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This is my 81-year-old mother. Looks like the yoga is working…
More and more midlifers are discovering its joys. But can this ancient discipline actually help us live longer and healthier lives? (Spoiler: yes). By Lysanne Currie
Yoga teacher Barbara Currie taught her final lesson in December 2023, three months shy of her 82nd birthday. It marked the end of an era – 51 years of teaching yoga – but why is she hanging up her leotard now? The reason might surprise you. She and her 85-year-old husband are going travelling. “We’ve got more to do, more countries we want to see,” she explains, “while we’re both fit, mobile and energetic enough to do it.”
It’s pretty impressive stuff and evidence of both a youthful attitude and physicality that Barbara mostly puts down to a life of yoga, a practice she took up in Glasgow in 1971, long before most of us had ever heard of a downward dog.
“We’d just moved into the area, I had two children under the age of three, and I was lonely, low and out of shape. No one had heard of yoga back then, but I was so stiff, tired and stressed that I was happy to give a local class a go.
“I left an hour later walking on air. I knew immediately that yoga was for me. I started to practise regularly and became so pleased with my new yogatoned shape, energy and positive attitude that I wanted to share the benefits – so I trained to be a teacher.”
The yoga attitude
Barbara is my mum. She took me along to one of those early classes when I was three and yoga has been part of my life ever since. Whereas she has religiously taught and practised daily (the six-pack and toned biceps are evidence), my relationship with yoga has been different. It’s always been there: we did the exercises as kids and, when I lived nearby, I’d go to her classes. But as well as being an exercise regime, yoga is a positive mindset that provides energy and resilience.
Once you know the yoga poses, they not only provide a great workout when done in sequence, but can also be used separately as a kind of “toolbox”. Tight shoulders? Chest expansion or cow. Stiff neck? Head and neck roll.
For me now – 55, menopausal, sole parent to a 10-year-old and running my own business – yoga has taken a different shape. Most of my practice is in snatched time at home: salute to the sun is my morning go-to and, as Barbara says, “the perfect sequence to work every organ in the body”. I do local yin yoga classes but also frequently dip into my yoga “toolbox” – the pigeon pose sorted out a bout of sciatica, and the mountain pose on tiptoes got rid of menopausal plantar fasciitis (extreme foot pain). It worked. It always does.
What are the benefits of practising yoga?
One of yoga’s most powerful gifts, especially in mid to late life, is understanding that the body not only tells you what it needs but provides solutions. Yoga gets rid of the “Oh I’m just getting old” mindset and refuses to accept that aches and pains are an inevitable part of ageing. Instead, through regular practice and the increased connection to one’s body, it offers positive solutions to body groans.
Diana O’Reilly, chair of the British Wheel of Yoga, explains: “Yoga is an attitude. It is all about self-regulation, it’s saying, ‘We can create this wonderful life, we can do it ourselves at any age. And this is how.’”
“Yoga connects everything,” adds Fiona Adamson, a yoga sports scientist, who works with professional athletes through her business Yoga Sports Specialist. “It works on all aspects of ourselves. Post-pandemic, people are more willing to explore their health and to pick up little techniques, such as a simple breathing technique that might help with anxiety or depression.
“And, of course, one of the huge benefits is the effect on the spine. If you’re as old as your spine and your spine is completely flexible at 60 – then you’re young!”
Barbara concurs: “Think about everything the spine does for us – it allows us to stand, sit, bend, pick up things and live our life smoothly. And that has an effect on our physical and mental health, so if we do become more sedentary, it’s not surprising that other health issues creep in. And of course a flexible spine brings a more youthful appearance.”
For midlifers who want to feel better, tackle aches and pains, stay flexible and toned, with improved mental health and cognition, yoga is a marvellous panacea.
How to choose the right yoga class
There are many types of yoga so it’s worth trying some styles to find the right one for you. Some classes offer free trial lessons, or look online for a taster class. “Shop around,” says O’Reilly. “Every teacher is different but when you find a wonderful teacher and a wonderful style of yoga, you will feel it instinctively. You’ll enjoy it and then everything will open up to you.” However, she adds, “We’re not so much teachers as facilitators. We’re facilitating people to become their own teachers.”
What to expect as a yoga beginner
contortions and complicated positions from the word go. “Not at all,” says Barbara. “Yoga classes are so welcoming and all the poses we do have a stage for complete beginners. It’s important to just go at your own pace. There is no competition – you just listen to your body.”
“We start with ‘centring’,” says Adamson. “Bringing awareness to where you are in that moment in time, which immediately begins to reduce cortisol levels.”
Medical conditions or injuries are always taken into account. “Before the class begins, I ask people to tell me if they have any medical conditions or injuries,” Barbara explains. “Some exercises may not be suitable, so when we come round to that one, I will give an alternative pose.”
And do you need any kit? Most classes that use blocks or straps will provide them, and as for clothes, there’s no need to worry about splashing out on a new outfit. “Just wear something loose and comfortable,” advises Barbara.