In my yoga teaching practice, I regularly work with people who have had negative experiences in yoga classes geared for younger bodies. The names of these classes tell the story—Power Flow, Yoga Blast, Yoga Sculpt, Hot Flow—you get the idea.
What do these students tell me about their experiences? “I thought I was going to die,” “I was counting the minutes until it was over,” and, most frequently, “Get me out of here!” I’ve come to call these yoga seekers “refugees” because they often come to my Third Age Yoga classes as a haven of last resort.
Like most of my students who are experiencing aging-related changes and challenges, “refugees” want to learn or reconnect with yoga, but most yoga studios don’t serve them well. And that’s a shame when you consider that there are 76 million baby boomers in the United States who want to stay healthy and vital as they age. We need our society’s fastest growing demographic segment—adults 55 and over—to be self-sufficient, contributing members of our communities well into their 70s, 80s, and beyond.
As we get older, our bodies become more unique and less alike. That’s because we carry our physical and emotional histories in them. And whether it’s because of a chronic condition like osteoporosis, a touch or more of arthritis, too many years of too much sitting at a desk, a joint replacement, or surviving through cancer, we need approaches to yoga that respect our growing individuality so that we can stay safe in our practice and fully enjoy the benefits of yoga.
Don’t get me wrong. Most people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s—what some aging experts call the “Third Age”—are a far cry from needing the chair yoga classes offered in senior centers, but we do need classes that offer body-sensitive, age-appropriate yoga instruction and practice. In that spirit, I hope you’ll consider the following tips as you choose yoga teachers and classes.
Look for a teacher who has experience with older students. This may be someone who is older and more life-experienced herself or a younger teacher who is especially sensitive to each student as an individual.
Notice how your teacher treats her or his students. Is the teacher respectful and compassionate toward each person? Is she patient without unduly disrupting the continuity of the class? Is she fully present? Does she fully engage your attention? As Ram Dass said in his classic book, “Be here now.” That goes for all of us!
Look for a teacher who actually teaches. Rather than someone who simply leads a group through a series of lockstep movements, choose a teacher who demonstrates before inviting you to engage the poses, who thoughtfully tries to answer your questions, and who offers optional and alternative approaches to poses, rather than one “correct” version.
Look for classes in which the teacher can see and pay attention to each student. This is a basic safety precaution, and yet—probably for financial reasons—many yoga classes are just too big. Make sure you have enough room to bring your arms straight out to your sides, and make sure you can see your teacher, especially her feet and knees. If necessary, leave your mat to watch your teacher demonstrate.
Find a class in which you can comfortably keep up with the teacher. Yoga is a journey through your comfort zone, so think first about how you feel in each pose. Are you reasonably comfortable while enjoying a healthy challenge? Or are you counting the seconds until your teacher releases you from your torture? Is your breathing steady? Or do you feel stressed or panicked? Stay with movements and positions that feel like they’re doing you some good, but feel good while you’re doing them. You’re in the wrong class if you don’t feel good while practicing and can’t keep up with the teacher.
Take a short rest during class if you need to. Don’t worry if you can’t keep in step every moment, even in a class in which the pace and rhythm feel right to you. For example, I serve students who are living with chronic lung conditions, so I try to observe their breathing and offer them chances to catch their breath when needed. Just feeling free to hit the pause button for a few moments during class can transform a negative yoga experience into a positive one.
Don’t ever let a teacher touch you without your permission. I learned this from Judith Hanson Lasater, a renowned yoga teacher. And guess what? I’ve found that if I stand right next to my student, and we move together into and out of a pose, that person grasps the essence of the pose more quickly and deeply than if I had tried—however gently—to prod her body into a position that may not have been available to her at that time.
Stay with a teacher who stresses healthy postural alignment. One of the most important benefits of practicing yoga as we age is reclaiming healthy postural habits. Good posture —the natural, stable alignment of our bones—is a key to feeling comfortable and steady in yoga poses. So try not to become impatient when learning techniques for finding healthy posture; they not only help on the mat, but are immediately helpful in our lives off the mat.
And finally, don’t worry if you can’t find all these suggestions wrapped up into a perfect teacher/class package! If you connect with your teacher and feel comfortable with your fellow students, you will probably have a physically beneficial, life-enhancing yoga experience to which you’ll want to return week after week.
Andrea (Andy) Gilats, Ph.D., R.Y.T., is an educator, writer, and certified yoga instructor. She specializes in working with people seeking a body-sensitive, age-appropriate approach to practice. She calls her approach Third Age Yoga (www.thirdageyoga.net) as a welcome mat to all of us in the Third Age, a sustained era of life beyond midlife but before true old age, in which active engagement and personal fulfillment take center stage. As a writer, Andy has published a variety of articles on wellness and positive aging, and she is the author of Life Slices, a lushly illustrated card deck that invites us to contemplate eight timeless life themes and 52 pathways toward creating a life of purpose and meaning.
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