I’m very interested in experiences like @mathmom’s with over stretching or slight injury. I had private yoga sessions several years ago, but stopped because I was afraid of injury. I felt my instructor was pushing me too far - I’m reasonably athletic and flexible, but muscles aged 50 plus don’t always react the way younger muscles do and I felt the instructor wasn’t conscious of my age and need for a slower learning sequence (she had me doing headstands). I think I would enjoy a class as some have described - modified poses, etc. Has anyone else had those age related concerns? Should I look for a class advertised for seniors?
A good yoga teacher does not “push.” Rather students are encouraged to do what is “available” to them, meaning what their bodies are capable of at that time. Also the teacher usually will show the class a “modified” pose for those that can not do the full pose.
I am going on two years of Iyengar yoga with a private instructor (she comes to my home). We spend substantial time in each pose, working on stretching and getting deeper each time. She continues to increase the difficulty according to my own ability. I started two mornings a week and about a year ago, changed to three mornings a week. I had severe back/hip issues that were progressively getting worse and had not responded to chiropracty, acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy, Rolfing, etc. Seriously, I felt I had tried everything. Some of it was brought on by being too sedentary, but of course the worse the pain got, the more sedentary I became. Yoga has changed my life. I used to be unable to bend over to put my shoes/boots on, unable to sleep through the night, had severe pain and limitation of movement upon getting out of bed, sitting, any static position. Now I bounce out of bed and have NO limitation of any physical movement. I know that private isn’t available to everyone…but I do think that almost everyone should be able to find a small class with a good instructor who will go at your own pace. I had taken classes, but Power Yoga is NOT for me, Bikram is NOT for me. I just kept looking until I found the perfect fit. It truly feels like a miracle! I am a 56 year old woman.
I do yoga. I fell into it: it was a terrible day out and the yoga teacher wouldn’t be paid for her class if 2 people weren’t there so the GM asked me to go. I loved it and hit it off with the yoga teacher. This may be a little long but I think about this fairly often.
- I lift weights. Often quite heavy weights (for my age and size - I'm not a behemoth). Doing that requires focus as well as strength. I almost immediately found that yoga improved my focus and body awareness for technique, at first by making me confront individual body quirks and limitations.
- I've long defined 4 categories of fitness work: endurance, explosive, focus and strength. Nothing beats yoga for focus; you have to concentrate to relax or settle into a pose and the more you learn about technique the more you can do with fewer body parts involved. (The others are self-explanatory except maybe explosive, which is basically gassing yourself through a fast interval of something, from ball slams to sprints to jumping jacks.)
- It's not so much about flexibility as freeing body parts to move and then developing strength that can't exist when your body is inhibited in its movement. Example is to get really deep in downward dog you have to learn how to roll open your shoulders to create a space at the bottom of your neck which allows your arms to come up and forward while you breathe easily and, at the same time, taking the bend out of the wrists (reducing strain there) and pushing back further and higher with hips. Getting to that point in such a basic pose doesn't happen overnight.
- I love the learning. You work on a pose and learn it and a little space opens in your head that you can find over and over. Like the answer to a question that you know you can find again in your mind. And you learn to not force poses but to find them. Example, a simple twist isn't about force but rather learning how to relax the midsection to allow it to twist. That part of the mental/physical focus mechanism gives you sense of release, achievement and even peace. Another example is that recently I showed one of my kids how to do a proper high plank without much effort and then how to lower with your elbows pinned in (Chaturanga arms). She is thin and thinks of herself as having weak arms but I showed her that it's about turning the limbs so they become stable in a position. So for the plank, you learn how to turn your legs "on", meaning you turn them as a unit in space until they sort of lock you above the ground (essentially rotating the knees in and to the front while relaxing the glutes and straightening the legs), and how to turn "on" your arms, meaning the same, that you turn them in space until they sort of lock in (essentially moving the eyes of your inner elbows forward), so you feel like you're floating and then when you lower you realize you aren't using arm strength so much as letting the arm bend as it naturally wants to do in that position.
- I love the process. Not all that long ago, I finally realized that the key to holding all sorts of Warrior 2 positions is to activate the back leg AND push the hip down so that leg basically locks you there. I could hold all these positions before but it took way more effort and suddenly all sorts of previously hard poses - like the silly Bird of Paradise - became a series of mechanical steps. You see the linkage over time of how you learn and that fits my essential belief system, which is the Roman "mens sana in sana corpore" or "a sound mind in a sound body".
As to teachers and classes, it seems everywhere has yoga studios so finding classes is easy. Finding what fits you is a bit harder. I’ve learned I prefer a slow flow form of Vinyasa. Many Vinyasa classes seem to me like a series of poses you run through and I think it’s important to let your body settle into a pose. I sometimes like long held poses, but those get difficult as the poses get more difficult. Finding a teacher you connect with is just like anything else: you know when you know. Don’t think the first one or few your try is right just because that’s the class you walked into. I find some teachers are too strident or emphatic, etc.
@nottelling thank you for your description - VERY helpful!
