Yoga for Seniors

yoga for seniors yoga with hearing aids

I’ve long-resisted writing an article with the title “Yoga for Seniors.” Why?

Because it implies that we have to alter the yoga practice for someone because of their age and “ability.” What the heck does that mean? In the world of Avita Yoga, these two characteristics have no bearing at all. Avita meets every student in precisely the right “place,” regardless of age or ability! It’s not uncommon to see a young man (late ’20s or so) struggling in a class surrounded by students in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s! How could that be?

Most of the yoga today focuses on getting better at yoga. The premise is that if I can get better at doing yoga and make the “poses” look better, then someday the magic will happen, and I’ll feel better. It puts the benefits into the distant future, and yoga happens here and Now (Yoga Sutra 1.1). Avita Yoga takes this to heart, and we use the yoga shapes to reveal the restrictions and the patterns that work against us. We reduce the forms to the lowest common denominator that reveals the problem no matter who you are! Age is irrelevant, and if you don’t believe that, then please try a class! 

yoga for seniors avita yoga is great for all types even those with gray hair

Now some people will say, “Why do I want to know where the problem is? I know where the problem is, and I’ve been trying to get rid of it for years!” To this, I say, the problem and the pain are rarely in the same place. We use doable yet potent shapes to lead us closer to the problem where the time and healing compression quickly begins to resolve the issue. The result is more freedom and mobility. 

“Yoga for seniors” does not work because it takes a pose-driven practice with the wrong goal and waters it down to make it easier to accomplish.

Think about it. It makes sense, but it doesn’t work. It doesn’t really even work for those who can because they are pushing their bodies into extreme shapes. The loose parts get looser, while the patterns and problems remain hidden only to reveal themselves decades later. Such is life, but if we slow down and truly ask for a better way, it will be given. 

According to some measurements (and the mail I get these days), I’m a senior citizen. Yoga has been my life since age 20, and I’ve seen it all and tried most of it. I founded Yoga Loft and later Avita Yoga as a way to safely and confidently take care of the many who would benefit from yoga the most, regardless of their age and ability. It’s worked very well for me, and I’d like to show you how well it can work for you–either in person or online. 

Jeff Bailey
owner Yoga Loft 
founder Avita Yoga
creator AvitaOnline

Costa Rica Retreat 2022

Costa Rica Retreat 2022 with Jeff Bailey, Avita Yoga special retreat

It’s not only the places we go—it’s the purpose we give them. Join us at our Avita Yoga Nosara, Costa Rica Retreat in 2022 at the quintessential Bodhi Tree Retreat Center. Enjoy this beautiful destination, the wildlife, the ocean, the people and each other as you deepen your relationship with your body and mind.

Costa Rican Avita Yoga Retreat at the Bodhi Resort

Saturday, January 15 – January 22, 2022

INCLUDES:
  • Lodging
  • Three meals a day at Bodhi Tree Resort (vegetarian and gluten-free options always available)
  • Shuttle transfer to and from airport
  • Two (sometimes three) yoga classes a day with Jeff Bailey
  • Group discussions centered around optimal health, yoga theory and practice
COST

$500 non-refundable deposit required to hold your reservation.

TYPES OF ACCOMMODATIONS:

King Bungalow:  [SOLD OUT]

double occupancy – 2 people included in cost (one King bed) $4,830 per room

King Villa: [SOLD OUT]

double occupancy – 2 people included in cost (one King bed) $4,990 per room

Queen Bungalow: [SOLD OUT]

double occupancy – 2 people included in cost (two Queen beds) $4,730 per room

Tree Tops: (TWO LEFT)

with private bath, single occupancy (one Queen bed) $2,600 per room  RESERVE TREE TOPS!

Retreat cancellation policy: Once you have made your $500 deposit, you are responsible for the cost of the reservation in its entirety.

We strongly encourage you to purchase travel insurance and recommend https://select.travelinsure.com.  If you cancel your reservation and we are able to fill your vacancy we will refund the cost of your reservation less the $500 non-refundable deposit.

2021 A New Beginning

It’s a symbol of hope for one basic reason: We survived the previous year, and the upcoming year must be better than the last one, 2021 a new beginning.

