Skip the Super-Flexible Yoga Instructor, Instead, Try Six Weeks of Introductory Moves

Plagued by stiff or painful joints as we age, some of us consider yoga. We sign up for a “gentle” yoga class but find ourselves pushing too hard to keep up, feeling inadequate, becoming more rigid instead of more relaxed. So we try a yoga video, which we can do alone at home. But there’s still that incredibly flexible teacher on the screen, effortlessly making us feel tense and clumsy.In contrast, there’s something soothingly achievable about “Relax into Yoga for Seniors: A Six-Week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility and Pain Relief.”Maybe it’s the illustrations, simple black-and-white line drawings of slightly pudgy people in baggy T-shirts and pants doing really simple maneuvers.Maybe it’s the large type with lots of open space (the book is a largish paperback) or the way it stays open so we can prop it up to follow as we practice. Maybe it’s the refreshing lack of jargon, either medical or spiritual.Whatever it is, it goes down easily. Authors Kimberly Carson and Carol Krucoff, who specialize in therapeutic yoga and who run a teaching network called Yoga for Seniors,guide you through six weeks of step-by-step, manageable exercises.Everything you do the first week can be done lying on your back in bed – a three-part breath sequence to “reset” your state of mind, a range-of-motion sequence to gently stretch your neck, arms, legs and spine, and a period of mindful relaxation.I myself have experienced yoga’s healing power in a very real way. Weeks before a trip to India in 2002 to investigate yoga therapy, I developed numbness and tingling in my right hand. After first considering scary things like a brain tumor and multiple sclerosis, I figured out that the cause of the symptoms was thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve blockage in my neck and chest.Despite the uncomfortable symptoms, I realized how useful my condition could be during my trip. While visiting various yoga therapy centers, I would submit myself for evaluation and treatment by the various experts I’d arranged to observe. I could try their suggestions and see what worked for me. While this wasn’t exactly a controlled scientific experiment, I knew that such hands-on learning could teach me things I might not otherwise understand.Improved flexibility is one of the first and most obvious benefits of yoga. During your first class, you probably won’t be able to touch your toes, never mind do a backbend. But if you stick with it, you’ll notice a gradual loosening, and eventually, seemingly impossible poses will become possible. You’ll also probably notice that aches and pains start to disappear. That’s no coincidence. Tight hips can strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shinbones. Tight hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture.The next week, you get some simple standing poses. The next week, you drop those and try a few things you do while sitting down. And so on.While some of the poses and exercises have classic yoga names (mountain, warrior, etc.), others just describe what the motion – for example, the “as-if chair” exercise involves sitting upright in a chair, tensing your thigh muscles as if you were going to stand and then relaxing.When you’ve gone through the six weeks, the authors suggest you create your own routines from the menu of dozens of exercises you’ve learned.