Month: June 2016

Yoga to Slow Down the Aging Process

Posted on June 25, 2016 Updated on July 13, 2016

According to Jo, after 30+ years of building her own personal practice, she’s learned that yoga addresses every injury—physical and emotional—that you have experienced in your life, and it will positively affect every aspect of your life if you allow it to! And if you’re just beginning to practice yoga, there are plenty of resources to help you build your practice and realize the abundance of benefits. Yoga classes are widely available in studios, YMCAs, churches, and senior resource centers.

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As you continue to practice yoga, you will be doing something wonderful for body, mind, and spirit. A regular practice gives your wellness an ongoing boost:

Your balance will be increased.
Your joints will be stretched and strengthened.
You learn to breathe more deeply and mindfully.
You’ll learn how to pay attention to your body.
You’ll discover how to focus your thoughts on the present moment.

For bodies who come to the mat with stiffness and aches and pains, gentle guidance is available. Here’s your go-to resource for yogis in their 40s, 50s, and beyond: Lilias Folan’s book, Lilias! Yoga Gets Better with Age.

The book highlights what she calls “yin” yoga, a special technique to adapt traditional asanas to maturing bodies. She says, “Yoga emphasizes the doing and the practice. It can be adapted to fit every body, no matter what size, shape, age or physical condition. ALL ARE WELCOME.”

Attending classes will help you learn the basic poses, and books—especially books with plenty of large photos like Folan’s book—can show you some new poses. Your practice will build over time as you learn different ways to move and stretch, and your body will teach you that each session is unique. The important thing is to get on the mat regularly.

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This entry was posted in Resources, Top Ten Reasons to Practice Yoga.

Yoga to Tone from Head to Toe

Posted on June 9, 2016 Updated on June 22, 2016

To the casual observer, yoga is a gentle movement, a series of stretches. But to the practicing yogi, yoga postures, or asanas, are so much more than a simple stretch.

Yoga soothes and strengthens the back and firms, tones, and sculpts the entire body from head to toe. As you move through the poses being cued, you’ll use your big muscles for full body bends and stretches as well as many smaller muscles you may not think about day to day. With regular practice, whether you attend classes or build a home yoga practice, you will work every muscle in your body.

A full sequence of yoga asanas strives to work all sides of the body equally, with the goal of bringing balance from front to back and left to right. Yoga allows us to build strength by engaging particular muscle groups while keeping the mind relaxed and the breath flowing. We tone and sculpt the muscles by adding intelligent mindful movement. And we challenge ourselves to the point of fatigue but never pain.

A well-rounded asana practice consists of an equal number of forward, backward, and side-to-side stretches and at least one each of the following:

A warm-up pose
A balance pose
A spinal twist
An inversion
A back-bending pose
Deep breathing
A cooldown pose
Relaxation and meditation

Most poses work a range of muscles, engaging more than one muscle group and opening up a range of motion. Learn how to work at your own pace, modifying the poses to meet the needs of your body that day. You’ll always have the opportunity to spice up the pose with modifications.

Over time you’ll be able to challenge yourself in new and surprising ways and increase your endurance, strength, and flexibility. And you’ll experience the myriad other mental and emotional benefits of a yoga practice.