RELAX INTO YOGA FOR SENIORS
A Six-week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility, and Pain Relief
Kimberly Carson, Carol Krucoff New Harbinger Publications Softcover $19.95 (200pp), 978-1-62625-364-3
Kimberly Carson and Carol Krucoff equip America’s ever-growing senior population with daily exercises and rhythms that build balance, strength, flexibility, and overall well-being. The six-week yoga course transitions into long-term daily practices so that older adults can foster and maintain health for their bodies and minds. Each week features poses geared toward goals like range of motion and spinal health, giving a clear sense of purpose and progress to increase motivation.
Each exercise has clear, simple instructions for gentle movements and frequent reminders to help prevent injuries. While most of the movements are within the capabilities of the average senior, they also address limiting factors like osteoporosis and lung disease and give instruction to help seniors move at their own pace and comfort level.
Each exercise features sketches to illustrate the pose. The sketches are of real models profiled at the end of the book. The people are all older adults and vary in body type, presenting an openness to the wide variety of real-life bodies rather than projecting perfection. And the sketches themselves have just the right amount of detail to guide without distraction (much better than photos often do), and yet they still maintain a warm, human feel.
The book is accessible to those new to the body-and-mind awareness yoga requires and cultivates. Through straightforward, not overly ethereal instructions and a focus on benefits, Carson and Krucoff engage people from all physical-exercise backgrounds. They also give thorough instructions on how to prepare body, mind, and space. The audio download (and other online resources) lets you listen while you try the poses, rather than turning repeatedly to the book during a session.
Carson and Krucoff’s book is senior-focused, not simple yoga adapted for older adults.