels can be made from foam, rubber, cork, plastic, wood, and more. All these materials can be acceptable if the wheel has some type of PVC base that keeps it from buckling under pressure.
Foam and cork are a lot more comfortable than the other materials, so these may be the best yoga wheel materials for seniors.
Weight Limit
Most typical yoga wheels can hold hundreds of pounds, sometimes even half a ton. However, this is also dependent upon quality and size. Make sure you check the weight limit of a wheel before you buy it to be on the safe side.
The Best Yoga Wheel for Seniors: Top 5 Picks
If you’re short on time and looking for the top yoga wheels, you’re in luck! We’ve looked through quite a bit of yoga wheels to identify the best yoga wheels for seniors. Here they are:
Prosource Fit Yoga Wheel
If you’re looking for a great, budget-priced option, the Prosource Fit Yoga Wheel is an excellent choice.
Despite being a lower-priced wheel, it supports up to 500 pounds, the most of almost all the wheels on the list.
It also has a lifetime warranty so you can relax knowing you don’t have to worry about any defects from your purchase.
The wheel is a standard size of 12″ x 5″. The surface is smooth and it’s available in three strikingly bold color combinations. The 1/4″ (6.4 mm) padding is made from a thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) material which is essentially a mix of plastic and rubber.
The wheel is made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), an injection-molded plastic known for its incredible strength.
This will give seniors the ultimate stability they need while doing yoga. ABS is also abrasion-resistant so you don’t have to worry about it getting scratched up.
This wheel has more pros than cons, but one thing to be aware of is that the padding is a little thin. This could cause it to be a bit uncomfortable for unskilled seniors.
Pros
- Three great colors to choose from
- ABS is incredibly strong
- Very affordable
Cons
- TPE material tends to fray easily
- Padding is thin
Gonex Yoga Wheel
The Gonex Yoga Wheel is a nice fit for seniors because it has a thicker cushion.
The TPE cushion is 2/5″ thick (10 mm) which prevents your back from pressing against the hard polypropylene (PP) material. PP isn’t quite as strong as ABS which is why this wheel has a maximum weight limit of 330 pounds, but it is impact and moisture resistant.
If you stay within the weight limit, you can flex and sweat all you want to without damaging it.
The Gonex Yoga Wheel’s diameter is 13″ and it’s 5″ wide, only slightly bigger than the previous wheel.
However, that inch of extra diameter can make a difference for seniors that have mobility or flexibility issues. It can be a little more comfortable with a larger diameter wheel.
Pros
- Three colors to choose from
- Extra wide diameter
- Thick padding
Cons
- PP material used for frame instead of ABS
- No warranty available
Yogi Bare Yoga Stretching Wheel
The Yogi Bare Yoga Wheel is remarkably similar in design to the previous yoga wheel. However, the support material is made from ABS making it the stronger wheel of the two.
The wheel is a 13″ X 5″ size, and it supports up to 330 pounds. The cushioning, made from TPE, is 2/5″ thick (10 mm) so it’s good for cushioning a senior’s back from the ABS.
It’s strong, durable, and the padding has a no-slip traction design for even more support.
The wheel comes in four different color/design combinations. One of them is an interesting cork design. The padding has a thin cork overlay on the outside and the ABS is printed with a cork-like design on the inside.
Cork can be an amazingly comfortable material to flex on. The other colors don’t have a cork overlay but two of them have very artistic designs on the inside part of the ABS.
Pros
- Interesting designs and patterns
- Cork overlay on one of the wheels
- Thick padding
- Made from sustainably sourced material
Cons
- Not sturdy enough for standing poses
Tranquil Yogi Yoga Wheel
If you like a more “upscale” look to your yoga wheel, the Tranquil Yogi Yoga Wheel is a good choice. It comes in two color/style combinations.
One is all black with rubber padding and the other has a cork overlay on the rubber padding. Both have the Tranquil logo and design printed on the inside of the wheel in a cork color. It’s a very sophisticated look.
The wheel measures a standard 12″ x 5″ size. Although the manufacturer doesn’t state a specific weight limit, the best bet is to go with the lower weight limit of 330 pounds to be on the safe side.
The wheel gets consistently great reviews and is made with precision.
Pros
- Elegant, sophisticated design
- Very sturdy and good for standing poses
Cons:
- Expensive compared to others
- Manufacturer doesn’t give weight limit
Chirp Yoga Wheel Back Pain Bundle
If you’re looking for a great value, the Chirp Yoga Wheel Back Pain Bundle gives you that. It comes with three different sizes of yoga wheels.
For seniors, this is convenient because if one is too much for them to handle, they can just pull out the smaller wheel.
The wheel sizes are 12″ x 5″, 10″ x 5″, and 6″ x 5″. The large wheel is for gentle pressure, the medium wheel is for medium pressure, and the small wheel is for a deep tissue massage.
One of the things that make this set great for seniors is the fact that it has a built-in spinal canal on each wheel.
This allows for less pressure on the bones which can be beneficial to seniors who may be a little more fragile when it comes to bone health.
The Chirp wheels has an ABS injection-molded core that can support up to 500 pounds each. They all have extra thick padding for comfort.
Plus, the bundle comes with a storage bag and an upper back posture corrector. It’s a great kit with everything you’d need as far as yoga wheels.
Overall, it’s a great package for active seniors dealing with back pain and are looking for some relief and watch to be able to stretch their back.
Pros
- Made from high-quality, durable material.
- Comes with a handy storage bag that has a strap for carrying.
- Holds a lot of weight making it great to stand on.
- Manufactured in the U.S.
Cons
- It’s a bit pricey.
Final Thoughts
If you thought a yoga wheel is a yoga wheel, hopefully this information changed your mind.
Sure, they’re all round, but the quality varies so much from brand to brand that you really should aim for the best yoga wheel you can find.
All the yoga wheels on this list are amazing products, but the Chirp Wheels are the best of the best.
The founder of Chirp had one mission – create a better yoga wheel than all the others on the market.
He met that mission with flying colors. They have thicker padding than the others, higher-quality materials, and better construction.
Plus, it has a unique design like no other wheel on the market that can really benefit the delicate back of a senior.
Chirp is the best yoga wheel, but it’s understandable if budget pushes you to another wheel. No matter which one you choose, you’ll be getting a great yoga wheel.
