Regain your health, vitality, and independence through this age-old approach to fitness.

Whether you're an older adult just beginning to exercise, you're physically weak due to an illness or injury, or you haven't worked out in a while, The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It® Yoga is a safe, easy-to-use guide to renewed physical and emotional wellness.

For thousands of years people have turned to Yoga to enhance their quality of life. Yoga gradually builds physical flexibility and strength, improves concentration, relieves stress, increases energy, and develops the ability to relax at will. Easy Does It® Yoga, a nationally recognized fitness program, adapts traditional Yoga techniques to make them safe and easy for people who may face physical limitations. But, although it is a gentler from of Yoga, it is just as effective as more strenuous fitness programs for getting and staying in shape.

Alice Christensen, founder, of the American Yoga Association, guides you through the program, showing you:

• The basics of Yoga exercising, breathing, and meditation with specific, easy-to-follow illustrations throughout

• Specific postures such as the Gentle Full Bend, the Easy Sun Pose, and the Elbow Twist to help you target your weaker spots and increase your overall flexibility

• The unique benefits of Yoga for alleviating chronic health conditions ranging from arthritis to depression

• A six-week program to get you started and to help you develop a basic understanding of essential movements

• Specially designed sequences to boost energy or bring calm, depending on your specific needs

• Strategies to incorporate the Yoga lifestyle into your daily routine, not only with exercise, but also with tips on creating a healthy diet and ways to develop a more peaceful, positive mental attitude

Regardless of your age or physical condition, The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It® Yoga will inspire you to awaken your body and mind and experience the well-being and fulfillment that Yoga brings.

"Doing this Yoga every day has made me a changed person. I feel so alive now that I just want to do things. I used to feel sluggish and fatigued. I'd just as soon lie on the davenport and just sleep or nap, rather than doing anything. Now, oh heavens, you wouldn't believe what a changed person I am! Now I go disco dancing every Wednesday and Thursday. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would ever have the energy to go out and do these things. It's just grand!"

— Jeanne Hrovat (age 66)

Most of us know that in order to maintain health, we need regular exercise. However, if you are elderly, convalescing from an illness, recovering from an injury or from substance abuse, or if you simply haven't exercised in many years, you may be hesitant — not knowing where to begin, or even afraid to exercise for fear of hurting yourself. Easy Does It Yoga is a safe, gentle program that any adult can do. Its greatest value is that you will love it. It will not become a burden; rather, it will help lift your spirits and become a happy support for everyday living. Easy Does It Yoga is a complete fitness program in itself. It can help you build strength as well as the confidence to engage in more vigorous exercise, if you wish.

Easy Does It Yoga is a holistic program of simple exercise, breathing, relaxation, and meditation techniques designed to help you regain and maintain health, well-being, and independence. The program also includes some discussions about philosophy, to stretch your mental muscles, and up-to-date nutritional guidelines to help you make informed choices about what you eat. The practice of Easy Does It Yoga encourages a positive view of aging and physical capabilities because it shows you that you need not be limited by these conditions. Easy Does It Yoga can help you live your life to the fullest. It is a program that fits the expression "If I knew then what I know now...," giving you the choice to have a wholesome, healthy body that makes for a wonderful, productive life.

Easy Does It Yoga is derived from the classical techniques of Yoga, which date back more than five thousand years. In ancient times, the desire for greater personal freedom, longer life, and heightened self-understanding gave birth to this system of physical and mental exercise that has since spread throughout the world.

The whole school of Yoga is built on three main structures: exercise, breathing, and meditation. Yoga exercises are designed to put pressure on the glandular systems of the body, thereby increasing its efficiency and total health. The body is looked upon as the primary instrument that enables us to work and evolve in the world, and so a Yoga student treats it with great care and respect. Breathing techniques are based on the concept that breath is the source of life in the body. The Yoga student gently increases breath control to improve the health and function of both body and mind. These two systems of exercise and breathing then prepare the body and mind for meditation, and the student finds an easy approach to a quiet mind that allows silence and healing of the damage caused by everyday stress. Regular daily practice of all three parts of Yoga produces a clear, bright mind and a strong, capable body.

