Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com yoga@cherylthomas.com 415-308-3377 |
 Falling (Pt 2)
Want to live longer? Stay in bed. Do not get up. The chances of falling from your bed (or chair or furniture) and dying is 1 in 366,804. Also, do not take a bath. Your risk of dying in the next year from accidental drowning in your bathtub is 1 in 818,015. And, bye-bye Fido. You have a 1 in 15,966,734 of dying from a dog bite.
We are not going to stay in bed or quit bathing or give up our beloved pooch. But there are a few things we can do to avoid falling or at least reduce the risk of going down.
Falling is a part of life if you're active. Yesterday, as the welcomed precipitation made soft mud in our chicken coop, I slipped and landed on my butt and a wrist Just today, a young girl caught a toe a rocky Mt. Tam hiking trail, falling flat on her face. Even a leisurely stroll on a city street can turn into a scraped knee or twisted ankle. And don't even get me started on skiing.
Falling doesn't have to be fatal Yes, wear sensible shoes, remove slippery rugs, avoid medications that cause unsteadiness and use grab bars and railings if you need to. Most importantly, stay strong, work on your balance and maintain good range of motion. Here are some tips:
Stay Strong - Have you ever noticed someone shuffling and it you hold your breath as you are sure they're going to catch a toe and careen forward? Losing leg strength reduces the height that the foot is raised when stepping. And, if you do trip, you need to raise your front leg like crazy to catch yourself. Maintain muscle strength especially in the legs (the quadriceps and hamstrings) is crucial.
Maintain good balance: Besides "I can't touch my toes", the most common complaint I hear as a yoga instructor is "I have horrible balance". Practice, practice. Our ability to balance changes with age, general health, recent illness, injuries or change in muscle strength. It may change day to day or year to year. Be diligent.
Stay flexible. Hum, how does flexibility help with falls? Depending on the fall you may need to rapidly kick your leg out to catch yourself or reach to grab a tree branch to prevent a fall. A healthy range of motion may help you avoid injury from doing the splits on Aisle 5 of Whole Food where the flour bin overflowed and left a sprinkling of slipper powder.
If you've guessed this is all about yoga, you're right. A balanced, well-rounded yoga practice addresses all three of these factors--strength, balance and flexibility (range of motion). Yoga not only helps avoid falls, but contributing to overall wellness.
However, other modalities work also, like Tai Chi or walking and simple exercises at home. A small randomized trial looked at three different exercise interventions--Tai Chi, standard balance training, yoga--over 12 weeks. The study concluded that "the balance yoga training proved as effective as Tai Chi and a standard balance exercise program at improving balance in older fallers." To see the entire study and the yoga poses and other interventions used, go here. Another study done in the UK found exercise programs in older adults not only reduced the rate of falls leading to medical care, but reduced the injuries from the falls.
Call it yoga, Tai Chi, 5Rhythms, or whatever movement practice you choose, but find something that you enjoy that keep the entire body strong and mobile and and balanced. If you have any questions about how yoga can specifically help, just let me know.
Want to read some of my past articles?. They're archived right here. Enjoy.
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Mark your Calendars for Saturday, Dec 12 for the Third Annual Yoga Clothing Swap. Grab your yoga and casual wear "outfits" and bring them over to Alive Yoga in Sebastopol to "swap" with your friends. Time and invite is coming.
Thanks, Jenn and Katina!!! Yoga on Center brings Girish back for live music on Saturday, December 19, 5:30 - 7:00. There will be candles, live music, appetizers and wine to celebrate the holiday season.
Another important opportunity to teachers and serious students. Study anatomy with Judith Lasater at Mt. Madonna. Not just any anatomy, but Experiential Anatomy, billed as the The Most Fun Anatomy Course Ever. I'll be there. More info here.
Know about Yoga in Graton? It's hopping! Find 5 classes a week ranging from Gentle to Slow Flow to All Levels, featuring me, Corina Stoicescu and Denise Hammond. Time and places at YogaInGraton.com. My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here!). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.
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Yoga Clothing Swap and Potluck
Liz Levy and Alive Yoga are hosting the 3rd Annual Yoga Clothing Swap and Holiday Potluck on Saturday, Dec 12 from 12-4 at Alive Yoga in Sebastopol.
Gather up your gently used yoga togs and casual wear and bring them to Alive to "share" or "swap" with others. I know I have some loved yoga tops lurking at the bottom of my drawer waiting for a second life.
There will be some munchies, good friends and probably some music. It's a great opportunity to hang out with your yoga buddies. For clothes drop-off info, contact Liz at info@alive-yoga.com or 415-717-1668.
See you there!
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Empathy Cards
The New York Times ran an contest and asked for ideas on what to say in a card to someone coping with a serious disease or chronic illness or cancer. Here's one of the submissions:
"I know your doctor wants you eating superfoods, so I brought you a kale and quinoa salad. (Except I substituted lasagna for the kale and threw away the quinoa)."
and, the winner:
"I'm so sorry and I'm here to help you create new curse words."
More winners and the entire article is here. Also, google Google Images and search for emthathy cards.
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 The Adult Nap
Thanks to your interest in this important practice, I'm offering a a Restorative Yoga on Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6:45. at Yoga Studio Ganesha on the Square in Sebastopol. Pricing - Buy a 4 class pass for $54 ($13.50/class) or 8 classes for $100 or Drop-In of $16. Yoga in Graton students can use your punch card ($10 per class)!!!
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 Pushing and Pulling
Yoga International is running a 2-part series entitled "Does Traditional Yoga Lead to Muscle Imbalance?". Part 2 is right here.
"If we make an effort to regularly practice pulling movements to counterbalance all of the pushing that we do on the yoga mat, we will help restore our shoulders back to true functional balance. Here is a selection of some great ways to counterbalance all of the pushing work that we do in yoga."
I'm looking forward to trying Blanket Surfing move.
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 Side Bending
During the holidays will you spend time in a plane, train or automobile? What about sitting during the 2-hour t-day meal loading turkey, fixins' and pecan pie. The body may yell, "move me!. A satisfying side stretch may be the answer. Here's an excerpt:
"Side-stretching poses lengthen the muscles between the ribs and pelvis, including parts of the low back, and open the sides of the rib cage, improving rib cage mobility and the expansiveness of the lungs, which makes breathing easier in all situations, including aerobic activities and Pranayama. In sidebends where an arm stretches overhead to reach for the foot, the latissimus dorsi muscle, which extends from the back waist to the armpit, will also stretch."
You'll even learn about your QL (quadratus lumborum)! It's here.
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
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Class Schedule - Week of November 29, 2015
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Tuesday
5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Wednesday
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
Graton Community Club
All Levels
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. (Subbed)
Private, Healdsburg
Saturday
All Levels Flow
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Wednesday
5:15 - 6:45
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
Thursday 8:45 - 9:45 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Private, Healdsburg
Saturday
9:00 - 10:30
All Levels Flow
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Graton Yogis Info:
Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?
We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.
yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton.
Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.
Quotes I Like
You cannot be lost if you don't care where you are.
Judith Lasater
When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.
Ansel Adams
"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful."
Buddha
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Dalai Lama
"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie
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