The New Yoga for Healthy Aging: Living Longer, Living Stronger and Loving Every Day

In recent years there has been a paradigm shift in health care. It is moving away from focusing on chronic disease, toward preventive lifestyle changes. To Suza Francina, yoga is an integral part of this shift.

A certified Iyengar yoga instructor in Ojai, California, Suza has over 30 years of experience in teaching older students. Her previous books include The New Yoga for People over 50.

This new book primarily addresses the unique needs of people over 60. B.K.S. Iyengar, now almost 90, is a master role model: “a timeless, ageless practitioner who is showing the world what healthy aging really looks like.”

[Citing the National Academy of Sciences, Suza states that if the average age of institutionalization of the elderly could be postponed by just one month, it would save over $3 billion in Medicare and Medicaid. And one year of yoga costs less than a single day in the hospital.

What is so positive about yoga is that it is never too late to begin. The New Yoga for Healthy Aging is full of inspiring role models and uplifting personal vignettes. Many featured practitioners began yoga in their 50s, 60s, 70s, or even later, and some have travelled to Pune once or more to study at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Institute (RIMYI). The cover shows the joyful energy expressed by Betty Eiler, over 70, doing full hanumanasana--enough to make anyone eager to find out more. This young-at-heart lady, a long-time student of Ramanand Patel's, says that yoga practice can help us to cope with whatever challenges life may bring.

Suza makes a place for everyone to tell their story: how yoga helps them to live longer and be stronger. One practitioner's story is especially dear to our local community--that of Bernard Spira. Although Bernard has now sadly passed away, the memory of his commitment to practice inspires us with possibility.

Suza first encountered Bernard when reading the Event Book from Guruji's 2005 book tour to Southern California. A photo of Bernard in Virabhadrasana II was captioned, `To Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar, who has made all this possible, Thank you,' with Bernard's birth date, October 12, 1911, and a website address: [..]

Suza has structured her book to serve aspiring novices as well as those who already practice. She gives a glimpse into one of her own classes, so newcomers may witness the benefits experienced by those who have practiced yoga regularly.

Readers are shown the special benefits of using the props developed by B.K.S. Iyengar. Throughout, lovely photos by Jim Jacobs show practitioners –all over 60 — increasing the possibility of their poses, with props; Jim is himself an Iyengar student over 60.

“I believe that someday yoga chairs, bolsters, wall ropes, pelvic slings, and even backbenders will seem as normal as any other common item,” writes Suza. Props are not just an investment in healthy aging–they can be a lifeline.

Suza articulates yoga’s ability to ameliorate the health challenges we typically face at 60 and beyond: keeping the cardiovascular and skeletal systems healthy, relieving arthritic joints, and coping with rehabilitation after hip surgery. She also covers yoga for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Suza cites numerous medical studies on how yoga benefits our quality of life, and how there is an ongoing integration of yoga with Western medicine to treat medical disorders.

Suza presents a series of short sequences for healthy aging, including a sequence called `Your daily yoga vitamin.’ These are organized to illustrate, explain and guide the practitioner step by step through each pose. Teaching tips are also provided.

The last chapter is appropriately titled “The Last Asana.” It concerns savasana–corpse pose. Yoga teaches that we cannot be ready for death when we remain psychologically attached to the things of this world: “In savasana, we practice the art of releasing ourselves from our attachments and letting go.” An afterword provides an excellent list of resources and a bibliography on related subjects.

Opening this book is like opening a door into a new, positive world of possibility–the world we all seek as we age. This book shows, by example, a way to ongoing health and grace. It demonstrates how we can be independent and strong, and why yoga is especially important to this age group.

If we embrace our golden years, we are open to possibility: to discover great wisdom, compassion and joy. We owe it to ourselves and to those dear to us to buy this book, to read it, and to commit to its wise message: “Do not waste the Gift of Old Age.”

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Catherine Fisher is a yoga teacher and the editor of Yoga Vidya, Journal of the BKS Iyengar Yoga Association of Southern California.

This review originally appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Yoga Vidya and is posted with permission.

Rating: 5 / 5

As a brand new yoga teacher (at age 62), I find Suza Francina’s latest book, “The New Yoga for Healthy Aging”, to be a great resource. I teach in the 55+ community where I live, so many of my students have health challenges. I often refer to the chapters on teaching seniors, as well as those dealing with specific health issues, like hip replacement (I have two in class), arthritis and osteoporosis. I also like to share quotes from Suza and the other senior teachers featured in her book with my students. I highly recommend this book for new teachers and older students as well.

Carin Seebold, RYT
Rating: 5 / 5