If you’ve done any research into the exercise fitness professionals recommend in midlife, you’ll know that weight training and yoga seem to be the recipe for success.
Weight training is key as we start to lose muscle mass when we hit menopause, plus it helps to protect bone density, which is important as our bones become brittle as we age.
On the other side, yoga supports mobility, flexibility, balance and strength—all of which naturally decline with age. “Yoga can help prevent falls (mostly thanks to all the balance practice), a major concern for older adults, while also reducing stress and improving sleep quality,” says yoga teacher and co-founder of Kin Yoga Mats, Roisin Hope.
Though yoga is undeniably helpful in our forties, fifties and beyond, yoga instructor Sophia Drozd points out that there are a few mistakes we make in our practice that could be holding us back from the full range of benefits.
Here, Sophia, who founded the platform Yoga 4 Pain specifically to address the needs of those with chronic pain, shares the errors we might be making…
Yoga mistakes you need to stop making
1. Overstretching
“Yoga isn’t about stretching as far as you can and being super flexible,” explains Sophia. “It’s about the union of the mind and body. Next time you are on the mat, observe how each pose feels somatically through all parts of the body as you move.”
© Getty Images2. Thinking about the next pose
“Stop anticipating the next pose or counting down the hold you are in, where’s the fun in that?
“Instead, encourage yourself to stay in the present asana, each time you will observe and learn something new.”
3. Trying to match your breath to the teacher
“This is just insane,” says Sophia. “Your breath is your breath. Tune out of the teacher’s breathing and tune into yours, notice the sound, the depth, where the breath is travelling to and how your body reacts to the inhale and exhale.”
4. Skipping savasana
“It can be tempting to shorten your savasana practise or neglect it altogether, but I urge you to stop this.
“Practising stillness is just as important as practising movement and savasana is an integral part of yoga practise, allowing for integration. If you’re not comfortable lying down, practise your final pose seated.”
5. Self-doubt
“If you find yourself constantly asking yourself ‘Am I doing this right, is my alignment correct, is my foot in the right place?’, you’re working in a place of self-doubt.
“Instead, trust in your body and mind’s ability to find the right variation of the pose for you each time you are on the mat. Don’t get hung up on alignment and what you think it should look like – go with how it feels.”
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