Adventures in Middle Aged Yoga

Yesterday I turned 52 years old and I feel in better shape today than I have in 15 years. 
Today is March 16, 2013 so I have been practicing Yoga for a little more 18 months.  

On Monday of the previous week, three people came into a “Foundation” class.   The three of them appeared to be a middle-aged father and mother and their 20 or so year old daughter.   They rented mats, went to the front of the room and clearly struggled.   The instructor was somewhat helpful but you could see that they did not know what to do and (for the parents) with the warmth of the class and the flow of the poses they had a very hard time.    I wonder if they will come back.      

I am writing this blog for those of us of a certain age who realize that if they stay on the path that they are heading, they will end up being hunched with back pain and out of shape.  Touching their knees will be a struggle, and touching their toes last happened in 12th grade.   This is where I was heading until I decided that I needed to do something about it.   I hope that if anyone reads this, they will take heart that they too can practice Yoga and that they do not have to be 25 and an ex-gymnast to do so (though it helps and they look good in class) .   They must also learn that the practice of Yoga takes dedication and work and that to be successful means a commitment to change their lives.   More importantly,  I hope that they will see that practicing Yoga can improve their health,  their attitude and themselves.

On or about July 15, 2011 I read a book called "Breakfast with Buddha" by Ronald Merullo.   In the book,  the protagonist (first person account) drives a Buddhist monk  from New Jersey to North Dakota.   There are a number of discussions and stops along the way that is in reality a spiritual journey for the narrator.   The book (for me) is really a meditation on middle aged comfort and the slippery slope of age and how we get wrapped up in the search of pleasure and the lack of spirituality in many of our lives.    It gave me pause for thought about how I was spending my life in a very sedentary manner.      There was one section in the book where the monk and the narrator join a group for a session of Yoga.    While the narrator physically struggled, he seemed to enjoy certain parts of the session.  It gave me pause for thought,   and at that point I decided that I needed to do more for myself to try to reverse my own downward slope.     I had been walking a lot with my dog three to four miles a day and decided that I would start running again for one but also I decided that I needed to explore Yoga as well.

Sometime about August 1 of the same year,   I took an 1.5 hour "Beginners" class in the 95 degree and 95% humidity at a place called "Amazing Yoga" in Wexford, Pa.   I had no idea what I was doing and was severely challenged by the physicality of the session,  the heat and my complete lack of understanding of what I was supposed to be doing.   I was also probably the oldest person in the room.   I remember Yoga from my high school and college days as a group of people in sweats and in cold rooms doing poses and holding them.    What I experienced that day was not at all what I expected.   I was able to finish the class but I knew that I was out of my league.  More importantly,  I knew that the way that Yoga has evolved,  it was really difficult if not impossible for an out of shape 50 year old to be a "Yogi" without some real dedication and learning.  I also learned that you need to find the right approach and the correct Yoga studio.     I also vowed to myself that I would not be discouraged and that I would begin the practice of Yoga.

I am hoping that anyone who reads this will use my experiences as a starting road map for their own Yoga journey.