"Yoga" is a Sanskrit word that means "to join" or "to yoke," and the practice of Yoga brings the body and mind together into one harmonious experience. It might surprise you to learn that traditionally, the ideal age to begin the practice of Yoga was said to be fifty-three, the age marking one's passage into a new stage of life, one of contemplation and self-discovery. Yoga was traditionally practiced by older people and was designed to develop better physical and mental health.

Easy Does It Yoga will show you that exercise does not have to be strenuous, painful, or boring. Once you find out how enjoyable it is to practice Easy Does It Yoga, you will be able to overcome one of the most problematic factors in the American lifestyle: inactivity.

Inactivity is a habit — a habit that is easy to fall into as we get older and extra movement becomes stressful. If you have been sick, it can be difficult and uncomfortable even to think about moving around actively again. The desire to become strong and well is sometimes blocked by the hopeless attitude "I can never do it. It takes too much effort. I'm not worth anything." When you practice Easy Does It Yoga, you can cure that problem by immediately improving your self-confidence and enjoyment of life.

In this day and age, there are always more ways to make life easier for ourselves. Almost anything can be purchased by mail order, for example; even food can be delivered right to our doorstep. The problem with such conveniences is that they help to create a lifestyle that is more and more sedentary. A typical weekday for many of us may involve rising from a comfortable mattress after a full night's sleep, driving to work, sitting at a desk most of the day, driving home, and relaxing all evening on a couch or in an easy chair until it's time for bed again. Our most common entertainments are other sedentary pastimes such as videotapes, movies, concerts, and spectator sports. If you are among those fortunate enough to take advantage of the luxuries of mail order, the latest labor-saving devices, and other comforts, you still need an inner courage and impetus to stay well and strong by continuing to exercise. Otherwise, a sedentary lifestyle can make you vulnerable to many chronic health problems.

The sedentary lifestyle eats away quietly and steadily at physical and mental health. Without exercise, muscle turns to fat, circulation slows down, fat clogs artery walls, and the brain gets less oxygen. It becomes harder to get out of bed or the easy chair. We tire more easily and sometimes even become depressed. Energy levels fall, and so we reduce our activity even more.

Inactivity can be directly associated with many of the problems that are usually attributed to aging or illness, such as stiffness, overweight, constipation, back pain, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Inactive people spend more weeks bedridden, visit doctors more often, have a lower opinion of their health, and die younger than do those who maintain an active lifestyle. Most people who gain weight in midlife and their older years do so not because of overeating but because of decreased activity levels.

Our sedentary lifestyle catches up with us when, for some reason, we fall out of even minimal exercise habits, when we're injured, for example, or recovering from a major illness. Perhaps office politics, financial needs, or other motivations lead us to value our work more than our health. Major life changes, such as retirement, children leaving home, or moving to a new home, can also disrupt our regular activity levels, as can the onset of chronic illness.

"I started taking Yoga so I could be involved in some type of exercising activity. You see, for seventeen years I indulged in high-impact aerobics. However, in 1996 I had an attack that was diagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). I was only forty-four at the time, and I knew I needed to do something. Yoga has helped me focus on the breathing and stretching aspect, allowing me to relieve some stressful situations occurring in everyday life. Even though I can't do every exercise, the ones I can do give me a sense of accomplishment."

— Barbara Solomon (age 47)

Inactivity can cause people of any age to experience difficulty coping with stress. Sometimes people begin to use alcohol or drugs to escape the feelings of depression and anxiety that are common results of inactivity. Easy Does It Yoga exercise provides a constant, safe release for feelings of stress. A few minutes of daily practice prevent everyday stresses from accumulating to levels that can bring on depression and anxiety.

Anyone who has ever experienced a serious injury, illness, or addiction knows that it takes a long time to recover. Even after a simple cold, sometimes it takes weeks before we feel like ourselves again. Often a longer time passes before we feel like exercising.

