Tag: age

Mama India

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A week ago I arrived in Goa and can hardly express my feelings. It‘s been 7 years that I was here last time. So much changed, but not the mood, the energy and the lovely people. I still love all the smells here (ok, almost all), the food, the heat, although it‘s winter here. Which for me only means less humidity and eventually a bit chilly at night.

Usually it takes a while to settle after traveling for almost 24hrs, but this time, apart from the lack of sleep, I felt being there instantly. My mind calm, without the usual chatter and hearing the waves day and night was just pure bliss.

I had such a beautiful week at the beach with a friend I know from here and we only met now again. A week filled with loads of talks and laughter, many drinks, amazing food, sand and salty water. Thank you hon for your time and company, I miss you already!

Now I changed places, and with the new moon a new start into a week full of yoga with the teacher I learned it all from. It‘ll be tough, age kicked in some time ago and my body pushes back. Something I have to accept and handle mindfully. And same time getting fully back into the discipline of Ashtanga yoga.

Thank you mama India for calming my mind and letting my heart jump! Grateful to be back and I promise, I‘ll be never again that stupid to come here for two weeks only 😅

Too old for yoga?

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Never. Get this out of your mind. It might be a challenge to go to a class where everyone else it 20 or 30 years younger, some might be flexible as f***, some do arm balances as if they never did anything else in their life. And there are others, young and stiff like a tree.

Yoga is something you do for yourself, for your body and your mind. It’s not a fitness regime, no space for comparison, nor judgement. Be happy for those who can do things easily, be compassionate for those who have to work more on it. And be with yourself. Grateful that you showed up, doing what’s possible that day. There’s no room for the ego in a yoga class.

Some years ago I was really disappointed when I heard that we should step back from a certain age. Why? I want to continue learning, improving, growing. I want to access at least some of the super challenging postures. And I can. Daily practice does a lot, and I’m not talking about working on a certain posture like crazy, no, just do your practice regularly and your body will change.

I proved it, you can learn headstand, forearmstand, you name it, no matter the age. The key is not only regular practice, but also listen to your body. Never do something while your body says no, not today. Accept. Same here, no matter the age. The only difference when it comes to age is, that the older we get, the longer it takes. Not just physically, also the mind kicks in. All of a sudden there is fear. Don’t fight it, don’t ignore, but embrace it and it will slowly melt. Yes slowly. Be patient. I know, patience is nothing I was born with!

However, the last 2 years I experienced some push backs. I had to pause my practice a few times due to injuries (not yoga related!) and it was so difficult to come back to my daily Ashtanga practice. Age? Maybe, maybe not. I accept it and go slower. Reminding myself, it’s for me, there’s no competition. Not even with myself.

I allow my practice to change. It’s not about this doesn’t work anymore, I can’t do what was possible a few weeks ago, it’s about change. Allow your practice to change. Some asanas might get more difficult all of a sudden, while others become accessible.

There’s another level – while working physically, yoga is also a spiritual practice. Ageing is a great teacher to embrace who you are and continue your journey, even if it looks different.

The beauty of Aging

Kathrin2 Comments

Many of us experience some changes around the age of 50. I’m not talking about any kind of midlife crisis or menopause for women, while this might also be a trigger to rethink where we are in life. No matter the reason, it seems to be the time to reinvent oneself.

A friend of mine, who turns 50 this year, takes this as an option to rethink what he wants his life to be and he takes the necessary changes. Those changes can be quite big things; it might even come to a real turn over.

I heard from another friend who had a rigorous 6 days a week Ashtanga practice, that with her menopause starting, she allowed herself to be less strict and her yoga practice turned to be more calm, slow and gentle, always listening to what her body needs that day.

This time might be an entry point into a new phase of life, with new options, new strength, and the courage to change and eventually start something new. It might concern the job, the place we live, relationships, our practice or the entire life set-up; no matter what direction we’re aiming to go, if you feel called, do it. Even if aging shows us at this stage the first indications that not only the outer appearance is transforming, but also the body complains more. And hey, where is that fear coming from all of a sudden?

