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KAREEN'S YOGA by Kareen Zebroff
Age is relative. An attitude. It used to be that yoga-over-40 books
like mine were meant for people who looked, felt and acted old. No
more. Nowadays, even over-50 is hip, probably because the pig in the
python baby-boomers are exercising and eating ever more conscientiously,
the more their thickening waistlines and creaking bones give them
intimations of mortality.
So, when exactly does senior yoga begin? Technically over-65 perhaps,
but my friends of that age would certainly not consider themselves
seniors yet, if ever. Actually, senior yoga is simply a gentler, thoughtful
yoga that takes into consideration our “centre of gravity”
vitality.
That is to say, the bringing up to par of our general “resonant
range” of health by dealing with the problems existing in our
three often overlapping hierarchies: the physical, emotional and mental
planes. For, you are least ill when you have a skin condition, and
you are most ill when you have severe mental problems.
Our physical plane is most compromised when ill health negatively
affects our vital life-force or prana, sex, rest, sleep, the five
senses and other obvious physical factors. Our emotional plane cannot
remain healthy when it begins to suffer from limiting thoughts and
perceptions, anxiety and depression. And, our mental plane begins
to show signs of trouble when we experience confusion, extreme forgetfulness,
or any other restrictive changes in understanding and consciousness,
that affect our freedom and creativity.
If we are healthy with the help of yoga, age becomes just a state
of mind. Take my friend Irene who, at 83, continues to have enthusiastic
get-up-and-go, a bounce in every quick and steady step and wonderful
healthy energy, despite odd aches and pains. We have put our minds
together to come up with some helpful recommendations for you to be
the same. (Please check with your doctor first, and with other health-professionals
such as naturopaths and chiropractors.)
1. Make the rest of your life your passion. Be its wise old, experienced
architect.
2. Do yoga, it really works, but is best done after warming up, and
with some props.
3. Start with a good teacher to instruct and individualize programs
for you.
4. Listen to your intuition, in yoga practice or anywhere else, to
guide you along.
5. Go only as far, and hold only as long, as you can, never compare
or compete.
6. Design a schedule that works for you, however bizarre it sounds
to others.
7. Remember, yoga poses and breathing are all about “allowing
and unfolding.”
8. Ears over dropped shoulders, expand chest, slacken jaw, tilt pelvis,
root feet.
9. If debilitated, start with lying-down poses, not standing ones;
you will improve.
10. If depressed, use a continuum of poses such as Sun Salutations
and backbends.
11. Also try supplements: CoQ10, chromium, SAMe, St. John’s
wort, and essential fatty acid (EFA) oils.
12. If debilitated, massage good vegetable oil into the skin, rather
than taking it by mouth.
13. If digestion is bad, get lots of digestive support through extra
enzymes, hydrochloric acid to digest proteins and both acidophilus
and bifidus.
14. Hugely important is to test your pH with test-strips from the
pharmacy to achieve and then adjust it with the following food in
the right balance. Your pH should be between 6.8 and 7.4, with 7.2
as ideal.
15. Acid: meat, eggs, fish, dairy, grains, nuts, corn, sauerkraut,
artichokes, rhubarb and plums.
16. Alkaline: fruits, vegetables, millet, buckwheat, almonds, brazil
nuts, peas, lima beans and soy.
17. If too acid, eat a 70:30 percent ratio of alkaline to acid food.
If too alkaline: use a 60:40 ratio of acid to alkaline foods, as many
health problems arise from an imbalance.
18. Eat a good hearty breakfast, medium lunch and light supper. Never
drink ice water with meals.
19. The six most important nutritional steps for seniors are:
• good protein or whey protein-powder, at every meal. No sweet
snacks.
• use good EFA oils, not margarine or shortening.
• alkalize yourself through fresh fruits and vegetables, five
to six times a day.
• avoid any high-carb “white
foods” such as sugar, flour, bread, cake and cereal.
•
exercise, eat wisely, drink lots, walk and enjoy your food and your
life.
20. Buy organic, esp. apples, grapes, berries, peaches, pears, celery,
potatoes, spinach and green beans.
21. Drink only four ounces of water per half-hour or you will lose
trace minerals in urine.
22. Avoid the foods you crave most: you’re probably sensitive
or allergic to them.
23. Trick yourself into taking your vitamins and minerals in liquid
form in health drinks.
24. Include in drinks: whey protein powder, lots of good oils like
flax and some spirulina.
25. Think of hot flashes as facials for the body. Then shower and
use a loofah.
26. Do the Kegel exercises and Aswini Mudra, for better bladder control
and sex.
27. If bed ridden, or on long car or plane trips, take one-quarter
aspirin per day to prevent dangerous deep-vein thrombosis.
28. To avoid blood clots and swollen ankles, use support hose all
of the time especially so, in hot weather.
29. For burping with heartburn, try the homeopathic remedy Kalium
Carbonicum 30C.
30. For hemorrhoid after-care find a portable bidet in a medical supply
store.
31. Walk a little bit faster every day, “climb any mountain”
or stair, bike or swim.
32. Invest in good runners with off-the-rack, or adjusted-for-you,
orthotic insoles.
33. Avoid unsafe areas and human predators, as well as energy parasites
who
leave you feeling down and done in.
34. Even if you have faults, repeat often: “I deeply and completely
accept myself.”
35. Learn to protect and ground yourself by putting yourself in a
golden light.
36. Meditate the easy Dalai Lama way with any positive repetitive
thought or prayer.
37. Know when you are well off compared to many others, and then give
thanks.
Kareen Zebroff’s classic, revised book, The ABC of Yoga (Foulsham
title: A Gentle Introduction to Yoga), as well as her Yoga-Over-40
video, may be ordered from her website www.kareenzebroff.com
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