Age extenders: saying yes to yoga


        AGE EXTENDERS: SAYING YES TO YOGA

We can't take you on a full, hour-long yoga session in two short pages, but we'll give you a sampler of a couple of useful exercises and techniques Lang recommends for loosening and limbering your spine, a practice yogis traditionally claim is key to a long life. If you like the gentle stretching and calm inward focus you should experience with these two exercises, consider looking for a class locally. If you have any serious health problems, you will need medical supervision and a yoga instructor who knows how to work with your condition. We can't guarantee that these exercises will bring you a long life, but we do promise they will not hurt, will not turn you into a contortionist, and will not make you look like Plastic Man.
Just as you wouldn't plunge straight into strenuous exercise at the gym without first warming up, you need to prepare for your yoga exercises. Here's how.
See your breath. First, just lie on your back, relax in a comfortable position, and focus on your breathing, says Dr. Larry J. Feldman of the Pain and Stress Rehabilitation Center. Experience it getting slower and deeper. Envision it moving in and out. This is a simple meditation. Do this for a few minutes.
Relaxing meditation is perhaps the most important element of yoga for beginners, says Dr. Brownstein, because most westerners don't know how to relax. "I tell people, if you do nothing but lie there and breathe and relax during the whole class, you will get something out of it. It will be a beneficial experience," he says. The basic deep breathing technique taught in Breathing Techniques will help you cultivate a healthy breath. To add the yoga meditation element to it, simply observe the breath moving in and out of your body. "Let your awareness follow the breath," Dr. Brownstein says.
Envision life-sustaining oxygen entering the body and moving into every cell and tissue as you breathe in, Dr. Brownstein says. Feel your muscles relax and tension leave your body as you breathe out, he says.
Equip yourself. To fully concentrate on the exercises, it will help to have a couple of useful items. One is a tape recorder. It helps to record the breathing instructions on a cassette while reading them at a slow pace. Then you can play the tape when you wish to practice the exercises. Second, you'll need some small terry bath towels. Roll a towel and place it beneath your neck as you lie flat on your back - just so it supports the natural curve. Stack folded towels under your head, one at a time, until you find the most comfortable position, the one in which your neck is completely relaxed and not at all strained. You may also wish to place a rolled towel beneath the small of your back for gentle support. Use these in all poses in which lying on your back is necessary, says Dr. Brownstein.
Stop before pain starts. A caution: Never go beyond the edge of "comfortable discomfort," Dr. Brownstein says. Never move into pain. Go to the edge of the pain, right to the place where, if you stretch further, it would begin to hurt, he advises. Imagine yourself breathing into that edge, he says.
Be sure to breathe as you stretch. Don't hold your breath as people do when they experience pain. And don't push yourself into the pain. Don't hurt yourself, says Dr. Brownstein. That defeats the whole purpose because you can tear muscle fibers. And if you do feel it's too hard at any time, simply lie on your back and relax and focus on your breathing. And how hard is that?
Now that you're equipped for a safe and productive yoga session, try these two back limberers, says Dr. Brownstein:
Pelvic tilt: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms resting at your sides comfortably. Take a nice, deep breath in, expanding the chest and belly, and exhale. Gently raise your hips off the floor as high as you can without forcing or straining. Your shoulders, upper back, and back of the head should be pressing into the floor. Hold this position for 10 to 20 seconds or as long as you are comfortable, allowing the breath to flow in and out of your body on its own. Then, releasing the position as you breathe out slowly, lower your hips back down to the floor and relax.
You should work toward repeating this movement up to 10 times.
Spinal twist: Lie on your back. Put your arms out perpendicular to your body, palms up. Bend both knees and bring them toward your chest together. Inhale slowly. As you exhale, lower both knees slowly to the floor on one side of your body. Keep your back flat and arms out. Breathe gently and rest in that position for 30 seconds to a minute. Then inhale, and on the exhalation, slowly bring your knees back to the starting position and repeat the movement on the other side of your body. Do three sets at first. Work up to five.

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GENERAL HEALTH

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