The habit of inactivity is pervasive even without the disabling effects of an illness or injury. Many of us do some form of exercise for fun: We might play a set of tennis on the weekend, or swim a few laps on a hot day. Few people, however, exercise with the regularity and the vigor necessary to get really fit and stay that way. We all know it would be better to exercise more, but we find that we really don't want to. It seems like such an effort! It is easy to find all sorts of excuses for not exercising when your exercise program is dull and boring: "In the morning, I'm too stiff." "During the day, I'm too busy." "In the evening, I'm too tired from working all day." "It hurts too much." "I have a bad knee." "I don't have the right shoes." "It's raining."

The quality and amount of exercise you get every day can be the single most important factor in maintaining your good health, and with Easy Does It Yoga, you can exercise properly in as little as five minutes. The hardest part of any new fitness program is getting started. Easy Does It Yoga is such an enjoyable program that it won't have you looking for excuses. It will give you the motivation to take up a daily exercise program with vigor and delight.

Health professionals agree that for many chronic health problems, the best treatment is to change the lifestyle patterns that contribute to the symptoms. For example, several recent studies have proven that a combination of Yoga exercise and meditation and a low-fat diet can actually reverse heart disease. Adult-onset diabetes is another example of a chronic illness that can often be reversed when you pay careful attention to diet and practice moderate exercise such as that provided by the Easy Does It Yoga program.

In Easy Does It Yoga you will find a way to coax your body and mind toward health and vitality by using gentle, safe, interesting, and enjoyable movements that can be done easily — even if you are currently bedridden. You don't need any special equipment or clothing, and you can practice almost anywhere, anytime: watching television, standing in line at the store, or even lying in bed. The program includes exercise, breathing, and relaxation techniques that you will love. These techniques will gradually increase your stamina, strength, flexibility, and feelings of well-being. I can assure you that you will notice a definite improvement within one week if you practice a few minutes each day.

Many people associate Yoga primarily with stretching and relaxation, and most people who take Yoga classes do so for stress management, to learn how to relax, or to increase flexibility. These benefits definitely exist. However, there is a more subtle, cumulative effect of regular Yoga practice that directly affects mood and self-awareness, and it is this aspect that confronts — and defeats — the moodiness, isolation, and depression caused by inactivity. Because of its efficient, specialized movements, controlled breathing, and relaxation training, Yoga acts very quickly to help you maintain a centered, positive attitude. If a Yoga class is taught correctly, no one leaves tired, depressed, or worn out. It is not a competitive program. Instead, you will learn to adjust it specifically to your own needs.

"A friend of mine teaches Yoga and asked me to help her review the Easy Does It Yoga curriculum. She knew I wasn't an active person and didn't like to exercise because I have a bad shoulder and back problem. She assured me that Easy Does It Yoga wasn't too strenuous and that the exercises could be modified if I found them too difficult. I found that I could do most everything and I wasn't in pain. After we did exercises every day for several days, I found I was beginning to enjoy my new pain-free shoulder and back, thanks to Easy Does It Yoga."

— Terry Lewis (age 65)

As you begin, it will be easy to master the simple movements and techniques of Easy Does It Yoga. Even a little daily practice will show increasing benefits each day. I suggest that you begin by trying just five minutes of Easy Does It Yoga twice a day. You can choose the exercises and breathing techniques that you like best. You won't find it tiresome or boring, and you will notice an immediate sense of well-being that will encourage you to practice a little longer each day. I believe that twenty minutes is sufficient for a complete, entirely beneficial exercise session. If you want to add a relaxation/meditation session, begin with ten minutes and then gradually add more time if you wish.

Whatever your physical condition, you can use Easy Does It Yoga to improve the quality of your life. It will empower you to do the things that you want to do to make your life happy, healthy, and rewarding.

Copyright © 1999 by American Yoga Association

Tags: Yoga

About the Author

Alice Christensen founded the American Yoga Association — the first nonreligious, nonprofit, educational Yoga organization in the United States — in 1968. She is the author of 20-Minute Yoga Workouts, The American Yoga Association's New Yoga Challenge, The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It Yoga, and Yoga of the Heart. She lives in Sarasota, Florida.