Yoga for Women Over 50
by Mary Ellen Troy
Feeling very creaky one morning when I was in my mid-fifties, I called the local yoga center and enrolled in a class. I knew from past experience that I would love the class; what I didn't realize was how much my body had changed in the ten years since I had last practiced yoga.
Some of this was the result of working at a stressful job while also mothering three children. But most of the changes I experienced were the result of aging:
---sore and stiff muscles and joints
---a feeling of being disconnected from my body
---an overall sluggishness and weakness.
For the next few years I plugged away in my yoga classes, gradually becoming stronger and more flexible. More than ten years later I feel healthier than I did then---thanks to yoga.
This practice is an ancient art and science that is beneficial for any age group, but it is particularly important for us as we age. For women experiencing the symptoms and effects of menopause and post-menopause, it is a vital tool. Did you know that some yoga poses can
---help to balance mood swings
---strengthen the muscles of the bladder and pelvic floor
---stimulate a sluggish thyroid
---calm the nervous system
---help to increase bone density
---improve digestion
Even though I am healthier and more confident because of my yoga practice, I have noticed changes in that practice because of age. I now need more warm-up poses and more time to move from one pose to another. I have to invert my body in some way every day or I don't feel "right." And I have come to learn what an
important tool meditation is in dealing with memory issues.
A desire to share my unique perspective led me to the idea of offering the class Yoga For Women Over 50. Although it will not include the Salutation to the Sun, this is not a Gentle Class. At least one session of Level One is required. It will focus on basic standing poses to build strength; some supported backbends to open the shoulders and stimulate the body; some supported inversions to increase circulation to the brain, thyroid and parathyroid glands and to strengthen the arms and shoulders; and meditation to calm the mind. We will approach all the poses slowly and gently with each student in the class finding her own path to increased health and well-being. I am looking forward to sharing this gift of yoga with other women over the age of fifty.