Combining a mudra, a hand gesture, with alternate nostril breathing can help senior yoga students restore and balance their subtle body in a safe and easy practice. Instead of the traditional fingers to the nose method, try using an approach that feels more accessible.

For this breath work, have your clients either seated in a chair or on the floor in simple seated pose, depending on their flexibility.

Start your clients out in Prithivi Mudra, also known as the Earth Mudra. Prithivi Mudra tends to be easier for seniors to manage, even with arthritic hands. Have your client place the tips of the thumb and the ring finger of each hand together. Then extend the remaining fingers straight out. Then guide them through a three part series of Anuloma (Alternate) Pranayama (Energy/Breathing); Chandra Anuloma Pranayama, Surya Anuloma Pranayama and Anuloma Viloma Pranayama.

Part 1: Chandra Anuloma Pranayama connects the participant with the cooling side of their body, the left nostril, the feminine side. Have them then place their left hand under the right, palms facing upward and place the hands a few inches from the solar plexus. The elbows are naturally drawn outward to the sides of the body, creating a triangle from the crown of the head to the hands, which form the base. Ensure that the hands are not touching each other and that the fingers remain extended. Now encourage them to experience breathing through the left nostril only. Guide the process by having them Inhale and breathe in the left nostril, exhale and breathe out the left nostril. This is a slow and deep breath, not a face rapid breath. Repeat six to ten times on this one side. I’ve even had my students who are somewhat skeptical attempt to breathe in on the right side and notice how difficult if not impossible it is to do while holding the Prithivi Mudra.

Part 2: Surya Anuloma Pranayama connects the participant with the heating side of their body, the right nostril, the male dominant side. Simply have your students reverse the position of the hands, placing the left hand now above the right. Shift the awareness of the breathing in and out through the right nostril. Repeat six to ten times.

Part 3: Anuloma Viloma Pranayama connects the participant with balanced nostril breathing. In this phase you will be guiding them through a shifting of left and right nostril dominance. Start with the left hand under the right, breathing in to the left nostril. After completing one cycle of inhale, exhale; shift the hands and the instructions to breath in and out of the right nostril. Repeat six to ten times. Then release the breath exercise altogether and guide them back to natural breathing.

Many of my students find the practice an easy way to explore the boundaries of the right and left nostril and an enjoyable and easy way to connect with, restore and balance the flow of their breath.

©NamasteWorks Yoga + Wellness, LLC, http://www.namasteworksyoga.com, by: Nancy Levenson

A recent class I held, “Sensitive Soles – Yoga for the Feet,” is an example of how yoga therapy can help increase awareness of the body, breath and mind. The gift of yoga is that it heightens our own internal awareness of how our body feels from day-to-day and how it functions as a balanced unit. When any one element of the body is out of balance, the entire structure suffers as other parts of the body compensate for any weaknesses. Yoga therapy is designed to help bring balance to the physical, energy, emotional, wisdom and bliss body – known in yoga as the Five Koshas.

Yoga therapy is receiving a lot of attention these days, not just by students but by the medical profession. According to a 2008 Yoga Journal Study, one significant trend to emerge from the study is the use of yoga as medical therapy. According to the study, 6.1%, or nearly 14 million Americans, say that a doctor or therapist has recommended yoga to them. In addition, nearly half (45%) of all adults agree that yoga would be a beneficial if they were undergoing treatment for a medical condition.

The group that participated in the yoga for the feet program learned first-hand the importance of bringing sensitivity back to the feet and maintaining awareness of tactile sensation. Keeping the sensors between the feet and mind open and active helps create early awareness to any potential  issues. When we feel from the inside out we become our own best advocates to optimal health.

©NamasteWorks Yoga + Wellness, LLC, http://www.namasteworksyoga.com, by: Nancy Levenson

When you free your foot to move in comfort, your whole body will follow. We know that the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, connected to the knee bone, hip bone and on and on. By focusing on our feet, and helping to open and align our stance, we can almost guarantee liberation, through the rest of the body.

Below is a practice my senior yoga classes have been using all month to help open and unlock the feet and toes. The practice utilizes a tennis ball followed by a flow sequence. Engage in the practice by releasing only one foot and then return to Tadasana to create sensory awareness before moving on.

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A hand mudra is simply a gesture, symbol or seal used to circulate energy, activate an influence in a certain area of the body and help us to connect with our overall physical well-being.

Merudanda Mudra is an excellent mudra series that will enhance the awareness experience as the breath is directed to various parts of the body. As you guide your clients through this mudra sequence, invite them to notice the quality and characteristics of the breath. Encourage them to find the starting point of the breath; that place inside where they feel the breath originate in the body. As you move through the sequence encourage them to continually notice if the breath has arrived in a new place.

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The spine can move gently in six directions, side to side, lateral side bends and forward and back, known in yoga as the six movements of the spine. We have so many opportunities to create a practice that centers around these six movements, so don’t lose yourself or your clients interest in repetition and sameness.This week try using one-armed Vadrasana as the basis of your movements to sequence your class.

Start out in child’s pose.

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Learning to create a chair yoga flow helps your clients learn to flow with life itself. From years of experiential personal practice working with seniors and clients in wheelchairs, a dynamic chair yoga flow helps to invite calmness, ease of movement and relaxation into the practice. And when you coordinate the movement of the flow with the breath you will ultimately engage your clients into a deeper sense of body awareness. Offered here is a chair yoga flow that opens up the entire body – try it out on your next class and let me know how it worked for you.

Seated Mountain
Today think about feeling the poses, the body
Scan the Body – Imagine a light coming in to the crown of the head and take it don’t through the body looking for tension or stress or perhaps a fatigued or tight muscle or joint
Opening centering and breath work

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Hand mudras are a key component of every chair yoga class I teach. Aside from their ability to improve dexterity in the joints of the fingers and hands, static mudras can come alive to help seniors concentrate on breath with movement. An adaptable mudra to introduce into a senior chair yoga class is Garuda (Eagle) mudra. 

Garuda mudra activates the circulation and blood flow of our body and helps to balance our energy. During the opening of our chair yoga class, we hold the pose static, close our eyes and begin our centering. The mudra is then put into motion to help clients focus on breath with movement, while simultaneously opening the joints of the fingers and keeping the mind engaged.

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As a communications major, I know the importance of being able to use words to create an engaging yoga practice for my senior yoga students. If you have ever felt like your clients are lost, falling asleep or seem uninterested, consider crafting a new communication strategy in the classroom.

Start with a headline. Great writers and communicators know the importance of a headline. A headline conveys what the story is all about. Have a headline for each of your classes or what is commonly referred to as a theme. Each senior or chair yoga class I teach starts with a theme, something that will grab my students attention. For instance, Uncorking the Joints. Your headline then unfolds to develop the whole story of your class. The intention, mudras, pranayama, postures and the meditation all work to support your theme, just like the body of a story helps support the headline.

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Today, I had the privilege of training over thirty Occupational and Physical Therapists of Life Care of Colorado in, “Chair Yoga for Optimal Health.” The intention behind the curriculum and training was to introduce Life Care therapists to the ancient art of yoga for use with their clients.

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