Many yogis start taking it easier at that point, while for me the full story started then. At the age of 49 I did my first teacher training and instead of getting calmer, my yoga journey took off and was at its best around 52. I’m 54 now and my body talks to me loud and clear, mostly not what I want to hear and I learned that it’s not always about doing the full Ashtanga series each day, it’s about showing up. Being on the mat every day, doing what I can. Luckily, my body is still improving, still learning, adapting, bending more, even if progress takes much longer. My practice teaches me to be patient, the most difficult thing to learn for me! To accept, that it’s totally fine where I am on my journey and not just that, it is phenomenal how my body and mind changed over the past few years.

We move on, the three of us, together, body and mind and soul. We keep on changing, improving, learning and the very new thing: we take it easy.

UNPLUG from age

KathrinLeave a comment

I wrote this post some time ago and thought about it today. It’s my birthday in a couple of days and my practice this morning didn’t made me feel my age, which was just fantastic! I know, it’s different each time and I don’t take it for granted. But a good reason to repost the below!

Discover the magic
Unplug from the ordinary and discover the extraordinary. Free yourself from the idea of age. Yes, agree, that’s quite a difficult one and I’m struggling myself. Yoga teaches me to believe in myself. As long as you love what you do, don’t care about anything.

There’s just one thing you should be aware of when you passed your 20s and 30s and 40s and are not already a super-duper yoga pro, doing handstand on your index finger: Stop comparing yourself to the 20 years old girl next to you.

It’s not about ‚she can do and you can’t‘. Not about her perfect body and your body showing a tiny little bit the fun you had in life so far (yes, you read it, bloody amazing experiences, I know!).

Our whole body simply works different at certain ages. Our body change and sometimes we might recognize this as something negative. But it’s not. It’s just different. We might get less stable and scarier than we were 10 years ago. Even if you work hard, there are no guaranteed results. Life doesn’t work that way.

Try changing your perspective to one of gratitude over what you can do, right now. Try changing your expectations. It’s not about that fancy posture, it’s about your inner connection and peace. You’ll progress anyway!

The beauty of age is to not care anymore and just do what you want. Becoming a yoga teacher in your 50s? Go for it! Worrying that you can’t do it same way as all the youngsters? True, you won’t. You’ll do it differently and your students will appreciate your approach. Just trust in yourself and do whatever you love. There’s no better guidance as love and passion. Accept who you are. Where you are. Live your dreams, without struggling with thoughts of right and wrong. You are never too old for anything.

Be driven by love. End of story.

༺♡༻

UNPLUG from age

Kathrin1 Comment

Discover the magic
Unplug from the ordinary and discover the extraordinary. Free yourself from the idea of age. Yes, agree, that’s quite a difficult one and I’m struggling myself. Yoga teaches me to believe in myself. As long as you love what you do, don’t care about anything.

There’s just one thing you should be aware of when you passed your 20s and 30s and 40s and are not already a super-duper yoga pro, doing handstand on your index finger: Stop comparing yourself to the 20 years old girl next to you.

It’s not about ‚she can do and you can’t‘. Not about her perfect body and your body showing a tiny little bit the fun you had in life so far (yes, you read it, bloody amazing experiences, I know!).

Our whole body simply works different at certain ages. Our body change and sometimes we might recognize this as something negative. But it’s not. It’s just different. We might get less stable and scarier than we were 10 years ago. Even if you work hard, there are no guaranteed results. Life doesn’t work that way.

Try changing your perspective to one of gratitude over what you can do, right now. Try changing your expectations. It’s not about that fancy posture, it’s about your inner connection and peace. You’ll progress anyway!

The beauty of age is to not care anymore and just do what you want. Becoming a yoga teacher in your 50s? Go for it! Worrying that you can’t do it same way as all the youngsters? True, you won’t. You’ll do it differently and your students will appreciate your approach. Just trust in yourself and do whatever you love. There’s no better guidance as love and passion. Accept who you are. Where you are. Live your dreams, without struggling with thoughts of right and wrong. You are never too old for anything.

Be driven by love. End of story.

༺♡༻