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A Vibrant Life : Yoga in the Middle Years and Beyond
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Editors Note: Felice Rhiannon wrote A Vibrant Life: Yoga in the Middle Years and Beyond. In the book, Felice shares she was bedridden for a year and the role yoga played in healing. Felice participated in the following online interview.
Why did you write this book?
A Vibrant Life came to be when I realized that I was not alone…there were other people over 50 who wanted the gifts of yoga. The only difference between them and me was that I was willing to take the risk and go to classes. I also felt compelled to share yoga’s age-positive view of maturity and wisdom. Yoga is so often portrayed as a practice for the young, flexible and fit that more mature women and men are put off from even trying. The benefits of yoga are simply too great to allow that to happen!
Who will benefit most from this book?
Anyone who is over 50, regardless of their physical condition, will find a practice that is appropriate in the book. In addition, anyone who has a physical challenge, regardless of their age, will also find practices that will honor those challenges. Anyone whose life is stressful or who finds it difficult to relax or who is living with an illness will also find a suitable practice.
How would you like this book to be used?
My fondest wish is that people who read and use this book will be inspired to find a teacher locally. There are yoga studios everywhere and many of them feature classes called “Gentle Yoga” or “Yoga for Seniors” or “Adapted Yoga”. A Vibrant Life is a primer, not an exhaustive study. I hope it will be a doorway to deeper practice and greater peace of mind.
What are people’s greatest misunderstandings about Yoga?
Unfortunately yoga has been modeled by ‘models’! So those of us whose bodies aren’t so flexible or lithe or thin think yoga has nothing to offer us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yoga, being a gentle practice, is ideal for us and has the potential to create greater flexibility. Yoga also has been confused with religious practice. Yoga is not a religion, but a path to a more peaceful life. The physical aspects of yoga are just the beginning of the path. Whatever a person’s religions or spiritual orientation, yoga is suitable. All that is asked is an open mind and open heart.
If someone is having difficulty getting started in an exercise routine, how would you advise them?
Find a teacher and a studio that feels great! Find a place where you feel welcome and supported. Once you have that, you will simply follow the natural human desire to be in an environment that nurtures and encourages your growth. Meanwhile, find something in A Vibrant Life that inspires your search. That could be a simple breath or meditation practice or several of the physical practices.
You share in the book about being very ill and bedridden and how yoga helped in the healing process. How did that change your attitude about yoga? How did it change, if it did, what you want to share with others about yoga?
Illness is one of life’s greatest teachers. I saw very clearly that I had a choice about my path through the illness. And yoga provided the vehicle for that choice. I knew I wanted to live as fully as was possible in each moment. Having just completed my yoga teacher training, yoga was the obvious tool to use in addition to other healing modalities. By starting to practice in bed I realized that there was tremendous potential for healing in what I had previously thought of as limited to the physically fit. My own experience inspired me to study yoga therapy and now I see that yoga is truly for every body.
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