In the course of my work as a trial consultant, I spend a good deal of time in law offices working with litigants, attorneys who try cases in the courtroom. I had scheduled a work session with a lawyer for 10:30 am, thinking that we would only need a couple of hours, and we would be ready before lunch. Imagine my surprise when I received a call from the attorney, a woman in her 60s, requesting that we move the meeting to 10:00 am, so that she could attend the yoga class that her law firm offered at their offices at noon. !
My first thought was “What an enlightened law firm!” My second was “Yes, of course! I would love to reschedule the appointment,” although that meant I had to rearrange my morning to accommodate her. I was touched that this firm understood the tremendous importance of respecting the well-being of its attorneys, that it was willing not only to pay for the instructor, but to make a room available for yoga and forgo what would otherwise be “billable hours.” of the assistant attorneys. And doubly excited that the litigator I was working with was valued enough to participate in the class.
Yoga does a lot of good for the body and soul, especially for those of us in our 60s. Here are some examples of vibrant women whose dedication to yoga has paid off in joy, health, and longevity:
Bette Calman, 90, a highly respected yoga teacher for 50 years, is now known as “Yoga Super Granny.” He rose to international fame when he starred in an Advil commercial during the 2016 Super Bowl.
Tao Porchon-Lynch, 98, was recognized as the oldest yoga teacher in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records at age 93, and she is still teaching! His phenomenal experience includes marching with Mahatma Gandhi twice and helping people escape the Nazis as a French Resistance fighter during WWII. Besides yoga, he started dancing ballroom dancing at the “young” age of 85. Tao’s mantra is “There is nothing you cannot do.” He is one that he has taken seriously throughout his life and is a great example to all of us.
87-year-old Anna Pesce corrected her hunchback posture in just 2 years with the help of a certified back-care yoga instructor. She says she feels wonderful now because she can drive and do a lot of things that she couldn’t before.
So how does it work? How, specifically, does yoga benefit your body and mind?
In terms of your body, yoga improves balance, which becomes increasingly important as we age. Yoga promotes bone strength, because the nature of the movements themselves improves bone density, which tends to decrease over time. Yoga is a low-impact form of exercise, which means it gently strengthens your muscles and, in the process, prevents them from atrophying. Stronger muscles mean less stress on the joints, which relieves arthritis.
Yoga also lowers blood pressure without putting undue pressure on the cardiovascular system, which is why (for most people, always check with your doctor) it is particularly suitable as part of a blood pressure reduction program. Because yoga incorporates deep breathing as part of the practice, more oxygen circulates throughout the body, benefiting all internal organs and systems.
On the positive side of your mental and emotional state, yoga stimulates certain chemical releases in the body that can decrease anxiety and promote an overall sense of relaxation. Because yoga relieves tension, many find that it improves their sleep. Along with that, yoga has been shown to increase memory and cognitive processing ability – something we can all appreciate as we grow older in our later years!
Why is it important to know the benefits of yoga? Because it lends itself to a little-known health trick: the more you know about how something benefits you, the greater the benefit.
Nowhere was this phenomenon better demonstrated than in the remarkable “Hotel Maids” study. The maids of two hotels did a job that involved more than 30 minutes of daily exercise. At the first hotel, the researchers told housekeepers how many calories they burned while cleaning during the equivalent of 30 minutes of exercise. Investigators said nothing to the chambermaids at the second hotel. After just a month, with no changes to their diet or exercise routine outside of work (which was practically zero), the female employees at the first hotel weighed an average of two pounds less, had a lower percentage of body fat and systolic blood . pressure an average of 10 points lower. The chambermaids at the second hotel were unchanged.
What happened? The female employees of the first hotel now had information about the specific benefits of their work beyond a paycheck. Their subconscious transmitted the message of benefits to their bodies, which resulted in weight loss, less body fat, and lower blood pressure. However, the maids weren’t doing anything different physically.
Of course, cleaning work is very different from yoga, but the concept is the same. Harness the power of your mind while practicing yoga. Learn about the specific value and benefits that yoga brings you, both physically and mentally. You can’t help but prosper!