The New Year holds excitement for many reasons. It’s a symbol of hope for one basic reason: We survived the previous year, and the upcoming year must be better than the last one, a new beginning. Then we dance and party, albeit a little more privately this year. Oh, and we make a resolution that usually amounts to some form of behavior modification. We set “deep intentions” and then sit back and…watch it all fall apart. It’s become such a pattern that we have come to expect to not really work.

REMEMBER (EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO) HOW GOOD 2020 WAS SUPPOSED TO BE?

Now, I’m sure it’s different for you, but most get caught in time loops where we avoid the inner work and move from one thing to the next expecting the new form of it to be better than the last. Whether it’s a new relationship, new job, new clothes, new house, new location, or new year, we fall into the trap and renew the outer (which includes the body) without doing the yoga of renewing the inner. Gandhi said it best, we can’t look for the change we want to see in our bodies or the world. We must “be the change.”

HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THIS YEAR DIFFERENT AND “BREAK OUT” OF THE TIME LOOP. THINK GROUNDHOG DAY (WITH BILL MURRAY)
  1. Knowing that adversity is the catalyst for a better way, look back on 2020 and see how it worked perfectly to bring you to this present moment where you are ready. For 2021 to be better, we must see how well 2020 worked. We don’t get to go back. Life is not a board game where you get to start over. Or do you?
    There is a way to start over, but the idea is that you start over and over, and over again. Not in form, but in heart and mind. The stars are aligned. It’s time. Here’s how…
  2. It comes with many names, that you’ve heard before. Beginners mind. The power of now. Presence. They are all phrases or ideas that bring a new beginning! Problem is, we write them off because they’re too woo-woo and it so much easier to go back to sleep and “live the dream.” But now you’re ready! So how do we tap into the newness that only comes with nowness? First, we catch ourselves expecting, if not demanding change to occur in our favor. Is it not insane to be watching a movie that has a pre-written script and wanting it to change and end the way you want it to? Life is no different but we believe that it is. Instead of accepting what is, we manipulate it (and others) to fit our needs and desires according to a predetermined set of values. And 7 billion others are doing the same thing! It’s organized chaos at best.

But what if just one, decides to accept it as it is? What if just one decides to try something different, and make it all the same? What if just one decides to stop criticizing, blaming, defending and attacking? What if just one decides to withdraw their projections and accept what is? What if just one decides to heal from the past and gently let it slip away? What if just one decides against the fear of the future and lets love show them the way?

What if that one, was you? If not, then who?
Join the Community Chat and discuss your thoughts on this, on your Avita practice or just come and feel a part of the community.

75-minute Community Chats are available 1:00 PM – first Wednesday and 6:30 PM – third Wednesday of each month.

All discussions are shared within your user portal as well.

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(note* if you have already signed up before for a Community Chat, you will receive notifications, no need to sign up once more.)

What is Avita Yoga?

What is AVITA YOGA?

Avita Yoga® is a methodology that gently identifies restrictions impeding the body’s natural potential for freedom of movement, while simultaneously providing the mode to resolve them. The very definition of yoga written in the Yoga Sutras over two thousand years ago is the identification and removal of the obstacles that limit our potential in body and mind. Yoga is a practice that brings more freedom and joy to your life so you can enjoy all the other things you love to do in your life. Learn more about Avita Yoga® and why it can fit well in your life and lifestyle.

The pace of this practice is important. The body and mind working in concert to resolve inner conflict, makes Avita Yoga® a very practical practice for all.

A practice for peace

This practice helps many people work through chronic pain and debilitating injuries, but perhaps most importantly, it is a practice for peace – a way to tap into the deeply healing nature of the mind. Avita Yoga helps students discover a lasting sense of lasting peace. A spiritual practice can mean a lot of different things but for this practice, it’s anything that brings us closer to a peaceful state of mind.

For every physical effect, there is often a subconscious mental cause.

