Yoga and ageing - Part 1

Do you believe you are too inflexible to do yoga, has that been stopping you trying, or maybe you think you are too old to start something new? 

Read through the following blog(s) and perhaps I can get you to reconsider.

Many people start yoga for fitness and to increase flexibility and although these two goals can be achieved through yoga there is a myriad of other benefits to the practice. Yoga allows you to become much more aware of your body, how it works, perhaps where it needs a bit more attention and how to be kind to it. Yoga gives you permission to have space to be yourself in a safe environment. 

Many people have said to me they can’t do yoga as they are too inflexible, but that is precisely why they should do yoga! In fact those who are hyper-flexible need to be careful when practicing yoga that they don’t “hang-out” in their joints as overtime that can result in injury and possibly pain.

All yoga poses (asanas) can be modified to your personal needs and abilities based on how you might feel on the day, your degree of flexibility, any injuries that you may have or limitations due to medical conditions. Various props, such as blocks, straps and blankets are often used in class to aid people to come into an alignment that suits their bodies. 

My personal yoga practice did not start until I was 50 years old and I certainly don’t intend to stop. Yes, I can touch my toes, but I can’t do some of the more “pretzel-like” poses you see on the internet, and actually have no need or desire to either. In many cases that ability to come into some of these more contortionist looking asanas is dependent on the structure of your skeleton as well as your muscles, ligaments, tendons and facia layers in the body. Yoga for me is about being comfortable in my body, being able to move in the way I want without restrictions or pain, moving mindfully through a series of asanas being connected with my breath in an almost mediative state. 

“Yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s about what you learn on the way down.”  Judith Lasate