Healthy Aging & Yoga

 
One component of healthy aging is maintaining your independence.  What does it mean to you to stay independent?  It might include staying in the home you love as you age.  It might mean doing the things you love: whether that’s hiking, biking, horseback riding, traveling, gardening, playing with grandkids, or even fighting for causes you are passionate about. 
 
What else do you want to keep doing?
 
In their book Yoga for Healthy Aging, Bell & Zolotow list four essential skills for maintaining independence as we age: strength, flexibility, balance, and agility.
 
Are you engaging in activities that build or maintain these skills?  If so, that is something to celebrate!
 
Whether or not you are, you might consider yoga to build and maintain these skills, in a holistic way.  For instance, many of the poses build strength, flexibility, and balance all at the same time.   

An example is  Warrior 1, shown here.  And by slowly moving in and out of the pose before staying in the pose, we can build agility.
 
By the way, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be flexible to start a yoga practice.  You can do yoga to build flexibility.  And much more.
 
If you are interested in learning more about healthy aging and how yoga can support you, there’s still time to register for my workshop this Sunday:  Healthy Aging through a Yoga Lens.
 
Here’s to your healthy aging!

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