In many ways, the body is a reflection of the mind. Avita Yoga is a practice that uses the body as a gateway to access the healing nature of the mind. If we neglect the mind and work only on the body, we may treat the effect but never really get to the cause. Avita Yoga® students learn to continually navigate the body looking for doorways to the mind where lasting healing occurs. As unfavorable patterns are gently challenged, it is important to give the mind time to notice and understand, otherwise the body and mind will tend toward their habitual patterns and override the potential for positive change. This is why Avita Yoga® classes are taught with a meditative pace that brings the nervous system and the mind along for the ride.

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Goal of All Goals – How We Practice

Practice Peace, make it the goal of all goals, incorporate it into your practice
On our Avita Community Chat last night, a practitioner made a statement that we can all relate to in one form or another. The statement was essentially, “I want my knee to be pain free.” Don’t we all have bodily desires? Don’t we all have a goal for a body part to be better? Do we not all have a desire for some kind of outer change, whether in body or life? Of course!
It’s normal to have physical desires and goals. It’s also perfectly normal to pursue them.

However (you knew this was coming) I would like to offer a caveat that will put it all in perspective and create the backdrop for the best outcome: Allow your worldly/bodily goals to be second to one prevailing desire/goal for peace in mind—the last place we think to look for it. Close your eyes for a moment and offer yourself this one prayer. Go ahead, if even for an instant, set the goal. Don’t worry, you don’t need to throw your worldly goals away, but put them all in a second group called “fuzzy goals.”

Avita Yoga community Chat October 2020

(CHECK OUT the October Community Chat in your member portal.)

With so many uncertainties in our world, there’s no better time to practice. Whether it’s isolation, masks, election outcomes, bodily aches and pains or uncertainty about the future, we each have a litany of worldly preferences—some people with similar goals and preferences but no two alike. It’s a great opportunity to use them all to practice and join with the two things we all have in common, the struggle as sentient beings, and the peace we share in spirit.

Here’s how we practice: When you feel things working against you, you can say to yourself, “Ah, yes, I would like ____________ to happen but peace is my goal.” Or, “I see this thing happening in the news and if only it were_______________, then I’d be happy. Oh yeah, peace is my goal.” Nothing is lost. There’s but a gentle shift to a different inner voice.

Here’s the most important part of all! Once the goal for peace is set (remember, you did that a moment ago) its outcome is certain because a peaceful Self is your reality.

That’s number one. Number two, don’t demand inner peace (of self or others) and don’t beat yourself up for not having it! There’s no surer way to delay your inevitable gains than proclaiming your “failure.” Instead gently observe the notion that something can seemingly take your peace away. It goes like this, “Oh, I know my goal is peace, but this _________ is taking my peace away….isn’t that interesting.” We begin by not critiquing the judge! This tiny gap in time, this moment of reprieve is enough to open the mind and your world up to vast, endless and helpful possibilities…all of which will align for the most favorable outcome. It’s called getting out of our own way and it will take a little trust, at first.

One of my favorite movies that exemplifies this so well is The Legend of Bagger Vance with Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Matt Damon. In the end we don’t know if Bagger Vance was a real person or a symbol of Ranulph Junuh’s peaceful mind. I vote for the latter. We all have a wise, healed and whole “Bagger Vance” within, waiting to be known. And if we listen for It (by dimming the chatter of the unhealed, demanding mind) it will guide us closer and closer to Itself and all the things that use to trouble us slip away and life begins to fall into place. You’ll first be OK with the knee pain and then you’ll gently find the way to mend it. If you watch the movie, notice how Bagger Vance has not a judgmental bone in his body, how peaceful he is, how easy the words come, how patient and loving he is…and he’s always there. Watch how Matt Damon’s character tries outwit him and fights for his own limitations. Eventually resistance is laid aside and peace comes.

This is our yoga and the essence of the Avita Practice. It’s why it works. It’s mind over matter time and time again as we work on the matter! We don’t stop working on the body, we just get our priorities straight. If you take the time to read the Yoga Sutras, this is what they point to. It’s not easy but it is simple. Instead of putting the body first, we learn to put it second and get to know the one thing that is constant, eternal and available to all: Lasting Peace. That is out of this world!

That is what we want above all else. Why wait?

