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10-31-22 10:12 PM - Post#922925
I would be very careful with yoga. I wrote a very long article I sent Dan and some other people. Here is part of it.
Flexibility training can be done actively and/or passively. Active flexibility uses external force to increase range of motion. Passive does not.
https://camillamia.com/active-vs-passive-fle xibility/#:~:text=The%20d ifference%20between%20act ive%20...
Yoga generally involves passive flexibility, although it becomes active if a teacher forces a student into greater range of motion. This can become a real problem if done without sensitivity, as it can tear up ligaments, tendons that attach muscles to bones, or even muscles.
This article from the New York Times is worth reading.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/h ow-yoga-can-wreck-your-bo dy.html
I'm not saying not to do yoga because it's working for now, but pay attention when your body is telling you to do less in time and range of motion. Don't do it mindlessly. I wouldn't try to imitate the teacher who may be hyper flexible or what you see in books. It's not a competition for who moves the furthest.
I used to do yoga when it was considered part of a spiritual discipline in the early 1970s and not what a lot of it is now, a way to look and feel better. I have been a teacher of the Feldenkrais method for the last 30 years and do that and other methods instead to improve mobility. This is my short definition of the method: an educational process for improving movement and overall functioning. It can improve posture, coordination and flexibility while reducing and/or eliminating neuromuscular pain. I almost never demonstrate when I teach. Generally, the movements are slow and gentle although not always. If you're interested, you can read more here.
https://feldenkrais-metho d.org/archive/feldenkrais-m ethod/
At the age of 73, I deadlift much higher than official height and no longer care about how much weight I can lift. I never had the body for it and weigh about 75-85 pounds less than the few serious lifters my age and my height I read about. I don't want their injuries. Surfing and skateboarding are dangerous enough.
My best friends are dead. Others with one exception are all suffering serious health issues. I would like a fairly functional mind and body for as long or as short as I live, but there are no guarantees. I found that out when my 11 year old daughter got a 3 out of a million cancer twenty years ago. She was raised with all organic foods until the age of five when we moved to a place where they were impossible to get. She had no transfats (before all the labelling against it,) no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives. She took vitamins, sunblock, drank reverse osmosis water etc.. She survived with a lot of scars, both physical and emotional. Other families weren't so lucky.
Life looks a lot different from this age than it did even ten years ago. I know I don't have all the time in the world anymore and try to focus on what I believe is really important. Good luck.
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