Restoring Flexibility: A Gentle Yoga-Based Practice to Increase Mobility at Any Age

By Andrea Gilats

A FULLY ILLUSTRATED, STEP-BY-STEP PROGRAM THAT IMPROVES THE MOBILITY OF SENIORS AND PROMOTES LONG-TERM HEALTH

No matter what age you begin doing yoga, it will help you steadily renew your physical abilities. Done over four weeks, this 25-minute, twice-weekly program features gentle poses, practice sequences and techniques to help you:

Improve your posture

Increase spinal flexibility

Release tightness in your shoulders

Relax the muscles in your torso

Expand mobility in your hip joints

Reduce the chances of falling

This book’s safe, age-appropriate, customizable approach to yoga-based exercise is specifically designed to restore your flexibility, mobility, and agility while ensuring a longer life and more independent lifestyle. As this flexibility practice becomes a regular habit, you’ll feel more energetic and enjoy moving freely. Your favorite physical activity, like walking, golf and even dancing, will once again became a personal pleasure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ulysses Press
• Release date: Nov 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781612434995

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Text copyright © 2015 Andrea Gilats. Photographs copyright © 2015 Rapt Productions except as noted below. Design and concept copyright © 2015 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the United States by:

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-499-5

Acquisitions: Casie Vogel

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Lily Chou

Proofreader: Lauren Harrison

Indexer: Sayre Van Young

Front cover/interior design and layout: what!design @ whatweb.com

Cover artwork: © Rapt Productions

Interior artwork: Rapt Productions except page 7 © Jacob Lund/shutterstock.com; page 18 © Pressmaster/shutterstock.com; page 39 © sciencepics/shutterstock.com (hamstring) and Sebastian Kaulitzki/shutterstock.com (psoas); page 83 © otnaydur/shutterstock.com; page 93 © Kudla/shutterstock.com

Models: Baxter Bell, Andrea Gilats, Toni Silver

Please Note: This book has been written and published strictly for informational purposes, and in no way should be used as a substitute for consultation with health care professionals. You should not consider educational material herein to be the practice of medicine or to replace consultation with a physician or other medical practitioner. The author and publisher are providing you with information in this work so that you can have the knowledge and can choose, at your own risk, to act on that knowledge. The author and publisher also urge all readers to be aware of their health status and to consult health care professionals before beginning any health program.

This book is independently authored and published. No sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or products mentioned or pictured is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The author and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands and other products mentioned and pictured in this book.

CONTENTS

Introduction

PART ONE: THE POSSIBILITIES

Chapter 1: Welcome to Your Extra-Long Life

The 70/30 Proposition

Chapter 2: Mobility, Flexibility, & Healthy Longevity

Why We Lose Flexibility as We Age

Chapter 3: Why Choose Yoga for Restoring Flexibility?

The Leading Benefits of Yoga

The Enabling Benefits of Yoga

The Well-Being Benefits of Yoga

Chapter 4: Making Sure That Gentle Yoga Is Safe for You

Chapter 5: Getting Started

Getting Barefoot on a Sticky Mat

PART TWO: THE POSES & PRACTICE SEQUENCES

Chapter 6: Learning the Sequences: Two Approaches, Three Easy Steps

Where to Start? Two Approaches

Chapter 7: Sequence 1: Aligning Your Bones & Centering Your Breath

Mountain Pose: Growing

Breathing in Stillness

Moving with Your Breath: Namaste Circles

Chapter 8: Sequence 2: Restoring Upper Body Flexibility

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Arm Circles

Bent-Elbow Chest and Back Stretch

Standing Side Bend

Standing Twist

Chapter 9: Sequence 3: Restoring Spinal Flexibility

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Cat/Cow Spinal Flexibility Flow

Extended Puppy

Threading the Needle with Optional Arm Opening

Camel

Chapter 10: Sequence 4: Restoring Hip Flexibility—Flexors

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Extended Leg Stance

Warrior I

One-Sided Stretch

One-Sided Stretch with Twist and Arm Opening

Chapter 11: Sequence 5: Restoring Hip Flexibility—Rotators & Adductors

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Side Angle

Optional Arm Extension in Side Angle

Wide-Leg Forward Fold with Twist and Arm Opening

Chapter 12: Sequence 6: Restoring Agility—The Yoga Sun Salutation

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Forward Fold

Low Lunge

Lower to Belly

Low Cobra

Downward-Facing Dog

Rise to Forward Fold

Rise to Upward Salute

Chapter 13: Sequence 7: Restoring Lower Body Flexibility

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Seated Wide-Leg Forward Fold

Head Toward Knee

Revolved Head Toward Knee

Bound Angle

How to Do the Ankles, Feet, & Toes Exercises

Chapter 14: Sequence 8: Reclining Joint Releases & Muscle Relaxation

The Sequence at a Glance

How to Do Each Pose

Full-Body Stretch

Reclining Bent-Knee Twist with Arm Extension

Knees Toward Chest

Reclining Bound Angle

Savasana

PART THREE: THE RESTORING FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM

Chapter 15: The Restoring Flexibility Four-Week Program

The Restoring Flexibility Tool Kit

Chapter 16: Building the Program into Your Life

Fitting Your Flexibility Practice into Your Schedule

Chapter 17: Adapting the Program to Meet Your Needs

Tweaking Your Program

Enjoyment of Your Practice and Rightness for Your Body

Ease of Scheduling

APPENDICES

Appendix 1

How to Safely Lower to the Ground & Get Up Again

Lowering to Your Hands and Knees from a Standing Position

Lowering to a Seated Position from Your Hands and Knees

Rising to Your Hands and Knees from a Seated Position

Rising to a Standing Position from Your Hands and Knees

Lowering to Your Hands and Knees Using a Chair for Support

Rising from Your Hands and Knees Using a Chair for Support

Appendix 2

Session Guides

Notes

Acknowledgments

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

In 2006, life handed me a double whammy. I was diagnosed with both emphysema and Crohn’s disease. I had probably been living with these conditions for years, but because I had grieved so long and hard after the loss of my husband to cancer in 1998, I hadn’t paid attention to the slow but relentless worsening of my symptoms. But the universe works in mysterious ways and, as luck would have it, in late 2007, I moved into a condominium building that had a fitness center next door to it. My 62-year-old body joined the gym, and I began working with a trainer twice a week. Shortly after I started strength training, my gym began offering a yoga class. I decided to give it a try.

From the moment I found yoga, I felt like a duck in water. What amazed me was that the negative stories I had been telling myself about my physical abilities seemed irrelevant when it came to yoga. I’ve never been particularly athletic; I’ve never been good at sports. Back then, I spent most of my day at my desk or in meetings and, in the evening, I turned into a couch potato. But yoga changed all that. After years of avoidance, I had finally found a way to restore my confidence in my physical abilities.

No matter when you come to yoga, you’ll carry your body’s history with you to the mat. There, to my surprise, I learned that my history didn’t limit me at all, nor did my age or my diseases and conditions. I began to realize that yoga was something I could get better at through practice, so I stayed with it. After

Reviews for Restoring Flexibility

[thelibraryhag · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I actually went through this book several times. It is a wonderful book for introducing yoga asanas. There are detailed instructions for the poses as well as sequences to follow. There is a great 4 week plan for getting into your practice. Even someone who has doing yoga for a while could probably benefit from the instructions on doing some poses. I think I am going to have to buy this one.