April 12, 2010

Senior's Yoga

I spent this past weekend doing a wonderful Senior's Yoga Teacher Training with Monica Cordes (www.yogaforseniors.ca).  We talked about honouring the aging process by offering classes geared specifically to senior's needs.  Which of course may mean offering several different classes given that seniors can be anywhere from 55-105 and have a wide variety of abilities and challenges.  Breath, alignment, movement, meditation and visualizations are all valuable tools in increasing our quality of life.  Benefits are improved breathing, increased energy, improved digestion, increased mental clarity, easing pain, calming the nervous system, releasing chronic tension, balancing blood pressure & blood sugar, improving balance, and promoting restful sleep.  It was inspiring to hear about the other teacher's experiences: a 103 year old practicing yoga in their wheelchair during a chair class,  a student with advanced alzheimers accessing a joyful memory of time spent with her friends during a beach visualization.  "Our bones are dynamic, constantly changing tissues, connected minute-by-minute to our entire mind-body system.  Every morsel we eat, every move we make, and every thought we have affects our bones."  S.Brown, Yoga for Healthy Bones

April 6, 2010

spring, time of new opportunities

Today I practiced to jazz.  I have never done this before, and am doing so thanks to a generous, and talented student (www.oridagan.com) who brought me one of his cd's when he discovered I like to accompany the movement portion of my yoga with music.  I found a new twist in an old series, tried some unfamiliar pranayama, and found my mind exploring places that don't often come up in my home practice.  Try something outside of your habitual routine and you might be surprised at what you find.