Okay, I admit I was a bit curious about this thirty year-old yoga practitioner and teacher—was she just getting information to help her older students or was she actually practicing yoga for healthy aging herself? So—you know me—I just went ahead and asked. And the answers she gave will be interesting to anyone of any age because as she says, “Aging is happening all the time.”
Now you’re probably wondering why she’s called the Spoiled Yogi. Well, I know, but I’m not gonna tell! You’ll have to check out her blog at spoiledyogi.blogspot.com to find out.
Nina: You’re only thirty, yet you’re already reading our blog on yoga for healthy aging on a regular basis. Can you tell us why?
Erica: Recently, my yoga practice delivered a shocking dose of reality. For the first time, I noticed that I couldn’t unroll my mat and take the shape of a challenging posture (Visvamitrasana, anyone?) without much more than a Down Dog to warm up. Sometimes I have a hard time with change. I ignored my yoga training and forced myself into the posture anyway. The next day I regretted it big time. Ouch! Never again. (There are some lessons you just have to learn the hard way.)
Now that I’m 30, poses that I once was able to effortlessly twist myself into when I was 20 take a little more mindfulness these days. That’s a good thing, because mindfulness is one of the biggest reasons I practice yoga in the first place. The ordeal gave me a glimpse into what the process of aging is going to be like over the next 70 years (I’m a yoga student—why shouldn’t I live to be 100? Right?). All the lessons I’ve been learning for the last decade about listening to my body and preventing injury are going to become more and more important.
I know that 30 is still relatively young—I won’t be getting my AARP card anytime soon. Even if I get to retire early (a girl can dream can’t she?), I have several decades to go before I reach that place in my life. (This is a good thing, too, because my 401k would run out in about 6 months if I were to retire now!) I know I have many more lessons to learn on my yoga mat, too. Still, I know that I’ll wake up one day and wonder how on earth I arrived where I am, shocked at how quickly the years came and went. Sometimes the days seem long, but I know the years are short.
Nina: So it sounds like you’re already planning for the future by learning about how you can use your yoga practice to keep yourself healthy in the years to come.
Erica: Aging is happening all the time—when we’re 20 as much as when we’re 60. And just as we’re supposed to start thinking (or dreaming?) about our retirement NOW, it’s a good idea to make a plan for physical and mental health for the rest of your life. My plan is yoga.
I’m convinced it’s a pretty good plan. It’s a reminder that If I want to be active, healthy, happy, and enjoy life later on, I need to start getting ready for that life now by PRACTICING being active, healthy, happy, and enjoying the present moment now, every single day.
Nina: What are the most important things you’ve learned about practicing yoga for healthy aging? And how have they changed your personal practice and how you teach yoga?
Erica: As much as I love practicing the really challenging, fancy-looking poses, I know if that's my ONLY practice I'll be up a creek without a paddle as I get older and those poses become less accessible. I focus on using yoga to keep me emotionally and mentally balanced, not just to achieve more physically demanding postures. For asanas, I've learned that paying attention to alignment can help preserve mobility and strength. But I've also learned that meditating, practicing mindful eating, and practicing mindfulness in my relationships can go a long way to keeping my mind healthy, which I think is even more important. This has really changed the way I approach my practice. It's not all about going deeper into a posture any more, but about using the postures as tools to keep me at my best for rest of my life! I try to instill this philosophy into my students, too, although if they're like me they'll have to figure it out for themselves!
Nina: If you were going to make a single recommendation to younger practitioners out there, what would it be?
Erica: Find a mentor—someone you admire and respect, who will be there to guide you when you're lost. It's fine to follow inspirational teachers on social media and use their streaming videos and classes as a guide, but it's imperative to have a teacher who knows YOU and your practice on a more personal level. I've been blessed to have many teachers who entertain and answer my questions, no matter how silly they are—and I'm always inspired and grow so much from their words, and I hope I will be able to help others in the same capacity some day.