'I'm 71 and do yoga and two long walks every day'
Shobhana Tiwari, 71, says yoga restored mobility in her arthritic knees after years of inactivity.
Yoga was a write-off after my family and I moved to the UK from India in 1988. After I became a mum that year, at 33, time was a precious commodity, so the only practice I did for the next 30 years was on holiday or teaching my children poses at home – my daughter Angie eventually became a qualified teacher.
As I turned 65, I began to suffer with severe knee pain, which doctors identified as the start of arthritis. I felt extremely lethargic, my lower back and hips were so tight I couldn’t bend down, and the pain was so bad that I barely walked for the next year.
Come 2020, my children had moved out and the pandemic had begun; I finally had more time, and Angie encouraged me to join her weekly online yoga classes. I felt nervous about injuring myself - I was so much older than the last time I’d practised and my knees were so sore. But I used yoga blocks for support, and after two or three weeks, I felt comfortable doing the poses I had once loved.
Within two months, my knee pain had reduced significantly. I hear a lot about the benefits of strength training for older women like me, but people don’t often recognise that your body weight during yoga is enough. For me, building strength within my body means I can now do yoga for 30 to 45 minutes daily; I go on long walks – two 30-minute walks every day, which wasn’t possible before I picked up my yoga practice; I can reach up to pick apples off my apple tree; I can sit down cross-legged to play with my grandson; and chores like mopping my floors are easy. I can finally live my life without worrying about my knees.
My mother had arthritis and ended up relying on a walking stick. But I know that a regular yoga practice will keep me stable for a long time yet. I’m proof you can start at any age, and while I may eventually incorporate adaptive practices like chair yoga, I don’t see myself giving it up, ever.
So, what are the benefits of yoga?
Angie Tiwari, yoga, meditation and breath work coach and founder of UNEARTHED retreats and wellbeing community platform, says: ‘After menopause, the depletion of ovarian follicles leads to a permanent reduction in your oestrogen levels.
'As oestrogen is responsible for the metabolism of bone mass, this can mean your bones become weaker, and yoga can offset this by promoting the production of osteoblasts – the precursor to new bone – through the resistance of your bodyweight, when holding your weight in poses like warrior II and III.
'Yoga has also been proven to improve your mobility and reduce pain, by increasing levels of synovial fluid between your joints, which limits wear and tear of your joints and cartilage. With the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia increasing with age, studies show that yoga can also limit this by restoring neural pathways, preventing brain-matter decline and stemming inflammation-associated biomarkers.’
How often should you practise yoga?
‘This depends entirely on your experience with yoga, and how much time you have. Figure out how long you can sustainably do in one session, and how often across a week, and stick to that. Consistency is where you’ll see long-lasting benefits, even if you can only do five minutes per day.’
Which other types of exercise should you combine with yoga?
‘Walking, weight training and swimming have all been proven to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, all while building muscle mass, which declines at a faster rate after the age of 60. As for yoga, try vinyasa or Hatha for energy, or restorative or Yin to relax.’
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