This entry was posted on Nov 26, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
Lately a former highschool classmate posted a meme that caught my eye. It went one thing like this: “At my age, once I drop one thing on the ground I’ve to resolve whether or not it’s well worth the bother to bend over and choose it up.” Many different former classmates chimed in to commiserate. I used to be surprised. I by no means even suppose twice about bending over to select one thing up off the ground. In that second, I felt such gratitude for yoga follow.
I began working towards within the early Eighties, once I was in my 20s. On the time, I felt so lucky to have been born with a hypermobile physique that would do just about any pose. For years, I took full benefit of my pure bendiness to follow a lot of the “fancy” poses. I loved the reward of my academics and fellow college students. After all, my flexibility wasn’t one thing I’d labored for; I used to be born with it. However irrespective of, the reward felt good.
All the things Adjustments, Even Yoga Observe
I’d at all times thought that I’d be doing poses like Hanumanasana (Monkey Pose) and Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Full Pigeon Pose) for the remainder of my life. However my 50s introduced a impolite awakening. The cartilage in my shallow hip sockets (aka “hip dysplasia”) had worn all the way down to nothing. These hypermobile hip joints that had given me a lot ego satisfaction had reached their expiration date.
No quantity of yoga follow might save my hip joints. In 2015 and 2016, I had either side changed. Within the years previous the surgical procedures, I skilled a little bit of what my classmate wrote about. As time handed, I misplaced easy features that I’d beforehand taken without any consideration. I had to make use of my palms to select my legs as much as get them right into a automobile. I couldn’t sleep on my left aspect. If I dared to alter positions in mattress, I skilled searing ache. Getting up off the ground was awkward.
Residing with Ease
After the surgical procedures, the return to regular operate was nearly fast. A long time of yoga follow had cultivated power, agility and stability in my physique. I used to be strolling with out crutches 5 days publish surgical procedure. Inside every week, getting up off the ground—with out utilizing my palms—was simple once more. I might flip over in mattress with out ache. My speedy restoration impressed timeless gratitude for yoga follow.
I now not goal to maintain working towards Monkey Pose or Full Pigeon if I make it to age 90. In actual fact, although my physique can nonetheless simply type these shapes, I’ve stopped working towards them.
As a substitute, I’ve customary my follow with the intention of dwelling my finest life on this physique going ahead. My yoga follow is now designed to permit me to dwell gracefully on this physique, so I can negotiate stairs, hike in nature and squat in my backyard. I by no means wish to must suppose twice about choosing one thing up off the ground. And naturally, there’s the mind-body aspect of follow that underlies all of it—that feeling of calm vitality that permits me to fulfill life’s challenges with extra grace.
Gratitude for Yoga Observe
Most of my yoga college students are in my age vary, lots of them a lot older. Each single one in every of them can bend over and choose issues up, and follow yoga on the ground with out worry that they won’t have the ability to get again up. We’re all just about over the concept there’s any profit to wedging our ankles behind our heads. What’s essential is with the ability to get pleasure from dwelling in these our bodies, at the same time as they evolve with age.
Fancy poses may be enjoyable. However direct your focus to these easy standby poses that may enable your follow to evolve with you. And each infrequently, keep in mind to mirror in your gratitude for yoga follow and the dedication you’ve made to retaining your physique robust, agile and balanced.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Observe and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD received two Emmy awards.
