Yoga as a tool to strengthen as we age

A practical guide to strengthening through yoga with AYC teacher, Bec Nathan

By Rebecca Nathan

Many of us have experienced the profound benefits of yoga, through our practice on the mat, and the integration of poses, breath work and meditation into our daily lives.

A regular practice can help to improve fitness, stability and balance, increase endurance, and enhance our flexibility…. these are just the physical benefits! The beauty of yoga is that it is suitable for any age and fitness level. Even if we haven’t exercised for some time, or are recovering from injury, we can start slowly with breath work and simple physical poses and build from there.

Yoga is a great way to build strength and muscle tone by using just our own body weight. By strengthening and stretching the muscle groups of the body in a variety of sequences, we can provide a whole-body workout that helps to build lean muscle mass and improve bone density. This is crucial as we age in order to protect our joints, prevent bone loss and maintain great balance. For women from midlife and beyond, improving strength is vital for many aspects of our future heath, including sarcopenia (muscle weakness) and osteoporosis (brittle bones) both of which can happen due to ageing and hormonal changes. 

Following are 3 strategies of how to incorporate yoga as a tool to help build upper and lower body strength and increase core strength to support our lumbar spine. 

1. We can start by selecting poses that target specific muscle groups and encourage us to support our own body weight, for example:

   Ardo Mukha Svanasana - downward facing dog
   Great for all over body strengthening and focuses on bones susceptible to fractures- wrists, arms, hips and legs

   Vrksasana - tree
   Stretches and strengthens hip, core and leg muscles and helps to prevent falls through increasing our ability to balance

   Virabhadrasana - warrior 1 & 2
   Works our arms, shoulders, knees and ankles

   Trikonasana - triangle
   Strengthens waist and back muscles, improves hip flexibility and the outstretching of the arms strengthens arm and shoulder muscles 

   Navasana - boat
   Targets abdominals, back muscles and the shoulders

2. We can choose dynamic repetition of vinyasas (sequences), for example:

   Surya namaskar - salute to the sun
   During this sequence, made up of a series of poses, muscles of the entire body experience stretch and pressure. Several poses require supporting our own body weight, which encourages contraction of individual muscle groups. When performed as a whole sequence the poses are complimentary and help to build strength and endurance.

3. Our regular yoga practice may include extending the amount of time we stay in a select pose, for example:

   We may choose to work on building the strength in our arms and shoulders by including Virabhadrasana 1 in our practice.

   We might begin by staying in the pose for 3 breaths on each side and then gradually add to this as our strength increases….4 breaths, 5 breaths, 6 breaths etc… 

Each of us will age differently and factors such as genetics and illness play a part. Incorporating yoga into our life is one way we can have a positive influence on our wellbeing. It is best to seek the guidance of a qualified teacher if there are any questions and your teachers at Agama are always here to support your yoga practice!

Rebecca teaches a regular Strength and Energy class on Mondays from 9.30 to 10.30, which integrates the above tools.

Please join her for a special class on 22 April where we will practice these strengthening principles and answer any questions that you may have after class.