In this third segment, I share the four key principles of Yoga to Thrive.
Body Awareness: Throughout class, you’re encouraged to observe and notice sensations to access your body's wisdom. By using the “as-is” principle, accept yourself and your experiences in the moment and remain inquisitive without judgment.
Mobility and Flexibility: Mobility is essential for preventing stiffness and injury. Regular stretching and myofascial release can enhance flexibility and improve movement patterns, allowing you to maintain your range of motion. In Yoga to Thrive, we move in all planes, work with our connective tissues such as fascia, ligaments, and tendons, bring awareness to areas of tightness or stickiness, and recognize asymmetries in the body.
Strength: Muscle mass naturally declines with age, but resistance training helps sustain strength, bone density, and joint stability. Strength training increases muscular strength and endurance, two of the five components of health-related fitness. Yoga to Thrive classes incorporate movements designed to strengthen muscles and encourage practitioners to pay attention to which muscles struggle to engage, are unable to disengage, or are unable to relax. There’s a saying that flexibility without strength leads to fragility, while strength without flexibility leads to rigidity. The combination of strength and flexibility helps us achieve stability and our most efficient alignment, so we can move with ease.
Balance: Developing balance aids in functional movement and helps us avoid injury by strengthening stabilizer muscles and cultivating proprioception (a sense of your location in space). When you maintain balance, you are better able to catch yourself if you trip or slip. For older adults, preventing falls can mean the difference between maintaining independence and a sharp decline in health.
Join me for a four-part Yoga to Age Gracefully series starting on February 3. You can learn more and register online here.
