Empowered Aging: Everyday Yoga Practices for Bone Health, Strength and Balance

by Ellen Saltonstall

Do you want to remain strong and active throughout your life?

Embrace the journey of remaining active while aging. This comprehensive guide by seasoned yoga therapist Ellen Saltonstall offers a fresh perspective on living with courage, vitality and grace.

Drawing from the wisdom of yoga, this book provides professional guidance, gentle adaptations, and compassionate support to improve your bone health, strength and balance while enhancing your overall well-being so you can enjoy the fullness of life at any age.

Each chapter is filled with simple and easy-to-follow instructions that can be done from the comfort of your own home. The expert advice makes this book an invaluable resource for those seeking to reclaim their vigor.

Whether you’re new to yoga or an experienced practitioner, "Empowered Aging" will inspire you to take control of your health and embrace your golden years with confidence.

200 pages, Paperback

Published January 2, 2024

About the author

Ellen Saltonstall has been teaching yoga, anatomy, therapeutics and Bodymind Ballwork to improve wellness for everyone since 1985. Her newest book is "Empowered Aging: Everyday Yoga Practices for Bone Health, Strength and Balance". Her previous titles include "Yoga for Arthritis" and "Yoga for Osteoporosis" (with Dr. Loren Fishman), Anatomy and Yoga: A Guide for Teachers and Students" and "The Bodymind Ballwork Method: A Self-Directed Practice to Help You Move With Ease, Release Tension, and Relieve Chronic Pain".

Ellen’s writings have appeared in Yoga Journal, Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation and the International Association of Yoga Therapists’ Journal of Yoga Therapy. Currently she teaches yoga, anatomy, yoga therapeutics and Bodymind Ballwork to students and teachers internationally, inviting them to discover and explore the majesty and mystery of the human form.

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comprehensive guide with photos and illustrations offers a look at how yoga can help us age with greater health. Although it contained lots of useful info, I would have preferred less text, larger photos, and briefer descriptions of poses. More like a pocket guide I could use more easily. Other readers, both yoga beginners and more advanced practitioners, will still find this book incredibly helpful as is.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

[Elizabeth Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was definitely something cosmic about me finding Ellen Saltonstall's newest book, Empowered Aging listed in NetGalley. Half of the yoga I teach is to mature women (it's not meant to be exclusive; that's who shows up) in a Chair Yoga class. I've already read a few books over the years for as long as I've been teaching, but as soon as I hit menopause, I was searching for more books. My friend Michele, who I often substitute for in her Chair Yoga class, directed me to the blog Yoga for Healthy Aging. Wouldn't you know it, Saltonstall has written for them too.

The best thing about Empowered Aging is how practical it is. It's a quick read to go through it once and see what this "yoga stuff" is about. I will say, there is no yoga philosophy or spiritual guidance in this book other than some tips about looking inward to see how you feel. If you're the type of person that is not interested in the non-physical aspects, but you want a safe way to practice, this book is a great place to start. Plus, despite there being attention to maturity and ailments like osteopenia and osteoporosis, anyone who has never tried yoga, should be able to easily follow along with the postures (asanas). Saltonstall gives precise step-by-step instructions for each variation of every single asana she included. That's helpful for times when you want to pick up the book, move your body and need to remember how to get in and out of these shapes.

Saltonstall also emphasized the importance of warming up and cooling down. In my personal experiences, I've seen too many fitness or yoga instructors skip one or both of those segments. I blame the industry and management. Yoga classes used to be 90 minutes to 2 hours and now people want everything in 30 minutes. Saltonstall explains that it is possible to give yourself a 20-minute break to move in a safe and healthy way, but she doesn't present her findings that 20-30 minutes is a complete practice. It's offered as something to fit in when you notice your body slouching, feeling fatigued, or experiencing aches and pains.

In Empowered Aging, this author-yogi has a way with words to give readers confidence. She states it clearly that she wants people to go through her sample sequences until they're comfortable and then find the confidence to make up their own. Pick a couple from the warm-up section, then standing or sitting, and then restore to bring the body to homeostasis. As a reader and student, one would likely never feel that Saltonstall is condescending like so many fitness trainers who think the bullying drill sergeant style is what motivates people.

