Yoga Therapy and the Older Adult with Ruth Ann Penny | Ep #4

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Are you ever too old to practice yoga? Listen, as Susi and her guest Ruth Ann Penny discuss older adults, yoga and the older adult, and what yoga can do for an older person on this episode of</span> <a href= "https://podtail.com/en/podcast/from-pain-to-possibility/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> From Pain to Possibility</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">. Ruth Ann has been an educator for forty years with a master's degree in adult education, focusing on leaders and the elders in our midst. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ruth Ann became a yoga practitioner almost 25 years ago, as an active and ambitious person in her mid-forties she had a feeling of coming home. Over time, she saw that her body, with its own unique history, would dictate the yoga practice she would cultivate. As she has aged, she has confronted the reality that no yoga practice suits everybody. There is no guru that knows what you know about yourself. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"There are realities to getting older, but it's not nearly as horrible as one might perceive." Listen, as Ruth Ann shares why older adults come to her yoga studio and their genuine interest in making their lives more productive and filled with functional movement opportunities. Susi discusses the realities of aging that challenge older adults. Balance, breathing capacity, general body awareness, and endurance are some of them. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ruth Ann shares her insights on why stiffness and loss of range are very common, and how to focus on and improve those large joint movements. When you have stiffness in the big joints, people start immediately talking about pain, so be clear when your body whispers, so you don't have to hear it scream. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you have enjoyed this discussion and are interested in learning more, Ruth Ann and Susi are running</span> <a href= "https://www.functionalsynergy.com/teaching-yoga-to-the-ol