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catrynn
Ireland
68 Posts |
 Posted - May 26 2013 : 12:59:55 PM
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Hi Everyone! I have looked through these posts and been impressed at the knowledge that is in this forum. I have just started AYP and wonder what advice you would give me. I have not been doing asanas for some time and injured my neck and first rib so would not be able to attempt the inverted asanas. What can I do instead? Any tips on increasing flexibility via stretching exercises or diet - like turmeric- would be gratefully received  I am not sure I can get my mind round my joints to do the Lotus. Any tips for this? Thanks so much. |
Edited by - catrynn on May 27 2013 09:49:23 AM |
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whippoorwill
USA
450 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2013 : 10:37:33 AM
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Hi Catrynn! I'm not 60 yet, but I have a bit of arthritis in the hips, knees, elbows. The pain comes and goes.
I do two things to help my body along:
1. Diet to help control inflammation, which for me includes:
* Whole grain foods such as oatmeal
* Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, and ginger
* Nuts such as pistachios, almonds, and pumpkin seeds
* Oils such as sesame oil and almond oil
* Herbs from my garden
* Lots of dark leafy greens. I don't digest these very readily, so I like them cooked.
* Meats such as wild-caught salmon and sardines
* Supplements such as fish oil and glucosamine.
* Black and green tea
And I avoid things like soda and iced drinks. Sometimes I stay away from coffee, but not always.
2. Therapeutic exercises and asanas. As fas as asanas go... If it hurts, I don't do it. One of the asanas teachers at the yoga studio in town says that she leads the yoga class, but our bodies teach us the yoga. Just listen to your body and do what it wants.
My favorite gentle inversion:
* Two legged table: Lay on your back and bring your feet close to your hips. If you have knee problems, it's okay for your knees to be a little wider than your hips. Pull your navel up and in toward your spine. This starts to tilt your tailbone upward. When your hips are tilted as far as they will go using your abdominals, contract your buttocks and gently, one vertebra at a time, lift your hips off the ground until your hips are as high as is comfortable. During this time, your neck, shoulders and arms, face, etc. are completely relaxed. Arms are resting next to your torso. Hold the pose for as long as is comfortable and then gently, one vertebra at a time, bring the hips back down to the floor. Finally, relax everything and allow your hips to tilt back into a natural curve for the spine. Think of it as a massage for your back muscles as you allow the hips to come back down.
I hope that explanation makes sense. I'll let others chime in with other gentle inversions.
Yoga is comfortable and effortless. There's no forcing, so just do what you can. All the best to you! |
Edited by - whippoorwill on May 27 2013 10:51:58 AM |
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machart
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2013 : 11:53:10 AM
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Hi Cathryn!
I'm 57 and agree with whippoorwill...don't do asanas which cause pain.
But it is amazing what you can do at our age!
My advice is to take some classes at the y or a local studio ... The instructor can tailor an asana set specifically for you.
Once you start practicing you will love how your body feels...every time you practice it is like the feeling you have coming out of a nice massage.
Enjoy the journey! |
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catrynn
Ireland
68 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2013 : 04:51:49 AM
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Thank you so much Machart for your comments. Thank you too Whippoorwill for your very clear instructions. Your diet is similar to mine only now we add in calcium as my husband broke his hip. We didn't take calcium but now we do to make our bones strong so we don't break them if we fall! Tell me what you do with turmeric. I know we can add in a teaspoon or two when cooking certain dishes but do you ever have it as tea? I believe it is good to cook the turmeric to get the best results. I have seen recepies for the tea which boil it a little or up to 10 minutes. Do you know anything about this?
I really look forward to trying your gentle inversion exercise. I have always enjoyed doing exercises and do so most of the time - after some lulls every now and then. I did read of another inversion exercise which was just resting your legs against a wall or door as high as you can which would have the same effect apparently. But I do remember doing an exercise like yours some time in the past. Thanks again |
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HathaTeacher
Sweden
382 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2013 : 10:57:59 AM
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Neck vertebrae are vulnerable, especially in women. If there have been injuries before, be very cautious. I'd avoid headstands completely. If you want to keep an almost-inverted posture for a while, try Prasarita Padottana asana, but learn it gradually and don't put any weight on your head (take all weight to the feet, fingers, and palms).
