What Is the Best Type of Yoga for the Beginner Over Age 50?
What’s the Best Type of Yoga If You are Over 50?
Yoga has evolved tremendously in the United States since I taught myself as a high school student over 50 years ago. If you do a little research and try different classes, you can find the type of yoga that best suits you.
Common forms of yoga that you can now choose from (in online or in-person classes) are:
**Anusara— emphasizes going with the flow of nature and physical alignment. Poses are taught to open the heart physically and mentally and props (belts, blocks, and straps) are often used.
**Ashtanga—which means “eight limbs” in Sanskrit, is a fast-paced, intense style of yoga (not my type!) taught by Pattabhi Jois. It is physically demanding because of the continual movement from one pose to the next. This practice produces intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs.
**Bikram—a specific set of 26 yoga poses repeated several times and performed in a 95-to-100-degree room to loosen tight muscles and induce profuse sweating to cleanse the body. I do not recommend this type of yoga for the beginner. One of my friends went to a Bikram class and fainted midway through the class.
**Iyengar yoga—emphasizes body alignment, standing poses, and the use of props to ease the body into alignment.
**Kundalini yoga emphasizes synchronizing the breath with physical movement so that dormant energy in the lower body (base of the spine) can be awakened, released, and allowed to move up through all the energy centers (chakras) of the body.
**Vinyasa—means breath-synchronized movement and involves a vigorous and continual flow of poses—especially sun salutations—in which the movements are matched to the breath.
**Yin—introduced by Paulie Zink, this passive form of yoga focuses on stretching connective tissue around the joints—primarily the knees, pelvis, sacrum, and spine. The still poses are designed to clear energy blocks, improve circulation, and promote growth. The seated and supine still poses are usually held for three to five minutes each and access the deeper layers of fascia.
If you are just starting to learn yoga, some of the Yin poses can be too intense or held too long for a beginner and you risk injuring yourself! Listen to your body and start out slowly. It’s okay to hold a pose for only a minute and work your way up to longer times.
**Hatha—is a general term that includes many of the physical types of yoga. Most of the poses are slow paced, gentle, and held for a stipulated period-of-time. Some can be challenging but the practice lends itself to learning in baby steps and gradually working one’s way up to mastery.
Hatha yoga is my number one choice for yoga beginners over age 50. If you do the poses properly, ease your way gently into them, focus on what you are doing, breathe slowly and deeply in sync with the poses, you will feel your body "waking up" to its true radiantly healthy nature. And I can virtually guarantee that you will notice yourself “shining” in your body, mind, and spirit!
