I slipped down the stairs the other day. I have 2 stairs after a landing that have no railing and I slipped down them in my stocking feet while hurrying to get somewhere. As one leg went in one direction and the other went in another, my arms did their best to grab something (and failed) and I ended up in a loud thump in a pile at the bottom of the stairs.
As I took a little inventory of things I realized I was bumped, but fine. And I was fine mostly likely because of my yoga practice. I have a regular yoga practice which involves various postures to improve strength and flexibility. And when all my limbs went flying on their way down the stairs, I was flexible enough that I didn’t tear any muscles or wrench my back out of whack. And my bones were strong enough that none of them broke. (And I had fallen over enough in my practice on my way to headstand that I knew how to protect myself in a fall.)
And this is why I do yoga, and why it makes me glad that many senior centers offer yoga. Because I will only continue to get older, and one of my biggest fears is falling when I’m “old” and having that lead to health problems and lack of independence. But by keeping my bones strong and my muscles flexible, I can try to avoid that as much as possible.
So, while standing on my head or hands or forearms is certainly a fun part of yoga, I mostly do it so I can go through life standing on my own 2 feet.
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