Position Hips Warrior I and II

Position Hips Warrior I and II explanation with Jeff Bailey, Founder Avita Yoga

Warrior poses are for the hips but it’s easy to confuse the shapes and load the low back and SI joint which leads to big problems down the road. If you over rotate the hips it can lead to early degenerative hip problems. Listen as Jeff Bailey, owner of Yoga Loft Studio in Boulder, CO (Founder of Avita Yoga) explains in more detail.

Avita Yoga Virtual Weekend Retreat

INTRO to Avita Yoga Teacher Training Weekend Retreat - workshop, learn from Avita Yoga founder Jeff Bailey

Are you looking for more in your Avita Yoga practice? Interested in learning the fundamentals, history and the healing principles of Avita Yoga? This Avita Yoga Weekend Retreat is made for you! Jeff Bailey, Founder of Avita Yoga is offering an online weekend retreat where you can dive in and experience this innovative yoga practice for an entire weekend! Imagine that – an entire weekend of Avita Yoga from the comfort of your own in-home studio. Through-out the live feed, Jeff will be in-studio with others, giving you the feel of being in the studio and the classes will be live and interactive so that you can ask questions in realtime.

The weekend retreat is coming up – register today to begin your next level of Avita Yoga practice.

Expand and deepen your Avita Yoga practice

This weekend retreat comes to you live via zoom and is for anyone interested in learning more about the Avita Yoga practice, whether you are interested in teaching or taking your individual practice to the next level. Looking for an easy weekend get-away? This retreat is for you.

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Itinerary Friday, June 19th – Sunday, June 21, 2020
Friday, June 19

6:00 pm – 7:15 pm

Where do we start? At the beginning. Where is the beginning?

Avita Yoga Teacher Training INTRO Weekend Retreat - workshop, learn from Avita Yoga founder Jeff Bailey

We’ll open with a short discussion and practice that sets the tone for the weekend and brings purpose for everything to come. In doing so, we touch on the healing principles of the practice.

Saturday, June 20

9:00 – 10:00  Avita Green Practice
10:00 – 10:15 Break
10:15 – 11:30

What is Avita Yoga? What are we doing and how does it work?

This discussion explains the link between anatomy, physiology, and the mind where all healing occurs. If we miss any of these steps, we simply trade one temporary effect for another and never get to the cure.

Assignment: Learn the bones in the skeleton

11:30 – 1:00 Lunch break
1:00 – 2:00 Physiology of the Breath

Learn why it’s now more important than ever to breath (only) through your nose!

Dr. Kemmet, DDS is an expert on occlusion, the airway and why mouth breathing is harming to the system. Even when it comes to the breath, less is more!

2:00 – 3:30 Break
3:30 – 4:30 Avita Green Practice
4:30 – 4:45 Meditation: We rest by awakening, not by sleeping.
4:45 – 5:00 Closing

Sunday, June 21

10:00 – 11:15 Avita Orange Practice
11:15 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 12:30

Quiz and review. Quiz!!??

I know. It’s optional. The only reason we gently test is to facilitate learning. That, and the discussion that comes after the quiz is powerful!
12:30-1:15 Anatomy of bone and cartilage: Overuse/underuse and the role of Avita Yoga in maintaining osseous health.
1:15 – 1:30 Closing thoughts

[button color=”default” link=”https://www.avitaonline.com/product/avita-yoga-weekend-retreat/” size=”default” target=”_self” block=”false”]REGISTER TODAY[/button]

 All Weekend Retreat participants are eligible to apply registration costs of the retreat to the full Avita Yoga Teacher Training through 2021.

Different levels of practice: Green, Orange and Red

Different levels of practice: Green, Orange and Red

Avita™ is the only yoga that takes a consistent multi-level approach that works for people of all ages and abilities. It works because it relies on time-tested principles that span three different levels of practice: Green, Orange and Red.

Avita Yoga® Green

This is where the magic happens. Green classes make up the majority of the Avita practice because this is what most people need. Green classes take a reductionist approach to yoga so that neither the body nor the mind are overwhelmed. In fact the soothing pressure induces healing in body and mind for anyone who practices them. In many ways, it’s all we need. People are drawn to the simplicity because it’s where we get the results! Exotic and fancy, will not.

