Starting to meditate after 60: why a live morning group helps
It is never too late to start. Many people first meditate in their sixties, and our oldest regular member is 83. Meditation will not make your brain younger, but in a large trial older adults stuck with a group practice and got better at handling attention and emotions. A live group adds what matters just as much: company.
Pause + Expand · Updated September 2026
Many people come to it later
A lot of our members meditated for the first time in their sixties. Sometimes we come to a new level of awareness later in life, when there is finally room for it.
Our oldest regular member is 83. She is there on Monday and Wednesday mornings like everyone else.
What the research says about meditation and the ageing brain
The best study so far followed 137 healthy adults aged 65 and over for 18 months. The group who meditated together each week did not show changes in the size or blood flow of the brain areas measured. But they did get better at handling their attention and emotions than a group who took a language class. And almost everyone stuck with it.
So we will not promise you a younger brain. What the research does support is steadier attention, a calmer relationship with your feelings, and a practice that older adults keep up.
Source: Chételat and others, the Age-Well Randomized Clinical Trial, JAMA Neurology, 2022
Staying connected is part of it
In its 2024 report, the Lancet Commission on dementia named social isolation as one of the risk factors people can do something about. A large Canadian study that followed more than 14,000 adults found that people who were both isolated and lonely had the lowest memory scores.
Nobody can honestly promise that any one activity protects your memory. But staying connected is one of the things researchers recommend, and a room of people you see twice a week is exactly that.
Two mornings to look forward to
For many members, especially after retirement, Monday and Wednesday give the week a purpose. There is somewhere to be, and people who are glad you came.
Sometimes just being around people in this way is what we need most at this stage of life.
Zoom is easier than it looks
It is just a link. Once you have joined once, it is simple from then on. Often all it takes is a son, a daughter or a grandchild sitting with you the first time, and then your computer is set up and ready to go.
If you are reading this for a parent, that is the gift: sit with them for the first morning.
Come as you are
Most of our older members sit in a comfortable chair and listen on their computer. Some lie down. Camera on or off is up to you, and nobody has to speak. You take part in whatever way suits you.
Also asked
- Is it too late to start meditating at 60, 70 or 80?
- No. Many of our members started in their sixties, and our oldest regular member is 83.
- Does meditation prevent dementia?
- Nobody can honestly promise that. Research shows it helps attention and emotions, and staying socially connected is one of the things researchers recommend. If you notice changes in memory, see your doctor first.
- Do I need to be good with technology?
- No. It is one link. Ask someone to sit with you the first time, and after that it is easy.
- Can I sit in a chair?
- Yes. Most of our older members sit in a comfortable chair and listen on their computer.