nce to help with midflife transition
Try these yoga poses
to improve your
energy, boost your
self-confidence,
lift a flagging libido,
raise your spirits, and
prevent depression.
Corrects posture, increases lung capacity, helps
blood circulation, tones back muscles, relieves
shoulder tension, and regulates menstrual flow.USTRASANA SALAMBA SIRSASANABuilds stamina, alleviates insomnia, reduces
heart palpitations, strenthens lungs and improves
functioning of pituitary and pineal glands.46
april 2016yogajournal.com.auYoga, meditation, daydreaming, creative
pursuits, and analysing our dreams all
support this growing inner awareness.
From my research, a lot of women have
good self-awareness. Their greatest
diffi culty is taking the steps to bring into
their life what they wish for.
“It often takes a lot of courage for a
woman to consider her own needs and
desires and to, at times, put them ahead of
her loved ones. Her loved ones can fi nd her
desire to meet her own needs challenging
as it often upsets their world.”
Pieta Devine, yoga teacher and founder
of Core Align Yoga in northern NSW, says
guiding yourself through midlife requires
patience and dedication. “If you are having
a hard time, I would recommend a
12-month yoga strategy that works with the
body, mind and heart. Certain poses help
you feel stronger, physically and in your
own self-confi dence.”
Pieta, who teaches Vinyasa-style yoga
with traditional Ashtanga poses, says her
asana and pranayama practice has been
invaluable. She recently faced her own
midlife challenges, in her late 30s, coping
with a divorce, moving, and raising her two
young children.“During this time thoughts of
disappointment, loneliness, anger, sadness
and anxiety fi lled my head. By relating each
of Patanjali’s fi ve obstacles, or Kleshas, to
my own experience I found clarity in the
choices I made. To reduce stress, the body
and mind must be treated as one. The
tension associated with stress is stored
mainly in the muscles, diaphragm and
nervous system. When these areas are
relaxed, stress is reduced. Deep, slower
breathing allows an intake of oxygen and
removes stress from the body and mind.
“Around our midlife years, we lack time
to come back to our own true nature. We
forget who we really are ... a mother/father,
sister/brother, friend, daughter/son,
colleague, as our lives have been fi lled up
with so many things. We rarely stop to just
be in the silence of life, remembering our
true selves rather than a personality that
has been infl uenced by our circumstances
and peers. If we stopped and listened to this
silence for at least 20 minutes a day, there
would be so much space in our minds.”
Dr Oscar Serrallach, author and
specialist in post-natal depression which
incorporates the elements of the midlife
crisis, says the challenge is that we have tostart moving forward based on the
foundations we have created in four areas of
our lives: virtual, social, psychological, and
physical.
During a time when a person can rue
the dwindling of youth, and life might seem
confusing, he says, “If that foundation isn’t
stable, you can really struggle.”
Dr Serrallach, who is in his mid-40s and
runs the Mullumbimby Integrated Medical
Centre, praises yoga as a “complete”
practice. “Yoga asanas strengthen posture
and lymphatic fl ow and pranayama tones
hormones and boosts adrenals. Yoga is very
accessible and allows us to spend time in
the here and now with our body, mind,
and spirit.”
He says a sense of community is
essential to optimal health, and yoga
provides an ideal group experience that can
offer a sense of belonging and connection.
Dr Serrallach says midlife changes can
include a decline in our physiology,
hormone function, and energy levels. “It
can be a challenge to stay healthy. All men
and women have masculine and feminine
hormones and both have testosterone,
progesterone, and oestrogen.” A drop in
testosterone levels can affect “how“Around our midlife years, we lack time to come back to our own true nature. We forget who
we really are. We rarely stop to just be in the silence of life, remembering our true selves
rather than a personality that has been infl uenced by our circumstances and peers.”PHOTOGRAPHY: VANESSA BROWN, HAPPYNESS PHOTOGRAPHY, AND YOGI PIETA DEVINE OF CORE ALIGN YOGA, CABARITA BEACH, NSW.