With time and practice you will naturally be drawn to the Avita Orange classes, but there’s no rush. Please don’t rush. This practice is a potent “undoing” that resolves the physical and mental impact of conflict and trauma in the body and mind. With time and desire, you may practice daily, but until you are drawn to it, 3 to 4 days a week is enough.

Green Classes are the essential starting place for anyone with injuries, chronic pain, stiffness or general issues that come with the aging process.

AVITA YOGA GREEN

Avita Yoga® Orange

As mobility and health improve, confidence increases and the student is naturally ready for more time, pressure and complexity in the shapes and movements. By now, the student has developed an understanding of the practice and is aware of the difference between pain and helpful, healing sensation.

Avita Orange classes allow the advancing student to safely experience these additional elements. Remember to reduce pressure and/or time if you are ever in doubt during a class. It’s wise to practice mostly Avita Green two to three times per week and add an Avita Orange class once per week.

AVITA YOGA ORANGE

Avita Yoga® Red

The assumption is made here that the student has worked through chronic pain issues and many of the compensatory patterns that accompany them (which and take months if not years). It does no good to push the body if the hidden pattern remains because when we push the body we fall into the very pattern (and pains) that we’re trying to resolve. This is a very important concept and it is often overlooked in most yoga traditions because we’ve fallen into the trap that we have to do the things we can’t in order to improve. The underlying belief is that once I’m accomplish this or that shape and get it “right,” all will be good and this is simply not true. We can get away with it in our youth, but there are often consequences in later years.

The demand is high, but for those who have honestly worked through the progression of Avita Green and Orange, the Red Classes will be experienced as nurturing and sustainable. If this is not the case, then please spend more practice-time in the Green and Orange classes. Remember, there is a difference between strain, and yogic effort. For the time-being the Red classes are only available as replays on Live Stream.

AVITA YOGA RED

Three to four different classes are recommended per week.

A bolster and a strap are needed for most classes, while two 9.5 pound sandbags and 2 blocks are sometimes used regardless of the class, Green, Orange or Red. You can learn more about Avita Yoga props and purchase them here.

Avita Yoga® brings areas of conflict and rigidity to light where they can be resolved. It is a sustainable practice that generates longterm results with more freedom in body and more peace in mind. If you’ve ever thought that you are too stiff for yoga, then Avita is for you. Start with the Green Classes!

The goal is simple: to remain healthy, mobile and happy for a lifetime.

As such, Avita Yoga is a no frills, results-driven practice. It is a systematic, long-term approach that pays close attention to each individual body and its unique needs. It works for students of all ages, abilities and degrees of mobility. Avita is the yoga for a lifetime™.

Avita Yoga® takes a systemic approach that resolves the restrictions, pains and compensatory patterns that uphold them. It comes in three layers: Avita Green, Orange and Red.

Show us your face — share your space!

Show us your face -- share your space

How is your at-home yoga practice going?–We would like to see you.

We know you are enjoying your Avita Yoga Online practice and while we can simulate a studio by having other participants in the videos we are sharing with you…we miss SEEING your beautiful face – so we would like to  create a visual experience of the Avita Yoga Online community by posting your pictures of your virtual  yoga practice.

Here’s how – take a picture and post it on Facebook and TAG Avita Yoga (@AvitaYoga). Your picture will be featured on our Facebook Page in the community photos and will help to create that visual community experience that we are all missing. And, each week, one lucky person posting a photo will be selected to receive one month free of Avita Yoga Online.

Join the Avita Yoga Online Community: https://www.facebook.com/avitayoga/community/

Building community and connection is critical during this time of isolation. Help us see how you are doing and join the Avita Yoga Online community visually. We can’t wait to SEE all of you. Take a picture today of your Avita yoga practice, post it on Facebook and TAG Avita Yoga (@AvitaYoga).

To “TAG” Avita Yoga, you have to “LIKE” the @AvitaYoga Facebook page if you don’t already.

So… ready? Let’s start connecting visually and strengthen our connections globally.