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Excerpt from "Boomer Yoga" by Beryl Bender Birch - Part 3 of 3

Following is the last part of the inspiring Introduction from the latest book by renowned Power Yoga instructor Beryl Bender Birch - Boomer Yoga: Energizing the Years Ahead for Men & Women.

Whether you want to develop the strongest asana practice you can or tone down a blazing training routine you’ve been doing for years, boomer yoga can help you to turn up the heat or dial it down. The practice will slowly lead you through each of the eight limbs of classical yoga and help you move from the postures (asana) to energy control (pranayama) to concentration (dharana) and meditation (dhyana). So, whether you’re starting a regular meditation practice for the first time or you’ve been practicing meditation for a long time, here is a tool, a method to follow that will easily bring you greater health, stability, balance, and peace of mind.  But the biggest thing I hope you will learn from Boomer Yoga is that asana is the equivalent of kindergarten in yoga. It is important to do for life, for health and fitness, but it is still only a small part of what is meant by yoga. Asana is only meant to be an aid to preparing us for the deeper work of yoga, specifically meditation. Can asana keep us healthy, agile and pliable, and more resistant to injury in our sports activities and everyday life? No question. And that is certainly why we get started in yoga and an important reason we continue. But it’s still only a gateway to a vast unlimited awareness of our own boundlessness. That is the experience of yoga. The Boomer Yoga routine takes only 40 minutes, but the true practice of it, of learning to be fully present, happens 24/7. 

Beryl Bender Birch Bio and Links

Excerpt from "Boomer Yoga" by Beryl Bender Birch - Part 2 of 3

Here's the second part of the Introduction from the fantastic book by Power Yoga pioneer Beryl Bender Birch - Boomer Yoga: Energizing the Years Ahead for Men & Women.

This book is for all of us — the baby boomers — born between l946 and l964. Who are we? Well, we are a powerful group, we do know that much because we sure get a lot of attention from a lot of different venues. We know that we aren’t our parent’s generation. We aren’t geriatric, at least not yet. We are healthier, we are living longer, and we are doing stuff our parents never dreamed of. We have spent a lot of time working on success. We have lots of nice things. We have beautiful homes. 

We’ve weathered tough times and survived. Our kids are growing or grown and having kids of their own. And now we are looking around thinking, Okay, I’ve done this “success” thing. I’m comfortable, I’ve prospered, I’ve accumulated some sense of “security,” but I’m not quite all that satisfied. There is something gnawing away at me, a restlessness, a subterranean yearning to know the deeper meaning of life. There is a movement we can feel, a perceptible but welcome shift.  For all of you who are moving into the middle of life and noticing change — maybe for the first time, maybe for a while now, or maybe not yet — here is an extraordinary, simple, ancient methodology that will help you to know your True Self. This is not a one-size-fits-all-yoga-class. This is a means for evolution, your own evolution. Where it takes you is where it takes you. It will be different for everyone who climbs on board. Whether you have been doing an asana yoga practice for years and years or have always wanted to try yoga, this can point you in the right direction easily and gently. 

Beryl Bender Birch Bio and Links