I did quite a bit of yoga about 10 years ago – I especially liked going to classes with an instructor who practiced anusara yoga. Then I moved away and stopped going. Just recently I started back up with a gentle yoga class that fits my schedule and I am definitely the youngest one there. I stay away from classes with headstands. I went once to a studio where we did a lot with belts or ropes hanging on the walls and I felt that that was not what I was looking for. There was an article several years ago in the NYT about yoga injuries from head stands and shoulder stands. I remember there was a lot of comments at the same time saying the risk of injury was overstated. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?_r=0
I enjoy CorePower Yoga (it’s a chain - so see if they are in your area). Once I retire, I am considering going through the yoga teacher training. With girls half my age!! I don’t like the particularly hot versions (Hot Power Fusion) though - the ones I like are heated, but not obnoxiously so.
The studios / instructors are helpful, but not in your face. I have limited shoulder mobility (not an injury - just how I’m built) and I can’t do any poses that require me to wrap my arms around one another or clasp behind my back. No big deal - I just do a bear hug instead. I’ve never been pushed beyond my comfort zone.
To the above list, I’d add Anusara, which focuses on very specific alignment with the help of a teacher. I went to a short class a few years ago, and was very much impressed, though due to scheduling haven’t gotten into taking a series. At home, from books and a few classes when I was young, I have done yoga for years, possibly poorly, though I certainly have maintained flexibility in some ways that others my age might not. But an Anusara class would help correct some issues I’ve developed.
i go to yoga once a week and I love it. I don’t do a lot of organized exercising and I am not at all flexible. Yoga helps with flexibility, balance and relaxation for me.
I have been going to the same class for two years now, and the routine we go through is always different, and there are always new moves. I enjoy the variety and different emphasis. Some classes are always the same identical routine, you decide what works.
You should be able to find groupons or introductory classes and try out a few studios and different instructors. It is not about headstands, haven’t done one yet, although some in our class do them. Can’t touch my toes yet either, but it’s closer. With a new student our instructor has them set up a mat in front of her so you are not following other students but the teacher. She can help and correct and show how to use props or modifications as needed. This should be what happens in a good class.
When I come out of my class, I feel completely relaxed - cant even explain it. I can remember I had a stressful day, but it just no longer matters. Also I’ve been tracking my blood pressure (which is too high) but when it’s always significantly lower after my class.
I’d love to do more yoga regularly but haven’t carved out the time. I also have some dvd’s now that I can do at home that I enjoy, but I would go to a class first to learn the moves.
I wasn’t pushed at all, but I may have pushed myself into a class that was a little more advanced than was good for me. I don’t think you have to start with a class for seniors, but look for indicators like gentle or “for every body”. If you call up the Yoga Studio or read descriptions on their websites, you can usually get a good idea about where would be a good place to start.
Doesn’t sound like OP needs a gentle or slow class as she is already very active. Definitely ask at studio for suggestion class to start, but it does not need to be for seniors or gentle. I joined a class that was for “all levels” and my instructor helped modify moves and how to use props. If I had gone to a gentle class and not progressed to other levels I’m not sure I would have stuck with it or gotten as much benefit. It just would not have been as interesting or really stretched me as much.
@Lergmom - excellent post - so well articulated.
I’ve taken yoga off and on over the past 15 years and have seen many different types of people at all levels of fitness attend classes and benefit from it. It really does depend on a good instructor who can help people modify poses if the participants have special limitations or needs, as well as how the instructor can help more advanced folks make poses a bit more challenging. I am still a novice and use props to have the best poses I can. I love @lergmom’s explanation–very appropros.
I love Lergmom’s explanation
I have done yoga off and on for about 10 years. Previous to that, over the last decades, I have done whichever version of aerobics was popular and available.
The risks I saw in yoga have been that I am extremely flexible and strong. After a few weeks in yoga I was able to do the split again, but then I made a mistake. I got gung-ho about it and wanted to push for shoulder flexibility & was doing all sorts of things at home to push my shoulders. Big mistake, it took me years to be able to have my shoulders be relatively pain free. My mistake.
The second problem I had with yoga was that I am so flexible, sometimes my old body should just not be trying to be that flexible, but I found it very difficult to limit the stretches, as they never hurt at the time.
I tried a Yin yoga class,long slow stretches and that was the worst for me the next day, I am just too flexible for all that.
I completely agree with lergmom talking about learning to twist, learning to relax into the poses, I will always remember the first time I did triangle the right way, gently placing myself correctly not forcing it & wow, it felt so right!
@somemom – I’ve often wondered if that is you in your profile picture! Hope it is!! Either way, it is a gorgeous photo!
There is no requirement whatsoever that one has to be flexible in order to practice yoga successfully. It does help with that but it’s not like taking gymnastics class or something where yes, you’d better be flexible.
Lights are dim, you have only yourself as a measure, so go slow. It is all personal.
This is all very informative. I live in a small college town and there are no yoga studios. But one of the local colleges is offering yoga classes starting mid-September through continuing ed. One class is Vinyasa and the other is Hatha. I’m leaning towards the Hatha. Any reccommendations?
@nottelling, that is not me, but it could have been if my hair was longer and anyone would take my photo 
I can totally stand on my head for hours, I was a gymnast, but at my age I get too dizzy to feel good afterwards. Getting old is a you know what!
^ That picture, while beautiful! is one of the reasons I questioned mt friends about yoga. I could not do that now, at 60+, or at 20+. Hahaha