In sports, in jobs, even in recreation, most of us seem to put upper limits on how long we can seriously participate. We "pass our prime", our performance slowly deteriorates from there, and, eventually, we think we are "too old" for whatever the activity happens to be. Obviously, there are many exceptions to this - especially in south Florida where perhaps the age at which people come to this realization is extended 5 or 10 years beyond the national average, but, eventually, this realization happens to almost everyone. I contend that this realization doesn’t have to happen - especially at the age at which it does.

Becoming old starts with mental "affirmations" such as : I am old. I have an old body. This body will get worse and worse, break down, and I will eventually be in a nursing home. These "affirmations" may not actually be conscious thoughts, but they strongly affect one lives with this programming constantly running in one’s subconscious.

This doesn’t have to be this way. Every day I see people in their upper 70’s. 80’s and even one student who is 92 (!) who are proving to themselves and to me that the body’s and mind’s degeneration at their age doesn’t have to be a quick ride to a nursing home.

This catabolic process is affected by both physical and mental factors.

Most of the physical factors are obvious; some are less apparent. The most obvious of these is what is happening to the body’s muscle system. From childhood through at least middle age, most people remain relatively active. Even so-called "couch potatoes" have a relatively fair amount of physical activity. As elderly people become more and more inactive two significant things happen to their muscles: Through a lack of movement (i.e. stretching) the muscles get shorter; they shrink. Muscle length is lost. This shortening of the muscles makes the spinal curves more pronounced, and, consequently reduces overall height. Secondly, as muscle use decreases, muscle tone or muscle strength also diminishes. The loss of muscle length and strength have a compound effect on the catabolic process. With this tightening and shortening of the muscles, constrictions take place, restricting further the functions of the blood vessels and impairing circulation. As particularly the muscle around the spine get weaker and shorten, the shape of the spine changes and affects the overall health all of the internal organs.

Compounding the problem, the lack of activity, begins to affect respiration. Breathing becomes shallower and more rapid. The volume of air coming into the lungs also decreases.

Each of these factors seems to contribute to, and accelerate the others. Old age creeps in!

Yoga does wonderful things to slow down this physical degeneration. In a proper yoga class, all of the major muscle groups, particularly those around the spine, are both stretched and strengthened. The spine is more properly supported my the improved muscle tone. With special yoga breathing techniques more oxygen is brought to all of the internal organs and to the brain, thereby improving their health and revitalizing their function.

Earlier we said that the catabolic process is affected by both the physical and the mental. The mental is just as important (and probably more so) than the physical. Each person, over her or his life time develops a certain mindset. This mindset does not usually develop through conscious thought, but just as a result of life’s experiences. With a good yoga teacher, this mind set can be slowly changed. One can realize that most of the limitations one has is because of this particular mindset. With practice the old mindset is slowly replaced by a new one which extends the previously self-imposed boundaries and limitations - thus slowing down the aging process and strengthening both the body and the mind.

The Networker