Fogi Yogis ~ Embracing Our Aging with Yoga and Meditation

When I was in my 30's and I was still "young", Ram Dass came out with his book Still Here. It is about the journey of his aging, which coincidently, he ended up having a stroke while still finishing up the ending of his book. He refers to this as being "stroked" by God. The book dives deep into the lessons of letting go of our physical identity and attachment to who we "think" we are and how society sees us.

I first discovered Ram Dass when I read his book Be Here Now as a teenager. Since then, I had always followed his teaching and there I was, in my 30's preparing for aging! Now, I laugh out loud as I'm about to turn 60! Though the book gives an amazing spiritual perspective, nothing prepares you for the personal experience of non attachment that needs to happen as we gracefully accept all that is in the aging process.

I remember when I was around 50, my friends and I were joking how we were avoiding doing downward dog poses due to the fact that we were now gazing at knees and thighs that we didn't recognize any more. The dimples, the crinkly, wrinkly, sagging skin was something we just didn't want to admit belonged to us. What is it about needing to hold onto our youth that is so prominent in our culture?

Since then, the past 10 years have brought me more lessons than I could've imagined in non attachment to ego. Yoga and Meditation have always been there for me but after suffering from debilitating physical symptoms from Lyme disease and mold toxicity, I was unable to get on the mat due to the severe joint pain, chronic vertigo and head pressure. During the worst of times, the only thing I had....was my breath....breathing in....breathing out...being in the moment. Looking back, I truly believe my meditation saved me.

The healing process has been long and fortunately, I am mostly recovered, but I have lingering joint damage and other physical limitations from my illness. Needless to say my yoga practice has changed tremendously. I practice gratefulness every day for the fact that I have recovered so much, and I am still able to continue practice yoga, though with limitations.

One huge lesson during these years has been an affirmation that we control nothing. I know I am not my body, I've always known this but there is a deep grieving process when we lose something. And then the adjustment to a new way. There is a softening, a surrendering, a peacefulness when one gives up the need to control to an attachment to what life should look like. My yoga and my outlook on life has taken on a more gentle approach, listening deep within to what my body needs, and always seeking the path of least resistance, following my own unique instinctual flow which is constantly changing. And this, this listening, this softening, this surrender, I believe, is the core lessons of life.

"The Universe is made up of experiences that are designed to burn out your attachment, your clinging to pleasure, to pain, to fear, to all of it. As long as there is a place where you're vulnerable, the Universe will find a way to confront you with it. " ~ Ram Dass~