Yoga might seem like the worst possible activity for seniors who struggle with aches and pains. The intense stretching would only appear to increase those aches and pains.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Yoga teacher Georgia Stormes demonstrates a position as her students, Glenda Karpinski and Casey Minshew, follow during her 50s-plus yoga class at The Center in Auburn. Stormes teaches Vinyasa yoga, a style in which postures flow from one to the next, coordinated with the breath.
Yoga teacher Georgia Stormes demonstrates a position as her students, Glenda Karpinski and Casey Minshew, follow during her 50s-plus yoga class at The Center in Auburn. Stormes teaches Vinyasa yoga, a style in which postures flow from one to the next, coordinated with the breath.
But Georgia Stormes, at The Center in Auburn, practices yoga to soothe the bodies of her students, not bury them in pain. As the instructor of the 50s-plus class, Stormes helps seniors find sanctuary from the physical problems befalling them.
“We progress to traditional yoga poses, but slowly. To just jump in is very difficult, especially in the 50s-plus group,” Stormes said.
Student Mary McCarthy has attempted yoga with other instructors, but she believes Stormes is much more attentive to the comfort of her class.
“In my past experience, some teachers say they're gentle and they aren't, but Georgia knows what it means to be gentle,” McCarthy said.
Beth Miller, another student in the 50s-plus class, feels the relaxed atmosphere of Stormes' yoga studio also appeals to her and her classmates mentally.
“It's so nice to have an oasis where we have permission to be peaceful,” Miller said.
Individual attention to her students is important to Stormes, and so each class is comprised of only eight seniors. All are asked to commit to a six-week timetable. New students must wait for the next class to start because Stormes prefers to steadily advance her students' yoga practice throughout the session.
The exercises start off simple. Stormes begins by focusing her students' energy on their breathing.
“If you don't breathe right, you're not living properly,” she said. “People get sidetracked by their responsibilities and the chaos around them and they forget to breathe.”
Students lie on the carpet of The Center's yoga studio and, guided by Stormes' whispered instructions, they slowly achieve the sensation of sinking into the ground. During this process, the students' attention is directed toward the areas of their body that they don't surrender to gravity so easily. They then learn to release the tension that is gripping them physically.
This exercise is instrumental in building a mind-body connection that Stormes feels is often missing when her students start class.
“I teach them to notice what their body is saying and let their minds join their bodies in the present,” she said.
The class proceeds into more physical exercises that Stormes calls “movement inquiries.” During one exercise, students will lock each hand on the opposite arm's elbow while lying on their backs. They will then stretch one arm to their sides as far as they can. The class members note their limits, but they are discouraged from viewing them in a negative light.
“So they're not saying, ‘bad elbow,'” Stormes said.
The mere awareness of their physical abilities goes a long way toward lifting the students' well-being. The class exercises have energized McCarthy after only a few weeks of work.
“As the six weeks progress, I feel much more flexible,” she said.
By lying on their backs, students are also less likely to compare their yoga prowess to that of their classmates. Stormes calls the exercises a “non-judgmental” form of self-awareness.
She guides her students with their comfort placing highest on her list of priorities. McCarthy feels no pressure to master any poses.
“It's a wonderful atmosphere of gentle encouragement,” she said. “I feel very safe, I can back off if something doesn't feel right.”
Stormes gravitated toward this form of yoga -known as Vinyasa yoga - following years of practicing versions that only pained fellow classmates. She graduated from the Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica, and brings a background as a registered nurse and Reiki healer to her yoga classes at The Center.
Stormes is now happy to have her own yoga students who, even at an older age, can practice the discipline without the duress.
“Everyone here is young at heart,” Stormes said. “No one is going to return to their 20s, but we all want to function as optimally as we can as long as we're on Earth.”
If you go
What: Fifties-plus yoga
When: Next classes begin Oct. 22
Where: The Center, 1 Hoffman St., Auburn
Cost: $72
For details: Call 704-0319
Coming tomorrow
Free trial of the Cato-Meridian Community
Recreation Center's Aquatic Arthritis Class
When: 9 to 9:45 a.m.
