There’s a famous quote from Japanese philosophy– change is life. Coping with change is difficult, no matter how old you are. The sheer number of changes and transitions that start to occur as we age can make life seem pretty challenging including the loss of parents, children moving away, declining health and loss of independence. But if these changes are balanced with some positive ingredients we have a successful formula for staying healthy as we age.
Yoga philosophy teaches us that our quality of life can be enhanced by the quality of our perceptions. One of the most powerful positive ingredients we can bring into our daily lives that can change our perceptions is appreciation.For instance, scientific studies have shown that the more couples express appreciation for one another, the more affection they have for one another. The smallest gestures of appreciation counted – a smile, a pat or a simple ‘thank you’. Too often we slip into a negative habit of focusing our attention on what we don’t like or what we want the other person to do differently. Change these negative perceptions with appreciation by noticing what’s going well, notice the many small kindnesses in life– it will works wonders on all those around you. Guess what – you will also receive a return of compliments.
Appreciation paves the way towards greater feelings of contentment, fostering a protective psychological state of mind known as inner peace.
On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear. (Bhagavad Gita)
Seasonal changes bring challenges to the immune system, the thought of winter ailments often sees us reaching for an extra dose of vitamin C. If you’re living in a place that becomes cold and dark in the winter months you might like to add a few simple yoga practices to your daily routine to boost immunity.
The immune system is made up of many components including the tonsils, thymus gland, digestive tract, lymphatic and circulatory systems. Each of these systems plays an important role in helping your body to fight off invaders like bacteria and viruses. The immune system changes with age, it becomes slower to respond so if you’re thinking that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ read on:
DO THE TWIST –
All of your internal organs have their nerve endings in your spine and nerves control the body’s functions, including sensation and movement. Moving the spine with gentle twisting is extremely beneficial for the internal organs.
Gentle Daily Twist: Before you get up in the morning, draw you knees up towards your chest. Take a breath in and as you exhale let both legs relax over to the right. Inhale the knees back to the centre, exhale them over to the left. Add on: turn your head away from your knees with each twist to move the whole spine.
3 to 5 times to each side.
PRACTICE INVERSIONS–
Inversions, such as legs up the wall, help to circulate lymph fluid through the lymphatic system – this is your body’s ‘rubbish collection’ service. It rids the body of toxins and other unwanted materials and transports immune cells around the body to fight off infection, significantly contributing to the workings of immunity in the body.
Here’s a couple of ways to practice inversions from reclining on your back :
(1) place your calf muscles on to the seat of a chair
(2) in bed place 3 or 4 pillows underneath your lower legs and ankles
(3) on the floor, sit with your right hip against the wall and as you lye back swings your legs up on to the wall.
Stay here for 5 deep breaths.
Remember when you come out of an inversions pay attention to you blood pressure, roll on to your side and stay here for a few deep breaths. If there is pounding between your ears stay here a little longer. Sit up slowly.
USE YOUR BREATH –
Look after your lungs through winter with this easy yoga practice to increase the intake of oxygen, helping to build resistance to infection. A study from 1992 (yes, 1992) assessed whether arm positions affects air intake and oxygen consumption. The researchers found that when subjects held their arms at shoulder height whilst breathing, their oxygen consumption was higher compared to when subjects held their arms by their sides. These benefits continued for two minutes after their arms were lowered. It makes you wonder why we don’t all do this!
From standing or seated: Inhale, count to 4, lift your arms up level with your shoulders, as you exhale count the breath out for 8 and lower your arms down. Repeat 3 to 5 times.
If you are from New Zealand or have spent anytime there you maybe familiar with Maori poi dance. Kate Riegle van West, a PhD student from the USA, has been studying international poi and it’s cognitive effects on the over 60’s at the University of Auckland.Kate explained that her background in circus and dance had included using poi in performances, over time she began to notice that using poi always left her feeling good. Her curiosity was sparked – what was it about poi that created positive feelings?To find out Kate decided to pack her bags and head off to New Zealand where poi is widely used, today her study has become a world’s first to systematically evaluate the potential health benefits of poi for older adults.
Tell us what exactly do you mean by poi?
“Poi is a weight on the end of a cord which you spin in circular patterns around your body. It is generally a form of dance and play. There are two distinct poi styles: Maori poi and International poi.”
Why do you think poi will have an effect on ageing?
“Our ageing population is set to increase by 2.5 times by 2050. This is a reversal of the demographics in 1950 and a phenomenon which will not be reversed in the foreseeable future. I believe poi has the potential to improve physical and cognitive functions in older adults. I would love to see poi in hospitals, retirement villages and nursing homes worldwide. Anyone can practice poi, from able bodied to those in wheelchairs or bed ridden. This research shows that poi maybe a promising tool for maintaining or improving quality of life in old age and will hopefully pave the way for future research.”
