Take Charge of Aging with Yoga! Splits Are a Bonus.

Splits at 70? Not a big deal. Seriously. Not.
Good party trick? Yes.

I'm taking a quick diversion from Nepal stories to expound about something as near and dear to my heart as travel or gardening. That's yoga. I bring this up because of the hubbub created by a recent photo of me on Facebook doing the splits at my surprise 70th birthday party. (Even though I am 69 for another week!)

I fell into the splits at the mere suggestion that I could. And yes, I am having the time of my life, even with the "older than dirt" birthday hat and the blazing candle sunglasses. And even in full-throttle exhibitionism. I should be ashamed, but I'm not.

The reason I can do the splits, touch my toes, do a push-up, hold a plank position for two minutes, put my socks and jeans on standing up, squat to pick weeds, flush airport toilets with my toe, lift heavy casseroles from the oven,  etc. etc. is because I practice yoga. But my point is, I am nothing special!

I've been in a yoga class with many of the same people-of-my-approximate-age for nearly 15 years.  I've seen them become stronger, more flexible and more balanced, the opposite of what might be expected as the years "just roll by like a broken down van" as Bonnie Raitt sang.

Here's Irene, seventy-something, one of about 15 people who show up regularly for a yoga class in Rogue River, the tiny Oregon burg near where PK and I live. Irene is one of five in the class who easily does the splits.  Many others are close.  The oldest class member is 85, with others in their 50s, 60s or 70s.

Yoga is my fitness strategy, my conditioning regime, my mental health fix. If you've never practiced yoga, you may think it's easy, just a bit of stretching, quiet time with your dreamy thoughts and a bunch of  granola chompers ooommmiinng under dim lights. You would be wrong.

Yoga can be physically and mentally demanding. If taken to its edge, it can be the most challenging thing you've ever done. I'm on the front end of yoga even after practicing for close to 20 years, and am grateful to have discovered it, even as I recognize that I know so little. I'm still on the physical side of yoga practice, but I experience at times, a deeper reality. I'm thinking meditative practice may be in my future.

For now, here's how I see it. Yoga poses go from easy to challenging to seemingly impossible (as doing the splits appears to many people). The objective is to be able to hold poses, which may require significant strength, balance, and flexibility, and separate yourself from the discomfort to concentrate on ..... something else. I'm not there yet. But I am able to breathe and sink more deeply into poses. And it feels good and has made me stronger and more confident all around. The same has happened to people in this class of what could now be called Yoga for Seniors! Although the teacher would never call it that because really, it is yoga for all ages and conditions.

Here's Lori Armstrong, a mere 59, easily doing the splits. But then, she IS a former gymnast.

Kay, 70, is SO close! She'll be doing the full splits sometime soon. It took me about FIVE years! And that's something else about yoga. Regular practice is key to everything that requires mastery. It took me years to do the splits, so how long will it take me to open my hips? I need to work harder.

Lyn, 69, is an accomplished yogi and the splits are no prob!

Teacher Denise Elzea, who is about to turn 65, and former student Lucille Sava, 72, who moved away since this photo was taken, are both super flexible and strong. 

Donn-Glenn Harris, 85,  can't do the full splits, although he is close! But he can hold the plank position for a couple minutes and do many other yoga poses. Did I mention he's being treated for cancer and has other daunting health issues? He is also a former martial arts practitioner, which prepared him for yoga when he started practicing with Denise at age 70. What has yoga done for him? He says: It opens me. Aging makes us tight, closed, drawing inward. Yoga expands the joints, the muscles, the heart and the mind. It gives us room to breathe and to be.

This is a relatively simple pose with the idea being to keep a straight line from your back foot to your extended hand. It's more difficult than it looks. Not to name names, but people in this photo have had, within a few months or few years,  brain surgery, lung cancer surgery, and knee replacement surgery. Others in the class have had heart surgery, and/or are being treated for cancer. One man, not pictured, is deaf. Another is a polio survivor, struggling with its cruel aftermath. At our relatively advanced ages, class participants have chosen to defy their bodies regarding whether it's time to throw in the towel. No towels have been discarded!  These yoga practitioners have taken charge of their own aging. 

I've had many yoga teachers, and I love them all, but Denise is the only one whose classes regularly include the splits. I'm grateful to her for keeping this difficult pose in her repertoire because so many of her students have mastered it, or are coming close. It  isn't that doing the splits is the be-all, end-all yoga pose. Not at all. Many poses are far more difficult, in my opinion. And no single pose is the barometer. But she stuck with splits through the YEARS and hence has a bunch of senior citizens who can either do the splits or are on the verge.

The "boat pose" challenges the abdominal and thigh muscles.

Lori doesn't have a tight muscle in her body.

Kay, 70,  can almost do the splits, plus, she has recovered from a frozen shoulder to be able to do this pose and make it look easy! (It isn't.) 

Teacher Denise loves seeing her students progress.  She says: The amazing thing is, most are stronger, more balanced and flexible than they were many years ago.

Denise has a lot to smile about. She started offering yoga classes in Rogue River about 15 years ago. I was there, and remember many classes with just a few students. Sometimes, just me! She hung in there and now has about 25 people who regularly show up, averaging about 15 per class. Perseverance and stamina are yoga objectives, and she has demonstrated both traits physically and mentally.

A You Tube video about a 94-year-old yoga teacher has been making the rounds, and Denise, 65, fully expects to be teaching in 30 years. She announced this to the class, and said, "I expect you all to be here with me." Jim, whose wife is in her early 70s, said, "I'll be here! Rita will bring me in my urn." 

We all collapsed in laughter. That's part of yoga, too. Not taking yourself too seriously and never missing an opportunity to connect with humor.

Yoga for awesome seniors? Absolutely! Fifty or better? Get thee to a yoga class!
Student Donn-Glenn Harris and yoga instructor Denise Elzea.

Yoga opens me. Aging makes us tight, closed, drawing inward. Yoga expands the joints, the muscles, the heart and the mind. It gives us room to breathe and to be. Donn-Glenn Harris, 85.

Another post about aging avoidance: Is 90 the new 70? Ask Pauline.