The concept of the third age, today, appears rather liquid and elusive to a univocal definition. This is because the lengthening of the average life, the improvement of the quality of existence, the greater access to medical care and innumerable other factors have changed the ancient consideration of this phase, so much so that there is now some difficulty in placing it on the axis weather.
When does the third age begin? And what sets it apart? Answering these questions is difficult precisely because the aforementioned variables have completely disrupted the structure of traditional society.
In fact, alongside the figure of the old “old style”, that of a person in later years is becoming more and more popular, even in retirement, but far from being in “retreat”: the obligations with the family set aside and exhausted the working time, globally in good health, not infrequently of a certain culture and with a discreet economic availability, this adult faces the threshold of the last age of life with curiosity and desire to get involved .
For these reasons, talking about "old people" is rather misleading by labeling an enormously heterogeneous category. What we can say is, however, that at some point in life's journey, for all, inevitably, the organism begins a slow, albeit for some dazzling, decline. What should be done is to manage this descent and, if possible, slow it down. Such as? For example with yoga, a perfect practice for these silver years .
Because practicing yoga during old age
Perhaps some may be surprised that a generally considered "difficult" discipline may be recommended for the third age, a period of life that is certainly not marked by suppleness or agility.
As often happens when we talk about yoga, we find ourselves facing a serious commonplace to debunk . This discipline, on the contrary, can be effectively practiced to alleviate some small and large disorders typical of these years : from osteoporosis, to menopause, from arthritis to tremors, the literature on this subject is very vast and constantly updated.
A famous saying states that the age of the person is not given by his years but by the health of his back. We know how deep yoga works on the spine, the true backbone of our body. Studies have been conducted at the University of California that have shown that a regular practice can prevent the increase of the dorsal curvature (popularly called "hump") therefore all the subsequent imbalances of the remaining physiological curves.
Furthermore, yoga practices can come to the rescue also as a support for moments of depression in which it is not uncommon to stumble in this period.
With meditation we can learn to look deeply into ourselves and to remove all those superstructures that inevitably affect us and sometimes pollute our lives. Meditative practice is a practice that does not require physical skills and that anyone can introduce into their day, even those who are unable to move and therefore have to give up any physical exercise.
Are you a beginner? Here are some tips to start meditating
Some important advice for the practice
As always, we will avoid recommending this or that "miraculous", "anti-age" or "elixir of long life" position: if you are curious, the web is full of information on this subject, all strictly generalist and superficial. Never as in this case it is impossible to recommend a sequence of asanas precisely because, as we anticipated at the beginning, there is no figure of "old type".
On the contrary, everyone brings with him his health, his degree of elasticity, his pathologies which are absolutely unique: I can certainly say that this asana is indicated to stimulate the joints, but I cannot sew it indiscriminately on thousands of people, all the more so if, as often happens in this period, they do not enjoy perfect health or an enviable form.
For this reason, a suggestion that we feel we can really give to everyone is to practice followed by a teacher : we are not opposed to prejudicial autonomous practice (if it is not possible to follow a course or, much better, besides it), but in this context the figure of the master is really important to advise and adapt the sequence to the specific needs of the student .
Furthermore, a structured course becomes an excellent opportunity for socializing and comparison, which is certainly good if, as often happens, many elderly people spend most of the day alone. Therefore, yoga can become a special and precious moment of sharing, self-care and psycho-physical well-being .