Where: At the center,
Route 370, Cato
To learn more: Call the center at 626-6735
Moravia Health Center's Diabetes Health Fair with educational exhibits and screenings
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Moravia Fire Hall, 38 Keeler Ave., Moravia
Cost: Free
To learn more: Call 497-9066
Alzheimer's Association's “Maintain Your Brain” When: 2 p.m.
Where: Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center,
3 St. Anthony St., Auburn
Cost: Free
To register: Call 294-1691
“We progress to traditional yoga poses, but slowly. To just jump in is very difficult, especially in the 50s-plus group,” Stormes said.
Student Mary McCarthy has attempted yoga with other instructors, but she believes Stormes is much more attentive to the comfort of her class.
“In my past experience, some teachers say they're gentle and they aren't, but Georgia knows what it means to be gentle,” McCarthy said.
Beth Miller, another student in the 50s-plus class, feels the relaxed atmosphere of Stormes' yoga studio also appeals to her and her classmates mentally.
“It's so nice to have an oasis where we have permission to be peaceful,” Miller said.
Individual attention to her students is important to Stormes, and so each class is comprised of only eight seniors. All are asked to commit to a six-week timetable. New students must wait for the next class to start because Stormes prefers to steadily advance her students' yoga practice throughout the session.
The exercises start off simple. Stormes begins by focusing her students' energy on their breathing.
“If you don't breathe right, you're not living properly,” she said. “People get sidetracked by their responsibilities and the chaos around them and they forget to breathe.”
Students lie on the carpet of The Center's yoga studio and, guided by Stormes' whispered instructions, they slowly achieve the sensation of sinking into the ground. During this process, the students' attention is directed toward the areas of their body that they don't surrender to gravity so easily. They then learn to release the tension that is gripping them physically.
This exercise is instrumental in building a mind-body connection that Stormes feels is often missing when her students start class.
“I teach them to notice what their body is saying and let their minds join their bodies in the present,” she said.
The class proceeds into more physical exercises that Stormes calls “movement inquiries.” During one exercise, students will lock each hand on the opposite arm's elbow while lying on their backs. They will then stretch one arm to their sides as far as they can. The class members note their limits, but they are discouraged from viewing them in a negative light.
“So they're not saying, ‘bad elbow,'” Stormes said.
The mere awareness of their physical abilities goes a long way toward lifting the students' well-being. The class exercises have energized McCarthy after only a few weeks of work.
“As the six weeks progress, I feel much more flexible,” she said.
By lying on their backs, students are also less likely to compare their yoga prowess to that of their classmates. Stormes calls the exercises a “non-judgmental” form of self-awareness.
She guides her students with their comfort placing highest on her list of priorities. McCarthy feels no pressure to master any poses.
“It's a wonderful atmosphere of gentle encouragement,” she said. “I feel very safe, I can back off if something doesn't feel right.”
Stormes gravitated toward this form of yoga -known as Vinyasa yoga - following years of practicing versions that only pained fellow classmates. She graduated from the Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica, and brings a background as a registered nurse and Reiki healer to her yoga classes at The Center.
Stormes is now happy to have her own yoga students who, even at an older age, can practice the discipline without the duress.
“Everyone here is young at heart,” Stormes said. “No one is going to return to their 20s, but we all want to function as optimally as we can as long as we're on Earth.”
If you go
What: Fifties-plus yoga
When: Next classes begin Oct. 22
Where: The Center, 1 Hoffman St., Auburn
Cost: $72
For details: Call 704-0319
Coming tomorrow
Free trial of the Cato-Meridian Community
Recreation Center's Aquatic Arthritis Class
When: 9 to 9:45 a.m.
Where: At the center,
Route 370, Cato
To learn more: Call the center at 626-6735
Moravia Health Center's Diabetes Health Fair with educational exhibits and screenings
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Moravia Fire Hall, 38 Keeler Ave., Moravia
Cost: Free
To learn more: Call 497-9066
Alzheimer's Association's “Maintain Your Brain” When: 2 p.m.
Where: Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center,
3 St. Anthony St., Auburn
Cost: Free
To register: Call 294-1691
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