If you've practiced elbow stands before, then resume very slowly and gradually - I'd avoid arching the spine and bending the neck too much; look down and slightly back toward your elbows instead, keeping the body more aligned/straight - it'll take more core training, bandhas, and balance than just standing there arched (so, practice near a wall for a few months or years, and always be prepared to exit safely, not over the head).
A substitute for inversions during convalescence is hanging upside down from bent knees (for example, on a strong branch, wishbone, trapeze etc. with a thin cushion on), but for a short while (lengthens the spine - overdoing it is risky).
It's tricky to strengthen the neck muscles without challenging the vertebrae again. For static training, you can move the head half an inch straight forward while gently pushing it backward with your hands, to put the neck muscles into work. 3 breaths, once a day. Increment by 1-2 breaths a week. When you're past 10-12 breaths, practice 3-4 times a week (no longer 7) to give the muscles a rest in between. Self-pace even when pushing very gently - always listen to the body.
Links to my turmeric posts:
www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....ID=8352#80869
www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....ID=8352#80681
www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....D=10614#90587
(you might set your Webbrowser to Edit-Search each of these pages for posts containing "turmeric").
Bone strength takes much calcium, true, but also (about 10 or so) other minerals, so complementing with a multi-mineral and/or corall sand (as unpoluted as possible) is a good idea. Onions and some Ca-rich foods are also rich in vitamins etc. that are essential to bone metabolism: most of dark-green leaves, sea weed, and broccoli (K1), fermented foods (K2) like curd/ricotta or natto (vegan, fermented soy beans). Whereas other Ca-rich foods contain oxalic acid (spinach, unpeeled sesame/tahini) which blocks the digestion of Ca.
Foods are the safest source, and even among supplements, it's better to go for a complete group of a vitamin rather than horse doses of just 1 of that group (500% or 1000% of RDI is not unusual, which causes a severe imbalance within the group - plus might even become toxic in long-term daily use). That's mostly accepted in the B complex of vitamins but some researchers argue it's the same thing with D, K, and E. It's easy to beat foods by pills w.r.t. the (over)dose, but impossible to get near foods' variety of nutrients. Enjoy your meal ;-) |
Edited by - HathaTeacher on Jun 01 2013 11:00:28 AM |
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catrynn
Ireland
68 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2013 : 08:57:29 AM
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Hallo HathaTeacher!
Thank you very much indeed for your post which I found very enlightening. I haven't actually done any head standing asanas at all. I haven't even done the elbow stand except years and years ago. I had come to the conclusion that core strengthening was needed and was doing the exercises recommended by Yogani which includes the neck pushing to the front, back and sides. I have learned to take it all gently at last so your comments are very welcome indeed.
Thank you too for the links to turmeric. i also appreciate your comments on bone strength and on solo or complete group supplements. When I started takin solo Vitamin d and solo Calcium twice a day, I got pains in my bones! So I am stopping that practise immediately. I shall certainly go for complete groups in future but I do take your point that pills can't beat the variety of foods in plants and it's great to have pointers to what plants are good sources of bone strength. Is there such a thing as diet pointers for the complete coverage of vitamins and minerals we need? A bit like those 7 strengthening exercises Yogani gives? There is so much information now and where diets are concerned. they can easily become fashionable without offering much except perhaps confusing issues! I would be very grateful if you would point me in the right diet direction  |
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lalow33
USA
966 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2013 : 8:57:07 PM
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Hi Catrynn,
I remember reading an article by Patricia Walden(a famous teacher). She had injured her neck and the inversion she did while recovering was legs up the wall. It's a wonderful pose; legs can be straight, wide or in butterfly.
In a class I took, those who couldn't do shoulderstand did supported bridge pose. A block is placed wherever is comfortable near the sacrum at whatever height feels appropriate. I'm assuming that you know bridge pose since you've done asanas in the past.
