How to Boost Benefits and Reduce Risks for Older Adults By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT In recent years, there's been a growing interest in making yoga accessible to everybody—thanks, in large part, to the work of Jivana Heyman, director of the Accessible Yoga Association, whose mission statement proclaims that "all ...

By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT If you think you're an expert in breathing just because you've been doing it all your life, take this test: Put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly. Close your eyes and take several full, deep breaths, paying close attention to the movement of breath in your body. When you inhale ...

By: Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT Yoga is a powerful form of mind-body medicine that approaches health in a holistic manner, recognizing that physical ailments also have emotional, mental and spiritual components. But unlike a yoga class, where the teacher guides a group of students through a practice, a yoga therapy session is focused on just one person—you. In addition, yoga therapists ...

Janet Rae Humphrey C-IAYT, E-RYT, C-YFHA, C-IYFS is a yoga teacher from Scottsdale, Arizona who primarily teaches older adults. Janet first walked into a yoga class at the age of 58 after a lifetime of medical issues, including a lumbar fusion, six knee surgeries, fibromyalgia, and three neurosurgeries, followed by life-threatening infections, severe pain, muscular weakness, and scoliosis. Through her ...

By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT Teaching yoga to seniors is often erroneously considered an entry-level job for a yoga instructor, since older adults aren’t likely to attempt complicated, “advanced” postures. Unfortunately, this ill-informed attitude puts the most vulnerable students with the least-trained instructors who may  unknowingly put their students at risk. Older adults ...

My name is Kathy Freedlund I took the Integrative Yoga for Seniors Professional Training in November of 2014. I am the director of fitness at our community park district in Batavia, Il. I have been there for 33 years. I can say that there isn't a day that I don't think about what an impact your training had for so many people, ...

By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT As a yoga therapist, I wasn’t surprised to see recent headlines asserting that “Yoga Can Help Back Pain.”  I’ve taught many people with back pain and other health challenges—such as heart disease, insomnia, and arthritis--how to use yoga breathing, movement, and meditation techniques to find ease in body and mind. This