Keep on Keeping on........

No one wants to think about getting old, how life will be for us as elderly people.  I regularly have conversations with my oldest class member Mary (aged 95) about how important it is to keep on with the practice. "You just have to keep moving" says Mary - in fact this is almost a mantra for her!  She has been doing yoga for so many years - constantly and consistently getting back on her mat.

I wish I could take her round to all my other classes, introduce her to all the other class members, some of them in their late teens and early twenties and I want to say "Look at Mary - follow her example, don't wait until it's too late, make yoga a habit for life!"  In fact any kind of exercise regime is obviously good for us but yoga is something sustainable, it can be modified for all the different periods through your life.  During illness, pregnancy, old age, an activity to do with your children, even to help you though hard times and bereavements.  Oh and remember yoga is not just asana (postures), sometimes practice may be meditation, yoga nidra or the yoga of selfless service if that is what you need.

I love welcoming young and some not so young new members into my classes and enjoy hearing how much they enjoyed the session, but often after a few weeks they stop coming.  In my heart I hope I ignited a spark of interest in yoga in them and hope they have kept on with their practice at another class or even at home.  What I fear is that they have abandoned the practice, thinking they may come back to it at some point.  It makes me want to shout - "keep at it - sometimes it will feel like an effort to get to class, sometimes you might find a session boring, sometimes you might decide you don't gel as well with your teacher as you first thought - but just find another teacher!  Please don't give up!!"

When I teach my senior classes, I can see how much yoga has enhanced their lives, how much easier everyday life is due to the fact their joints and muscles are more comfortable.  I admire their stoicism during difficult times and know that yoga has given them this precious gift of being able to cope with whatever life throws at them.  This gift is available to everyone - it is our choice whether we accept it and keep practicing, or if we leave it for another day..........

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