#falling #fallprevention #howtogetupafterafall #chairyoga #strength #balance #flexibility #seniorfitness It was two weeks ago today that I fell. It was unexpected & sudden, one moment, I was walking towards someone’s front door, the next there was a sharp pain in my left toe as it hit something hard & my head connected with a concrete doorstep. In that split second, I was aware of the awful thudding sound of my body hitting the floor & for a few moments I was still, taking i

#feet #balance #fallprevention #selfcare #seniors #chairyoga #takecareofyourbody It is easy to take our feet for granted & while exercising to focus mainly on the larger muscles & body parts. However our feet give us stability & are our point of contact with the ground. If our feet are not healthy & strong our whole body can be out of balance. Everyday activities will be so much more difficult & can lead to long term issues if we don't address problems with our feet. There

#yoga #chairyoga #chairyogaforseniors #fallprevention #yogakeepsusstrong #yogastrength #strongerseniors We all know we need to work on increasing strength in our bodies. Stronger bones, stronger muscles & a stronger mind to help us continue to enjoy the life & activities we enjoy. Yoga is one of the best exercises we can do to both increase & retain our strength. It's not always easy, we have to show up for ourselves & put in the work. The good news is that when we practice

#keepmoving #seniorfitness #chairyoga #chairyogaforseniors #lovetomove #zoomyoga Summer is here & especially with the world opening up to us again we are all excited to enjoy our favorite summer activities. Some of my favorite activities are walking/hiking, gardening & kayaking. To be able to enjoy these activities we need to stay strong, flexible & mobile. Chair yoga will enable you to keep doing the things you love for longer & with more ease. Think of playing with your

#inspirational #chairyoga #yogaforseniors #keepmoving #noexcuses #nevergiveup #yogaforstrength A few years ago, I taught a weekly chair yoga class at a local care home. The first few weeks the class was fairly quiet with a few brave souls checking out the unknown quantity that had entered their living space. Soon, as word spread that it was “fun & not too weird” as overheard in the hallway, the class started filling up. I became very fond of my “regulars” & had the pleasure

#yoga #chairyoga #yogaviazoom #connection #meditation #onlineyoga #stressrelief #keepmoving #yogaforseniors It's now almost the end of August 2020, we have been living in a state of isolation or at least semi isolation since the second week of March. While social distancing and quarantine have become familiar terms & mask wearing is mandatory in many states when we go into stores and in other public areas there are ways to stay connected and tune into ourselves as a way to fi

#seniors #healthylifestyle #fallprevention #selfcare #yogaforseniors #chairyoga @vim&vigor I won't make this a long post as the article I am sharing has a lot of great information in it. If you read down almost to the end you can see my contribution on fall prevention. Important for everyone right now, not just seniors, we are all spending so much more time in our homes, please take note of the safety tips you can put into practice to help keep you safe. I would love to hea

#seniors #caregivers #stress #depression #chairyoga #seniorliving #independentseniors Some days it's just hard to find the joy in life. I came out to teach class this morning, it was a beautiful morning, I was in a good place in life today and looking forward to teaching my faithful group of yogis. As usual I had a few specific things planned to do in class after which I would judge the energy of the room and depending who is in class decide what we should do each session.

#mirrorimage #selflove #changeyourwordschangeyourstory #loveyourself #yoga #stopselfhatred #bethechange #yogaforseniors #chairyoga It’s almost 6.30 am and I’m standing at the barre, class will be starting in the next five minutes or so. I glance around the room and realize that apart from the instructor I am the only person set up to work at the front barre. I turn around & face the back barre which has an almost full line of women ready for class. A couple of them noticed th

I have talked a lot in class recently about the importance of staying hydrated.  It is something we often only think about during the hot & humid days of summer.  However it is easy to become dehydrated during the rest of the year if we are not mindful of our bodies & what they need to help us live our best lives. Becoming dehydrated is really unhealthy for our bodies & can often result in dizziness & falling, as has happened several times with my own mother. The official rec

#new #newblogpost #Fragiletimeoflife #seniors #chairyoga #grief #yogaheals This post was written a couple weeks ago & I had thought it too personal to share, on consideration perhaps it will help some people out there, so here it is....... Most days my job is wonderful, until some days it just isn't. A few weeks ago from just one of my classes, four of my yogis had fallen at home and been injured, some badly enough to break bones & need to recover at home for several weeks.

Today in class a lady who has been coming to classes for around four months told me how happy she was that her balance had improved so much since when she first started classes. She used to hold onto cars in the parking lot to help her get safely to the store or class, now she feels so much more confident in her body she walks without the fear of losing her balance. She has a much improved sense of freedom & peace of mind. That's a beautiful thing, so happy to be able to pla

In class this week a group of my yogis who regularly walk together before yoga class were discussing how much stronger their legs, in particular their thighs had grown since doing yoga. Enabling them to walk further & perform many everyday movements that much easier. It's empowering to be confident in the strength of our own bodies. #chairyoga #seniorfitness #keepmoving #staystrong

A yogi who has not been able to make it to class for a long time until yesterday just called me at home. What a wonderful phone call, she has the autoimmune disease M.S. & has trouble with strength, muscle tone & balance as well as stiffness in her joints. M.S. can be a debilitating disease. However today I caught the excitement in her voice, she had called to thank me so much for what I had done for her yesterday. What did I do? I wasn't sure, I had welcomed her back to c

The benefits of yoga can & often do stretch to enabling those that practice to lower their blood pressure & even reduce or come off some medications. This happened with one of my yogis who had been coming regularly to classes. He was so excited to tell me he had come off of medications he had been taking for high blood pressure. This is a testament to yoga, those that practice yoga regularly usually begin to take more care of themselves, listen to their bodies more and ofte

What is an affirmation you might ask? It is a practice of repeatedly saying & writing down a statement in order to encourage positive thinking & self empowerment. A quote from Louise Hay "A thought is just a thought, you can change that thought & change your life" I recently watched the documentary she made called "Heal your life" it's worth watching if you want to be inspired to make changes however small or large in your life. The affirmations need to be positive, persona

A pain in the neck! I am sure many of us have had a stiff, sore neck, I know I can certainly relate. Within the past two weeks I have had two ladies come to class with this problem. One lady is finding her way, her confidence & strength again as she tries chair yoga as a way of improving her balance after a particularly devastating & traumatic fall where among others things she broke her neck. Following doctors orders she sought out chair yoga. She has found renewed confi

Here are just a few "advice" quotes from some of my lovely seniors, enjoy #quotesforlife #seniors #chairyoga #seniorfitness "Don't think of age as getting older but as living longer" EG age 86 Old Saybrook CT "Change what you can, accept what you can't & move on. Look for the positive" TD age 66 CT "Not advice exactly but a warning! The hard-won connection between ones's age and one's condition does fade. There is a "disconnect" between reality and self awareness. But som

#chairyoga #seniorfitnessspecialist #seniors #seniorfitness #improveyourposture Do you remember your mother ever telling you to sit up straight? I certainly do, I even tell my own now adult children the same thing. Now that I have the knowledge of being a yoga teacher & know how important it is to lengthen your spine & sit tall as it is so important for continued good posture I continually have the desire to tell even complete strangers to sit up straight! I am not sure ho

Building strong bones - we all know that one of the many benefits of doing yoga is helping to build strength in our bones. Recently one of my long time yogis shared with me that at a recent drs appointment she learned that her bone strength had indeed improved, she no longer had osteoporosis. How amazing is that, especially in an older adult to receive this news. Yes she will still be attending yoga, we can’t stop exercising or we will lose the benefits it provides much fa