Since turning 50, I have gone back to a consistent, almost daily, yoga practice. Not since my mid-forties have I practiced yoga so much and I can tell there's a big difference in my practice as an older woman with completely different needs. Five years ago I needed yoga as a major stress relief activity and to help calm my mind of a very busy schedule. While I still need the stress relief and to calm my mind, it is so much more internal now. I'm not thinking about all the things I need to do anymore, but my mind is still in desperate need of inner peace. The meditative practice of yoga allows me to come to my mat focused completely on the present and that's something I really need to do on a daily basis. For the past few years I have been trying to get to a class on weekly basis. This had been a good minimum for a busy mom but I am reaping greater rewards now as I have moved to a daily practice.
I think the older I get, the more important yoga is to my well being. While I need to push my limits, it is integral that I prevent injury. I can no longer do anything that is high impact. My feet and my joints won't let me. What I love about yoga is that I am very aware of my body. I can feel how every pose effects my body. I am able to work to sculpt my muscles, I can push to use every muscle, helping to strengthen my body, but I can also pull back a bit and relax a bit when I need to. It is really important for me to balance that push and pull and to be really honest with myself when I'm pulling back and not trying my hardest.
Yoga helps me sleep better, breathe better and even smell better. Hot yoga especially is an amazing detoxifying process that allows my body to sweat out all the crap in my system. I am always amazed that all the sweaty people in a hot yoga class don't stink to high heaven. There's certainly a musk smell, but it isn't a foul body odor. When I come home and pull off my wet clothes, I can smell a bit of the ammonia from toxins that have been sweated off but none of my yoga clothes ever stink of BO, which is pretty amazing.
My biggest weakness in yoga is my lack of balance, which I believe is from having weak facia in my feet. While I want to lose weight, what I need most is stability to keep me from injury. I know that yoga is helping my weight control efforts. I have been checking my heart rate in class to see if I'm actually getting a cardio workout and I average about 100 to 120 BPM during my workout-- not bad. I'm learning to work a bit harder to get my heart rate higher as I am able to strengthen my muscles and can stay in poses longer, which comes with better balance. Yoga helps to improve my circulation. Eventually I am hoping my yoga practice will lower my resting heart rate which will increase my endurance and improve my oxygen intake during my practice. It is amazing how it all works together.
Most classes have yoga teachers asking to set an intention for that particular session or some other part of your life. When I first started yoga 6 years ago, my intention was often just to survive the hour. As my practice improved, I found myself offering strength to others. I recall thinking how I wanted to offer up strength and happiness toward my life partner because I had all the happiness and strength I needed in life and I knew he did not. There is this eerie feeling that I somehow projected strength onto someone to leave me. I know that sounds crazy and might be the subject of different essay in the future. As I have returned to the mat on a daily basis I have begun to realize that I need to stop throwing my intentions at others. I believe the simple act saying something in your head can have far-reaching effects. Yes, I know that sounds a bit like the "secret." I am learning to ask for healing, and to claim unconditional love.
Yoga helps me to come to mat no matter what mood I'm in, no matter how alone I feel, no matter how my day went I stand on the mat and none of it matters. I am there to breathe. I am there to start over and focus on the present. It is a wonder to me how a yoga class will turn everything around. Each class gets me out of my funk, helps me to breathe deeper, increases my flexibility, and reduces my aches. It is a lubricant for me, for my muscles, for my head and my soul.
After a rainy work day, I came home and let Balt out for a bit and then ran to a hot yoga class. It worked its magic and allowed me to have a wonderful evening. Note; the photos above are from Sunday night after a class Erika and I took together. We were both pretty hot and sweaty. The top photo is tree pose, the second photo is warrior one and third is downward dog. I told Erika I'd do warrior one, but not warrior two, because I look so much thinner in one and she laughed at me but assured me she felt the same way.
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