Saltonstall's advice on how to move your spine safely to avoid injuries is clearly explained including illustrations of the types of fracture that can be avoided. If you become anxious reading that you should not bend forward and round your spine, keep reading. Saltonstall wants readers to be aware of their anatomy. Bending from the hip crease while keeping the spine long is safer and she explains why. She's not afraid to repeat that in every set of instructions where a posture would integrate a forward folding movement. She also explains the difference in a forceful bending of the spine like in sit-ups compared to a gentle "cat" movement (the cat posture rounds the spine intentionally and gently like a cat stretching).

Each posture presented comes with the written instructions, benefits, things to keep in mind, helpful tips, photographs of Saltonstall in each variation, and then what she calls "reflections." Reflections are questions to ask yourself that also serve as reminders like, "Can you breath normally while doing this?" as an example.

Before you even get to the chapters on how to do each asana presented, there is a short segment on the history of yoga; learning to become aware of your own body; incorporating balance practice and why it's important; explanations on why she emphasizes alignment; precautions; what kind of props are beneficial; and a lexicon of terminology which is great for people who haven't regularly been in yoga classes or took a solely Western approach. She does include both the English and Sanskrit names of the postures because every instructor one encounters will have their own preference about which they use in a class.

To close, it is worth reading through the Acknowledgments because it's a wonderful list of people to look up online and many books that got Saltonstall to creating this manual. Her other books include: Yoga for Arthritis and Yoga for Osteoporosis co-authored with Dr. Loren Fishman; and Anatomy and Yoga.

Summary:

Saltonstall's Empowered Aging: Everyday Yoga Practices for Bone Health, Strength and Balance is a book I will be highly recommending to my teacher peers and students. It's organized; filled with accurate science as we know it in 2024; easy to follow; includes photographs and illustrations; and, presents an encouraging reading experience.

Rating: 5 stars

[Liz Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellen Saltonstall, a well known and respected New York City-based yoga teacher, offers an abundance of wisdom and compassion in her new book, Empowered Aging.

Ellen's new book is a must for yoga practitioners and teachers, and those who are interested in exploring a yoga practice. This volume can be used for self-guided practice, as it offers photos and clear instructions for each posture, as well as simple, safe adaptations. It's focus is on improving agility, range of motion, bone strength, and balance, as well as a sense of overall well being.

Ellen's book is a must read for yoga teachers, especially those with students that are 50+ or have injuries. It is a fantastic addition to her earlier books The Mind Body Ball Work Method, Anatomy and Yoga, Yoga for Osteoporosis, and Yoga for Arthritis. Ellen is the real deal.

https://www.amazon.com/Empowered-Agin...

Liz Dalton
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Teacher,
Kundalini Yoga East
New York, NY

Teacher
Gentle Yoga for People Living with Cancer
Red Door Community (formerly Gilda's Club)
New York, NY

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing resource for people wanting to improve flexibility and keep joints mobile. The section on the effects of ageing on our bodies is a real eye opener. Various references substantiate the claims that yoga reduces many of the symptoms, if proof was needed.

The yoga exercises start with some fundamentals to understand the basis for each move. The exercises themselves are well explained with pictures and many variations. There are standing, prone and chair routines, so there are really no excuses for anyone to not get started.

There's a very valuable series of four exercises for hand and wrists, often overlooked but vitally important because we protect ourselves during a fall with our hands. And If time is short, there are short sets of exercises,

If only this type of knowledge and exercise could become mainstream for everyone over 60. We would lessen the burden on the NHS and lead healthier, more fulfilled lives for longer. 5 stars!

[Deborah Charnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

How refreshing to find a yoga book geared toward people beyond the twenty-something or thirty-something age group. As someone with fifty years of yoga practice under my belt, I loved seeing each pose demonstrated by the author, a woman with greying hair and laugh lines. We may be in the second half of our lives, but we don’t have to hang out in our rocking chairs.

Throughout the book, Ellen Saltonstall shares excellent advice to safely build bones and improve balance. Empowered Aging encourages everyone to find their own yoga practice, offering a variety of modifications. The layout is very clear and easy to follow.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just getting back into yoga recently, I will enjoy using this book as a guide for my aging health needs. Very well written and informative with clear illustrations. Thank you for allowing me to sample this book via NetGalley!!