Restoring Flexibility: A Gentle Yoga-Based Practice to Increase Mobility at Any Age

by Andrea Gilats

A fully illustrated, step-by-step program that improves the mobility of seniors and promotes long-term health

Flexibility is vital for staying active and healthy at any age. For aging adults, good mobility drastically improves quality of life and the ability to live independently. Featuring 200 step-by-step photos and a lay-flat binding, Restoring Flexibility offers a safe, age-appropriate, and individually customizable program to help restore joint and muscle flexibility for readers at every level. Utilizing an easy-to-follow, twenty-minute, twice-weekly regime, this book presents basic poses and practice sequences that help readers improve agility, avoid the need for a walker, and reduce the chances of falling. Written by a well-known yoga instructor, the book offers fully illustrated, step-by-step instructions for each position, as well as tips and hints for staying safe and comfortable. With sample flexibility programs as a guide, the book shows readers how to create a program tailored to their individual physical needs, schedule, and lifestyle.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2015

About the author

Andrea (Andy) Gilats is a writer, educator, artist, and former yoga teacher. She is the author of After Effects: A Memoir of Complicated Grief (University of Minnesota Press, 2022) and Restoring Flexibility: A Gentle Yoga-Based Practice to Increase Mobility at Any Age (Ulysses Press, 2015), as well as many essays and articles about aging. During her long career at the University of Minnesota, she cofounded and directed the legendary Split Rock Arts Program as well as Split Rock Online Mentoring for Writers. She also directed Encore Transitions, a holistic seminar series for people contemplating retirement, and she taught yoga to a diverse cross-section of older people through her community-based teaching practice, Third Age Yoga.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. I actually went through this book several times. It is a wonderful book for introducing yoga asanas. There are detailed instructions for the poses as well as sequences to follow. There is a great 4 week plan for getting into your practice. Even someone who has doing yoga for a while could probably benefit from the instructions on doing some poses. I think I am going to have to buy this one.

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic movements with illustrations.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, gentle yoga poses for flexibility. Explained in detail. Good book for beginners, or those with health/flexibility issues.

[Melissa Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book for someone who has lost some flexibility but wants to do yoga.

[Cj 888 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy to follow book, I like that they break things down into sections of the body.
Can pick up and follow easily.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for an older beginning student of yoga - or any beginner. Pictures and instructions are easy to understand and good, easy to follow sessions. If it would have come with an accompanying DVD it would have been a 5 star.

[Melanie Ransome · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways.

I love the layout of this book. It is very easy to read/follow along.

I would assume that some people would expect this book to be for older individuals, but I have to say that I feel it will be extremely helpful for someone, like me, who is in her late 30's but has been suffering with Fibromyalgia for many years. After being inactive for quite a few years, I have recently started eating healthier and trying to incorporate exercise into my life, which with Fibro. is very helpful but not exactly the easiest feat.

The author offers great information that I feel is helpful to beginners and those already familiar with Yoga. I would recommend this book to everyone. I've even been sharing it with my son and fiance'.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precisely what my husband and I were looking for; intend to buy this one.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book helpful. The illustrations and direction for each pose are well done.