by:  Nancy Levenson, 500 E-RYT, 1,000 PYT,  Professional Yoga Therapist

After five years of instructing yoga at Colorado’s largest retirement community, Wind Crest, I rolled up the last mat, tucked away the last chair, stacked the last block and shut the door.  I leave behind a joy filled journey and legacy of guiding seniors in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s through chair yoga, floor yoga, movement classes, breathing exercises, meditation and private sessions.

At a time, when yoga teachers were training to deliver the next best intense practice, I was off studying geriatrics, the senior body, somatic movement, restorative yoga and deepening my immersion in servicing a community that had not been really considered viable for the yoga business. It’s a door I knocked on, a door that opened and a journey I will never forget.

The door that opened for me at Wind Crest went way beyond yoga; it was a life enriching experience, one filled with many stories, fond memories, lots of laughter, some sadness when we lost people we loved and always filled with new friends and personal growth.  Each week brought new challenges, new learning experiences and new opportunities for me to grow a market that had never considered yoga before and for me to personally grow.

Each time one door closes another door opens.  I closed this door to move forward and focus on my own therapeutic wellness center, NamasteWorks Yoga + Wellness, located in Old Town Littleton.   Even though I opened this door a year and a half ago, I felt a need to nourish this experience, to explore what lies ahead with more veracity, and to peer deeper and see if there is another door even beyond this one. Our journey in life takes us through a series of doors, we just need to ready when they open and acknowledge when the time has come and they need to close.

NamasteWorks Yoga + Wellness, 5860 S. Curtice St., Littleton, CO 80120. We are not a walk-in studio, we operate as a private center for our clients. All classes require a RSVP. www.namasteworksyoga.com – A Place to Discover Yoga as a Healing Art.

Alternative Healing for Depression in Elderly Adults

Most everyone has felt sad or depressed at times. In the self-help section of any bookstore there are many titles that strive to help individuals deal with their moods. There are compilations of stories to inspire and sympathize with emotions and life’s tough situations. Feeling depressed is a reaction to loss, life struggles or going through rough times, and an injured self-esteem. When feelings of intense sadness, including helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, last for days or weeks at a time, and start to keep you from functioning normally, then you may have clinical depression. Clinical Depression is a growing problem in the human populace today. Nearly 10% of Americans suffer from depression each year . Of that number, 6 million cases of depression are seen in elderly Americans age 65 and older . (Read the full article)

Friday, October 22^{nd –} 9-11:00 am

The Colorado Culture Change Coalition will be hosting a Wellness panel focusing on alternative approaches to improving individual wellness for seniors and non-senior alike. The Panel:

 1. Dr. Sheldon Goldberg, M.D., FAAPMR – He will speak to advances in topical medication  administration.

 2. Nancy Levenson, Founder of NamasteWorks and Yoga Wellness, RYT, PYT, Yoga Therapist – She will speak to Yoga Therapy as a Model for Optimal Health

 3. Mary Dieffenbach, RN, ND – Doctor of Naturopathy – Mary will speak to her experiences and successes in reducing medications.

 4. Evy Cugelman from Pinon Management.  Evy is a certified Therapeutic Touch educator and a Validation instructor, as well as versed in many holistic practices.

 Event is open to the public:

14221 East Evans Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80014, 303.750.0820

Directions from I-225: Take the Iliff Avenue exit, Exit 5, Go East on Iliff Avenue, Turn left onto E Blackhawk Street, Turn right onto E Evans Avenue, Garden Plaza of Aurora is located on the left side of the street.  Take the 2^nd entrance into the community, on the independent living side of the community.  Parking is available in the parking lot or on the street.

This week USA Today ran a cover story about the rave in toning shoes, A Revolutionary sneaker, or overhyped gimmick?  Seduced by their claims to improve posture, circulation and reduce joint pain, these shoes have been a source of lively discussion in my senior yoga therapy classes.

The feet impact every part of your posture and are one of your main sensors for communicating pain. While the body is quite adaptive and will make modifications to maintain its muscular-skeletal alignment, any change to your natural movement, results in a shift to the entire body. Just experiment with walking on the insides of your feet, or the outside edges and notice what happens to your posture, your hips, your spine and the muscles that are being used to support you. It’s not that you are using increasing the intensity of your muscle use, it’s that your body is adapting by using different muscles not normally used. This is the reason most of us find our legs fatigued after walking for a period of time on a sandy shore.

Our feet are innately designed to provide traction for mobility and aid us in balance and posture. The entire posture originates from the feet and aligns upward. When the feet no longer sense the ground, or when they are forced into an unnatural position, they no longer support the posture in an optimal way.

