HALIFAX — Susan Storring’s eyes are shut, her breathing deep and steady as she moves her shoulders in a gentle, rolling motion. Up, back, down. Breathe.
Sunshine streams in, illuminating the pastel blue-green walls of the Halifax-area yoga studio. Piano music plays softly from a corner stereo.
Up, back, down. Breathe.
For the next hour or so, the 67-year-old knows she’s guaranteed total serenity through the practice of yoga — an ancient discipline that some seniors say has improved their physical and mental health.
It’s about aging gracefully, not turning back the clock.
“I’m old, and I’m looking to be gracious about that and to be relaxed about it,” says Storring, a grandmother and retired educator.
“I’m not going to be able to make myself get any younger. I just enjoy keeping my body as limber as possible, but I enjoy the mind part even more.”
ALL Yoga, a cosy studio located in the Halifax suburb of Dartmouth, is among a number of locations across Canada offering classes designed especially for seniors.
“A lot of seniors don’t have very active lifestyles and want to participate in a group environment, other than just going walking or doing something by themselves,” says instructor Gail Fulop, who teaches a seniors’ class at ALL Yoga.
“They maybe want something gentle and don’t want the expectations that a full exercise class might bring.”
Fulop says many seniors are also looking for ways to cope with stress, including anxiety associated with losing loved ones and the loss of income.
The 46-year-old instructor uses a number of props for balance and comfort in her class, including pillows, small blocks and chairs for students who find it difficult to get down on the floor.
Here, there are no pretzel-like contortions. Poses are modified for aging bodies, the class is taught at a slower pace and students with medical conditions, including osteoporosis, are advised to take it easy. During one class, Fulop’s students — about a dozen women and three men — attempt the popular tree pose, which involves balancing on one foot. A bespectacled man holding onto the back of a chair shakes his head and quietly chuckles when he lets go and begins wobbling before steadying himself once again.
“There are no egos in this class,” Fulop, a petite blond, reminds her class. “Listen to your own voice and go at your own pace.”
Student Beth Curlett, 72, says yoga has brought serenity to a fast-paced life that’s only become busier in retirement, thanks to new hobbies and a bevy of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“This is just a little piece of my life that is just so calm and I love it.”
Ironically, while yoga has given Curlett a chance to slow down, she says it’s also enabled her to keep moving instead of “just rocking in a chair.”
The retired nurse says practising yoga for the past seven years has all but cured nagging lower back pain that used to keep her in bed several times a year. “Nothing seemed to help very much, but once I got involved in yoga, it’s been so much better,” says Curlett, who also takes water aerobics classes to stay in shape.
“I’ve stretched parts of me that I didn’t think it was possible for me to manage.” Jo Welch, who teaches human performance at Dalhousie University, says a number of studies on yoga for seniors have shown benefits ranging from a decreased fear of falling to a better night’s sleep.
But the professor recommends seniors combine gentle yoga classes with walking and weight-training to keep fit, as adults can begin to lose muscle mass and gain fat as early as their 40s.
“The best kind of exercise is something people will do, (because) so many people don’t do anything,” Welch says.
At the end of Fulop’s class, smiles spread across the students’ faces as they bring their hands together in a prayer position and say “namaste” — a traditional salutation often said at the close of yoga classes.
Storring, who’s been practising yoga for more than 30 years, says she’ll return for another class soon, partly to keep up with her one-year-old grandson, partly for the relaxation.