We all want to walk through life with grace and ease.
Pain and Aging
It seems that the older we get, the more pain we may be experiencing.
But a good diet and daily exercise, especially passive exercises such as yoga can help with aching joints and muscles.
My goal this year has been to pass along information to people on how to stay healthy and well in later years through some stretching, elongating and strengthening one’s muscles and joints.
Bernie Clark in his book entitled: The Complete Guide To Yin Yoga agrees with my personal philosophy of use it or lose it.
Trying Some Yin Yoga
Yin yoga’s focus is on stilling oneself in poses for an extended time, gradually increasing to 5-10 minutes in a pose.
The Yin student learns how to stay in poses that help to stretch and elongate, especially in the lower parts of the body. For example, staying in the pigeon pose starting with 3-5 minutes can really help to not only elongate your hips, but also strengthen. We all have heard how “our hips go first” as we age, so why not begin some strengthening of those areas that may be affected? This type of exercise may actually prevent you from having to have a hip replacement down the road!
Massage and Yoga
I have been combining some self-massage, acupressure points, reflexology and tapping techniques to all my yoga classes, and my students have found them quiet helpful, especially related to getting in touch with one’s mind, body and soul. Yin yoga is a meditative type of practice, helping with stress reduction and relaxation.
On Being Still
A good yoga practice involves learning how to be still in the asanas (poses) and when you reach this physical stillness, your mind and spirit can also still itself with the benefit of a more positive attitude about yourself and life.
Self- massage before and during your yoga pose can really help deepen the pose, with the added benefit of ridding the body of some toxins that may be floating around. Massage helps to move those toxins through and out of the body. It can also loosen the tissues of the body, lengthen, elongate and create increased stability and elasticity.
Taken in part from: Clark, B. (2011). The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga: The Philosophy and Practice of Yin Yoga. Ashland, OR. White Cloud Press