Stretching beyond age: Instructor says yoga not just for the young

There's yoga for the young, when the body is supple, flexible and free of issues such as arthritis. There's also yoga for the not-so-young, when the body is plagued by health issues and a lifetime of use.

Yoga is a discipline instructor Monika Andreas has taught for more than 20 years. A resident of Las Vegas since December, she developed Yoga for the Seasoned Body, which she teaches in her in-home studio east of Summerlin.

"As we pass through the seasons of life, our bodies develop limitations," she said. "A young person cannot relate to those limitations. I always tell people, if you go to a (community center) for yoga, and a 20-something-year-old comes in to teach it, just get out of there because they have no idea (what you need). People try to keep up, and they hurt themselves."

How does one know they need yoga? She said the clues are there every day.

"When people get up, and say, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm stiff,' I call it the 'first stage of enlightenment,' " Andreas said.

She was introduced to yoga 40 years ago, after a neighbor invited her to a YMCA class. Afterward, she said, she'd never felt so good.

"I thought, 'This is as good as it gets; why isn't everyone doing this?' " she said.

She learned more about yoga and became an instructor. She is now registered with the Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit association representing yoga teachers, schools and studios in the U.S. She had a studio in Illinois for many years.

Andreas cites health benefits such as strengthening muscles, retaining balance, lowering blood pressure, increasing flexibility, improving posture and increasing lung capacity as reasons for older people to try yoga. She credited that increased lung capacity with allowing her to run a full marathon after less than a month of training, increasing her distance each week.

"Once I'd run 15 miles, I knew I could do the whole marathon," she said.

She also participated in triathlons. Now a youthful 72, she concentrates on yoga.

This day, there were three participants in the class.

Yoga involves concentration. To help clear the mind, the studio is filled with soft sitar music, scented candles, sculptures of yoga poses and a Buddha statue.

The class began with seated exercises, deep breathing, twisting and stretching. To help quiet the mind, Andreas spoke in a soothing voice, instructing attendees to feel the air coming into their lungs, taking their time to exhale, lift their toes and "press down with the heels, as though you're growing roots down into the Earth."

She later said this was to make them aware of their own bodies and to focus on how their body was responding.

A strong body core is essential to balance, she said, which can help prevent falls.

"People fall as they age; they lose that connection to the feet," she said. " … Yoga poses bring you to your center."

According to the World Health Organization, adults 65 or older suffer the greatest number of fatal falls, and annually, about 37.3 million falls are severe enough to require medical attention.

The chair exercises were followed by stretches on the floor, using straps in a buddy system before going into traditional yoga poses.

"Getting warm?" Andreas asked. "Those are the toxins being fired out of your body."

Andreas modifies her sessions using props such as blocks and wall-mounted belts. For people with issues reaching the floor, she "moves the floor up" to achieve the same results.

One woman had hand issues, and Andreas showed her how best to support herself in the downward dog position so as not to stress the nerves in the carpal tunnel area.

Class participant Evelyn Morida said she wanted to get a sense of wellness. She'd joined a gym in the past and tried different exercise fads but didn't find them as satisfying as yoga.

"I love the meditation process, as I'm very spiritual," she said. "It's so beneficial to me. It opens me up, mind, body and spirit."

Fellow participant Nushin Hosseini said that after her first class with Andreas, she noticed a pain she usually had was gone, and she slept better.

"I felt so good for a few days, then I wasn't able to come again, so, it's been a few weeks, but I'm back," Hosseini said.

The first class is free, and subsequent 90-minute classes are $15 each. Classes are offered from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays. Small group classes also are available, as well as private sessions ($65 to $125) at Andreas' in-home studio or in the client's home. Andreas' studio address is given out at the time of class sign up.

Visit yogafortheseasonedbody.com. To contact Andreas, email monikaAndreas22@yahoo.com or call 773-857-2235.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.