The long-term impact of these toning shoes on individuals with knocked or bowed knees, hip displacements, ankle rotations and a host of other postural misalignments has yet to be unveiled.

(c) Namasteworks Yoga + Wellness, LLC.   Nancy Levenson, Highlands Ranch, CO http://www.namasteworksyoga.com

A yoga therapist utilizes many tools to guide her student to optimal health.  One of those tools is the sacred sound OM through the introduction of both chanting and the value of silence to heal the body.   Inviting students, especially senior clients to explore the sacred sounds of mantras, chanting and OM, may be uncomfortable for you and them at first, but bringing these tools to life can be playful and enjoyable.

I am forever grateful to Dr. Lorin Roche and his work with The Radiance Sutras.  It is in his Sutra 19 that I have found a beautiful way to express, explore and examine sound and silence with my students.  With Lorin’s permission, I have reprinted his Sutra 19 below. 

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

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

Effort is defined as something done or produced through exertion while Ease is freedom from pain, tension and effort. In this soft hip opening practice use the qualities of effort and ease to open and broaden your client’s awareness from the inside out. I’ve provided the sequence along with some cueing.

Start out in a bent knee Savasana for your breath work. Practice alternating between a focus on the inhalation and a focus on the exhalation, noticing which feels more easeful and which requires effort. Notice sensations in the knees and hips. Relax into the position and notice if it takes effort to maintain the position or if you are at ease in the pose. Continue the breathing exercise for 3-5 minutes.

Now open the knees, keeping the feet wide and drop into windshield wipers. This is your baseline pose. Notice how much effort is required to flow both knees from the right to the left with breath. Explore the movement as if it were the first time your noticed you had hips. Is it more easeful to move right or left? Float back and forth with breath eight times on each side, then hold left. Allow the legs and hips to yield to the earth, release and relax. Notice any force required to rest in the pose, then float to the right and repeat. Feel as if you are shifting the energy in your hips.

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Location: PLEASE NOTE NEW LOCATION -Fireside Lounge – Wind Crest Retirement Community, 3235 Mill Vista Road – Highlands Ranch, Co 80126

Start Time: 11:30 am
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
End Time: 1:00 pm

Description: Join Highlands Ranch Senior Outreach Services and NamasteWorks Yoga + Wellness for a program designed to help bring sensitivity back into your feet. The feet are the body’s foundation and every step you take impacts how the rest of the body moves and responds. When your feet are out of balance, the knees, the hips and ultimately the whole spine may be affected.

 In this gentle senior yoga practice, you will learn how to reconnect and re-ground through the feet. Come prepared to remove your socks and shoes, spread the toes, enliven the feet and practice a few poses. You must be comfortable standing and moving to participate. Each participant will have a chair for support.

This hour and a half long program will be taught by Nancy Levenson, an advanced teacher of yoga therapy. Nancy currently runs her own business, NamasteWorks Yoga + Wellness and has been guiding the yoga practice at Wind Crest Retirement Community for more than two years.

 For full details and to register for this free program click here

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

The Peacock is known as the bird of 100 eyes. Imagine that you could have the ability to see your yoga practice with different eyes whenever you choose. Each time you opened your feather plume, you would see the world around you in countless different ways. Sometimes in our yoga practice, we become so aware of the familiar that we lose sight of the qualities of our breath, poses, sensations and practice.

Using the metaphor of the peacock in your class encourages students to open up to seeing with fresh eyes. Invite them to explore their poses from different angles, their breath with new wonder, widen their perspective on their sensations and their practice may unfold as something entirely new, unclouded by the familiar.

Exploring poses from different angles and movement helps each student feel the pose as if it were entirely new. Experiment with Baddha Konasana (cobbler’s pose) from a supine position. From the static position, float just the right knee up to center, then lower to the left side coming into a twist. Return to the starting position, repeating several times before shifting to the opposite side. A simple variation to the pose invites students to live in a beginner’s mind. As the instructor, seek out the many ways a pose can be adapted to keep the practice fresh.

In every senior yoga class, we discover the breath in an entirely different way, using hand mudras, partners, props, and shifting focus. All of these help to cultivate a spirit of curiosity.

You can also shift your language often to deepen the student’s awareness. For example, in a pigeon hip sequence, encourage the student to let go of their memory of the pose and experience it as if it were the first time they were entering it. Have them visualize each layer of muscle, tissue, tendon, etc. opening. Invite them to notice what effect the movement is having to other parts of the body, their pelvis, low back, arms and shoulders. Where else in the body is this hip movement creating sensations? Are those sensations positive or negative?

Using the metaphor of the peacock can inspire you, your next class and your students to a whole new way of seeing, not just the practice but perhaps, even the world.

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