Hope it helps. |
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catrynn
Ireland
68 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2013 : 06:01:31 AM
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| Thanks Lalow! I think the legs up a wall sounds wonderful to me. I don't remember the bridge pose but I will look it up. Great tips |
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Lauren_Yoga
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2013 : 07:54:24 AM
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Hi Everyone,
This is a very interesting topic! Thanks for your invaluable sources of information! Catrynn the bridge pose is very simple:
1. Lie down on the floor and place a thick blanket under your shoulders to protect your neck;
2. Bend your knees whilst keeping your feet on the floor;
3. Keep your arms alongside your body, you will need them for strength;
4. Exhale, and push your tailbone upwards towards to pubis, and lift your buttocks off the floor;
5. Lift your buttocks until the thighs are about parallel to the floor. Keep your knees directly over the heels, but push them forward, away from the hips, and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees. Lift the pubis toward the navel;
6. Lift your chin slightly away from the sternum and, firming the shoulder blades against your back, press the top of the sternum toward the chin. Firm the outer arms, broaden the shoulder blades, and try to lift the space between them at the base of the neck (where it's resting on the blanket) up into the torso.
7. Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Release with an exhalation, rolling the spine slowly down onto the floor.
Hope this helps, good luck xx |
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catrynn
Ireland
68 Posts |
Posted - Jun 19 2013 : 05:08:40 AM
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Hi Lauren. Thanks so much for that. I will give it a gentle go and see what happens. The discussion arose from Yogani's asana recommendations which includes inverted poses. I was looking for an alternative to the one he suggested. At my age I am into a small amount of exercise that does a lot - like his 7 strengthening exercises. I think I am into small doses of everything that do a lot!  |
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HathaTeacher
Sweden
382 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2013 : 2:36:19 PM
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Hi Catrynn,
I wish I were a nutritionist, which I'm not
I think seaweed/Irish Kelp flour, and corall sand from clean waters are good sources of minerals. Wild plants too.
Roughly, seaweed contains 10x higher concentrations (and more kinds of) minerals than land vegetables do. The trouble is, the seas are running short of unpolluted water - for example corall sand was widely available 20-30 yrs. ago, but these days to my knowledge, there's only 1 place in the world still certified for alimentary use.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/current.aspx has a good search function and many articles on healthy living, bone strength, staying fit after retirement etc. I do agree lifestyle and nutrition are superior in the long run (pun intended, dr. Mercola likes running, even marathon) to supplents or medicines. Some of these articles sound close to yogi Sivananda (formerly an experienced doctor) who said the five pillars of yoga are (pranayama) breathing, (vegetarian) diet, (asana) exercise, (savasana) relaxation, and meditation/"healthy" thinking: www.sivananda.org/teachings/ |
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Prem
Canada
90 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2014 : 12:34:17 PM
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Just my two cents' worth - to add to the excellent suggestions above - in a practice you want a forward bend, back bend, balancing pose (important for us older girls), twist, and reverse blood flow (inversion). So a yoga routine may consist of only a few poses to begin, in other words, keep it simple and use ahimsa with your body, never doing anything that hurts. An inversion I teach my older students is legs up the wall (Viparita Karani)
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/690
with folded blankets or bolster under the sacrum, and a small rolled up towel under the neck. Google 'restorative yoga' which uses lots of props, bolsters, etc. to get nice and comfy. If you do bridge, be sure you can shake your head 'no', meaning youre not putting pressure on cervical spine. Shoulder stand is an intermediate-advanced pose, use the same neck cautions and use folded blankets under the sacrum. Lauren Yoga gave a very good tutorial on bridge, which is an excellent pose, just listen to your body, there is absolutely no rush. Yes, catrynn you will never get into headstand without strong core. With a simple yoga routine we are educating to get the body to the point where it can easily slip into the pose and not before, when your core is ready the legs will easily float into headstand. But please use caution and all the best! |
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Help please for asanas for over 60's
