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I suspect I've written this post before, but thinking about it again, so.
I'm beginning (in my mid-70's) to recognize that I do have to admit and deal with the aging process. Can't come up with the Jeopardy answers as quickly as I used to, don't heal as fast from small injuries, don't sleep quite as much at night, weight comes off more slowly (and we're not talking about what I see in the mirror!) Those are all so tiny, gradual, and unimportant (at least on the small level where I experience them) that I don't think about them much.
But the place where I do face the fact is in yoga. At one point I thought that I could always at least get back to the point where I'd once been, even if it took a lot of work--and for a long time I could. And maybe if I made yoga my whole life, I could get back to my best days of ten years ago. But why? It's more interesting, really, to learn about myself as I am, because sooner or later no matter how hard I work, I won't get back to that place. So one option is to mourn what I've lost, but another is to explore this new country as it keeps changing, and even try to develop some gratitude for something new to learn about.
And for sure, it's very much about learning! ( stuff about my body, if you're interested )
And that has led to a lot more mindfulness in yoga, trying to be aware of exactly which positions and movements cause compression in my neck, which strengthen it, and what helps and hurts my shoulders. It's as though I'm looking at my body, especially in yoga, from a totally different perspective, no longer trying to reach some outcome, but noticing what the process is like, and learning what my body really is.
I'm also very grateful that I get to learn with a very good teacher who has actually worked up whole classes partly inspired by my needs (but then, most of my class is over 50, so maybe we all need it), and even more grateful that I'm learning in a gentle way. This would be so much less interesting if serious pain and disability were involved. Maybe it will help me if I ever have to face that, though.
I'm beginning (in my mid-70's) to recognize that I do have to admit and deal with the aging process. Can't come up with the Jeopardy answers as quickly as I used to, don't heal as fast from small injuries, don't sleep quite as much at night, weight comes off more slowly (and we're not talking about what I see in the mirror!) Those are all so tiny, gradual, and unimportant (at least on the small level where I experience them) that I don't think about them much.
But the place where I do face the fact is in yoga. At one point I thought that I could always at least get back to the point where I'd once been, even if it took a lot of work--and for a long time I could. And maybe if I made yoga my whole life, I could get back to my best days of ten years ago. But why? It's more interesting, really, to learn about myself as I am, because sooner or later no matter how hard I work, I won't get back to that place. So one option is to mourn what I've lost, but another is to explore this new country as it keeps changing, and even try to develop some gratitude for something new to learn about.
And for sure, it's very much about learning! ( stuff about my body, if you're interested )
And that has led to a lot more mindfulness in yoga, trying to be aware of exactly which positions and movements cause compression in my neck, which strengthen it, and what helps and hurts my shoulders. It's as though I'm looking at my body, especially in yoga, from a totally different perspective, no longer trying to reach some outcome, but noticing what the process is like, and learning what my body really is.
I'm also very grateful that I get to learn with a very good teacher who has actually worked up whole classes partly inspired by my needs (but then, most of my class is over 50, so maybe we all need it), and even more grateful that I'm learning in a gentle way. This would be so much less interesting if serious pain and disability were involved. Maybe it will help me if I ever have to face that, though.