Younger Days

From my first lesson in 1971, I was in love with yoga. I was good at the postures and that boosted my enjoyment of them and my confidence.

When I got around to doing a yoga teacher training and then started to teach, I thought I was special because I could perform some of the advanced postures. My students admired my headstands and backbends, as well as my flexibility, strength and stamina.

In the mid-eighties, I dared to open a yoga school. The other teachers and I mainly taught the physical side of yoga–the postures. It would be years before I made use of the other tools of yoga. That motivation was the result of doing my second teacher training. I studied yoga breathing, yoga nidra, restorative yoga, ayurveda, and even did a course in something called esoteric yoga physiology. (Don’t ask.)

More years went by before I studied a vital part of yoga, the ‘Yoga Sutra of Patanjali’; I’d decided it was time to study the philosophy that was underpinning yoga. I did this over an intense nine-month period, sitting at my computer, pouring over 9 different interpretations of Patanjali’s 196 pithy sayings (sutra). I wouldn’t allow myself to go to bed until I had written a blog post that revealed my understanding of what I had studied that day. This created a body of work and if you would like to visit my collection of these posts click here.

I’m sure there’s much more to learn over the next years from the vast field of yoga. And I’m thankful in no small part to yoga that I may have enough years to keep on learning.

Old Age

Now, however, as an older person, I have other needs that aren’t always covered by yoga.

• More than tree pose and half moon pose, I need to apply myself to all aspects of balancing.
• I need to learn new movements so I don’t fall into routine patterns of body/mind use. 
• Coordination exercises are a form of brain training for me.
• Strength training.
• I need more rest! (Yoga does offer effective tools with restorative yoga, yoga nidra and pranayama.)

Let me speak of the need for strengthening first.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. This condition showed up in bone density testing as a decrease in the amount and thickness of my bone tissue. In the future, my bones may become increasingly weak and vulnerable to fractures. It surprised me to find out that one of the risk factors for osteoporosis is being slim. Because of my low weight, I have less bone mass to draw on than a heavy person, and less of the mechanical loading which strengthens bones.

I’ve never been one to yield entirely to a simple drug solution. My doctors recommended twice-yearly Prolia injections to help strengthen my bones by preventing the breakdown of bone. Besides submitting to the advice and the Prolia injections, I decided to boost my understanding of managing osteoporosis by finding out what I could do for myself. I discovered an exercise system called Buff Bones, and last year did two on-line trainings which qualified me as a BB instructor.

The courses are informed by Pilates exercises. Despite the popularity and effectiveness of this core strengthening work, I had never done a Pilates class. I’ve come to enjoy this core work as well as another part of the BB program which suggests the use small hand weights.

A major problem that people of my age experience is the atrophy of muscle mass and strength. This is a condition called medical sarcopenia. While I’ve never had a doctor’s diagnosis, it’s obvious to me that I have lost muscle strength over the recent years. It’s harder to open jars, lift the full kettle after the water’s boiled, and these days, I’d rather carry just one bag of groceries up a flight of stairs than all three at once.My stiff wrists have me locked out of doing several yoga poses I used to shine in, such as, handstands and the ‘wheel’ backbend (urdhva dhanurasana).

I’m finding weight training is beneficial for me on all counts, and I like it anyway. I’ve always been a physically-oriented person. It’s what drew me to yoga in the first place. But now, I’m doing dead lift squats, overhead presses and split stance squats with weights, and more, Planks, front and side, even cat/cow, and long-held dog poses, spread through a yoga program, can be tolerated by and are advantageous for us oldies in yoga classes.

On my Yoga With Eve Grzybowski youtube channel, you can find themed classes. Here’s one that emphasizes some of the elements older students need, and this one, in particular, core-strengthening:

In the next installment of Yoga Isn’t Everything Part 2 , I’ll write about the importance of movement.

As always, I’d love to hear any of your comments and experiences relating to being the age you are.