The randomised study tested 79 older adults age 60 and over, practicing poi twice a week over a one month period. At the end of the month, participants were reassessed for balance, grip strength, memory and attention – everyone had made improvements, everyone reported better coordination and said they enjoyed the challenge of learning a new skill. Kate says: “This research shows that poi may be a promising tool for maintaining or improving quality of life in old age, and will hopefully pave the way for future research on poi and health.”
Recovering from illness?‘Yoga in Bed’ to help you get moving again.
Many people believe that anyone recovering from a illness or injury should not exercise, rather wait until your energy returns. But years of teaching yoga has taught me that the smallest movements can be the most powerful for the body, helping to trigger the process of healing well. The really challenging part for most people after a period of illness is getting started, finding the motivation and maintaining it. Sometimes we get into such a slump that even the thought of making positive changes seems too much – you are not alone, we can all feel like this at times. Just remember that with some small steps, baby ones in fact, you can get started. Here’s a baby-step, wriggle your fingers and toes for a few minutes everyday. It may not sound like much but there are literally millions of nerve endings in your hands and feet, this will strengthen the mental pathways in the brain.
MAKE A PLAN:
When you are ready to consider some sort of exercise the best place to start is having a talk with your doctor. Depending on your illness there maybe specific things to work on or avoid. Know the effects of your medications, for instance are you more likely to become dehydrated?
Make a safe plan with your doctor’s help. If you make a couple of goals, write then down – you’ll be more likely to achieve them.
Prepare mentally by visualising yourself doing some sort of physical activity that you used to do for a few minutes every day, recreate the sensations of walking the dog or going for a swim for example. Research shows that the daily practice of imagery has a significant effect on recovery times.
Starting with a slow low-impact activity like yoga is ideal. ‘Yoga in Bed’ is practiced from reclining,think of it as your time to look after yourself healing and renewing. In this practice coordination of breath and movement will stimulate the body’s circulation, metabolism and elimination processes, use of the breath causes the nervous system to trigger relaxation, releasing muscle tension. Remember to pay attention to any sort of pain – it is the body’s signal that you’ve gone too far.
Rest and recovery are as important to reintroducing exercise as the physical activity itself, whether you choose to do the first 5 minutes of the yoga practice or the whole thing – giving yourself a period of relaxation afterwards it’s very important, it’s when your body starts to renew and rebuild in response to the exercise. Regular practice, be it short or long, will help to build energy and the enthusiasm to do more.
Not being able to get your lipstick straight or see that rouge eyebrow hair sticking-up is the worst thing about failing eye-sight; closely followed by searching for your glasses when they were on top of your head the whole time!
There are several steps you can take to protect your eyes, such as wearing the right sunglasses, but did you know that there are simple yoga practices to strengthen the eye muscles?
Try this practice to optimize your optical arsenal:
Sitting upright in a chair, image that you have a giant clock face in front of you.
Without moving your head or lifting your chin, look up to 12:00 (midnight) on the clock face, hold and take three breaths.
Now drop your eyes to the right, looking at 3pm, hold – take three breaths.
Look down to 6pm, three breaths.
Lift the gaze up the left to 9pm, three breaths.
And back to midnight. Repeat this practice, moving the eyes anti-clockwise.
Top tips:
If your eyes begin to tire, close them, rest the muscles then start again.
Practice eye yoga every day to improve your vision.
Leaning teaches us how to balance our weight across our feet. Those who shift their weight to their heels leave the front of their foot without much to do, and the foot weakens.
Stand with your feet a comfortable distance apart and put a soft bend in your knees. Lean forward at the ankle as if you were about to ski down a slope. Do not lean from the waist or hips – keep the lean in your ankles. This exercise wakes up the muscles in your toes and the soles of your feet.
If your feet feel tired after these exercises, that’s good – it means that the muscles are being worked. If your feet are sore, that’s not good – back off a little next time around.
You may have read Hillary Clinton’s comment in her book ‘What Happened?” where she describes a yoga practice – Alternate Nostril breathing. She says that it helped to get her through the challenges of the aftermath of the election.That’s is a whole lot of stress! In yogic language it is known as Nadi Shodhana, here are just a few of the benefits:
Reduction of anxiety and stress
Lowered heart rate to relieve tension
Revitalize a tired mind and body
Preparation for deeper meditation
Alternate Nostril Breathing – a beginners guide.
-Find a comfortable seat.
-Creating a long spine, take the shoulders back and down. Rest your left palm on your left knee, bring your right index to your right nostril, press down to close the right nostril.
-Take 3 deep breaths just through the right nostril. If if feels comfortable add a count, inhale for the count of 4, exhale for 8.
-Now change sides by resting your right hand down, bring your left index to your left nostril, press down to close the left nostril.
-Take 3 deep breaths just through the left nostril. If if feels comfortable add a count, inhale for the count of 4, exhale for 8.
The above is one round.
Repeat this pattern twice more to make three rounds in total and ease back into normal breathing.
