I’m so excited that we can share the teachings together! There are several ways we can connect… at a residential retreat…. in a group yoga class … for a one on one private appointment …. or through an online program.
Aging Vibrantly with Yoga
As we get older, it is inevitable that our bodies shift and change. I am not going to sell eternal youth. BUT I believe, for myself and my clients, that aging vibrantly is possible. These specialized yoga classes for women over 50 will help you to
- stay strong,
- keep a healthy weight,
- sleep deeply and
- remain vital to your families and communities.
But we need to be smart about this. I’m not a fan of hot yoga for older women nor do I believe in “challenges” or aggressive practices that promise quick fixes. You know the kind I mean… “Buy my program and lose 10 pounds by happy hour”.
Here are five key areas in which specialized yoga for women over 50 helps menopause symptoms and helps us live vibrantly.
When the inevitable aches and pains arise, the instinct can be to stop moving in case you make symptoms worse. Universally, research reveals that movement is your medicine. From keeping your brain sharp, to sleeping better, to maintaining bone mass, to alleviating hot flashes… you were made to move.
My specialized yoga and mindfulness classes provide the support and knowledge that you need to keep moving safely.
Further reading:
- Learn more about a “secret” practice for relieving joint pain.
- Release your all important hip flexor to boost energy.
2. Yoga is safe before and after joint replacement.
I have helped hundreds of patients with pre-habilitation and re-habilitation.
You are not alone in needing hip and/or knee surgery. Yoga poses can be easily adapted at almost all stages. And mindfulness meditation is a primary tool for pain management as well as reintegrating any new hardware.
My first recommendation is to try my Yoga Therapy for Hip/Knee Rehab series. This is a sequential program of videos you can do at home. Each practice is less than 15 minutes. Each video is meant to be utilized for about a week or so and then you move onto the next stage. All material is evidence based and recommended by orthopedic surgeons.
Read more here about the difference between a therapeutic yoga class and chair exercise.
3. Women are more prone to shoulder injuries.
After rehabbing my own shoulder injuries (rotator cuff tear) and working with hundreds of women like us, my firm belief is that the shoulder isn’t where the real issue lies.
And maybe that’s why shoulder tension, pain and injury is so hard to eradicate. Treatment usually centers on the joint.
The yoga therapy approach is always to look at the person holistically. The spine sits on the foundation of the pelvis. If the basement is crooked, that strain is felt on the top floors.
Here is a multi-part video series that you can do at home to help rehab your shoulder. Each practice is less than 15 minutes and you pace yourself. It will take time to heal.
Further reading:
- Aggressive stretching can increase chronic pain
- Build resiliency to stress to ease shoulder pain.
4. Safe Yoga Exercises for Back Pain
Especially if you have been pregnant, the lumbar curve and its relationship to the sacrum is a highly mobile area. As women who strive to do it all, we tend to ignore the warning signs. Ninety percent of us develop degenerative disc disease as we age. It’s a scary diagnosis but you can absolutely reduce pain and strengthen this area.
Yoga can be amazing for spinal health. My specialized yoga and mindfulness programming is highly informed by in depth anatomy research and the latest movement science.
If your back has
- “gone out”,
- has gone into spasm, or if you have
- a herniated disc
Yoga can help alleviate the pain now and prevent further recurrence.
Further reading:
- This article finally gives us permission to not “do it all”.
- Learn how just breathing differently can help back pain.
- This at home video course guides you step by step. It’s FREE.
- It’s essential to invest in self care. Read why and how here
5. Yoga is safe for osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and other common, but scary, health concerns.
When you hear those dreaded words, it seems as though time stops. Can you imagine the state of your nervous system? I’ve been there. I know first hand about the sweaty palms, the racing heart, the rushing in my ears and feeling faint.
This is why we need yoga and mindfulness! This is a primary intervention for managing stress, especially the stress around chronic conditions and illness.
I am a professionally trained yoga therapist. I have received hundreds of hours of training in anatomy and physiology. This ensures I can keep you safe in my specialized classes for older women.
To keep mobile, I recommend the Joint Freeing Series. This is a safe protocol for all the above mentioned conditions. You can utilize the short videos as a stand alone practice or as a warm up for further activity.
Further Reading:
- Listen to the podcast on yoga and osteoporosis.
Mindfulness in Midlife
My kind of mindfulness is not sitting stiffly for hours on end. My mindfulness, and the practices that revolutionize life for my clients, is the kind that happens moment to moment during real life. The revered tradition of silent sitting is highly effective. Speaking personally, it’s really hard to embrace that practice with my busy brain. What works for us is building in regular, short and frequent breaks from “busy-ness”.
How can mindfulness benefit women over 50?
- lose weight and keep it off with mindful eating
- sleep more deeply and regularly
- improve relationships, especially with oneself
- Lose Menopausal Weight: Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find a healthier weight without calorie counting, depriving yourself of your favourite foods and going hungry? That’s what Mindful Eating did for me.
After menopause, I was getting pretty “padded”. I was doing yoga, eating healthy, exercising… all the right things. But, to be honest, a lot of things were routine and I wasn’t really paying attention anymore.
Using Mindfulness tools, like journaling, loving kindness meditation and mindful eating, allowed me to shed over 25 pounds. I still went out with friends, ate my favourite foods and did not punish my body with harsh exercise.
The SHE Mindfulness Program provides step by step guidance on how to implement mindful eating.
Find recipes to inspire a new passion for healthy eating here.
2. Sleep Better with Mindfulness
Not being able to sleep is scary. And stressful. I’ve been there. Do you wonder why something manageable during the day becomes impossible at night? As you learn about your nervous system, it all begins to make sense. You also learn how to hack into that automatic programming to achieve better sleep.
In the SHE Mindfulness Program, we devote one of the four modules to this question.
Here are a couple of my favourite tools for improving sleep quality, getting to sleep faster and staying asleep.
3. Develop more meaningful relationships.
Spiritual masters have been teaching for centuries this fundamental truth.
The tell us on the airplane to put on our own oxygen mask before others.
And yet, I persisted in putting everyone else’s needs and opinions before my own. When I hit menopause, I just couldn’t keep that up anymore.
In the SHE Mindfulness program, we spend considerable time looking at our self care options and creating a self compassion contract. I see these years as my turn after all the energy I put out in career, family and community.
I use loving kindness meditation regularly to cultivate a deeper connection with my own heart. Then I find it more natural to be loving with others. Try this one:
Further reading: Do Less to Achieve More Blog Post