How Yoga Saved My Body From Being a Worn Out, Middle Aged Sack of Crap

I feel younger than I did 10 years ago

How is your body doing? Is everything in tip top shape? You might not be limber and pain free like you were in your youth. Do you feel that you are creaky and sore and “getting old?” I know from personal experience that there might be something you could do about it without pills or substance abuse.

Just a few years ago, I was going downhill fast. My lower back was always sore. My legs ached. I couldn’t crouch down for more than a few seconds without excruciating pain. My neck needed a new neck real bad.

I bought into the commonly held ideas of society about life after 35. Everyone told me I had no choice but to be old and worn out. They walked around at work saying useless things like “Wow, I sure am feeling sore today. That’s just the way it goes. We aren’t getting any younger. It’s all downhill from here. I just can’t drink on the weekend like I used to. Better face it, we aren’t kids anymore. My knees are just worn out. Oh, my back. Take it easy, Tim. You’re middle aged now. Lets just curl up and die. I’m so pitiful.” Ok, I made up the last two sentences, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t implying it.

How did I get in such rough shape to start with? I’m a pipefitter by trade, so I’ve done a lot of manual labor over the years. I ran hand tools like drills, wrenches and grinders. I lifted heavy pipes, valves and industrial stuff into position. I climbed ladders, stood on concrete floors for hours and knelt on grating.

Then, after I moved up the corporate ladder, I spent hours each day pounding out the paperwork as a keyboard jockey. I was not working ergonomically correctly in any way. We didn’t have fancy desks, it was the cheapest corporate junk on sale.

My chiropractor and massage therapist were my lifeline

My back was always on the verge of stopping me from getting out of bed in the morning. My elbows, shoulders and knees ached 24–7. Without my weekly appointments to take the edge off the pain, life was really tough. I needed them.

The therapists did their best. They worked me over and gave me exercises to do at home. It was never enough. Everything just got out of whack with my body only days after my visits. I was getting desperate.

I was doing the stretching exercises given to me by one therapist when I started looking for more. I did a few searches online. Yoga kept coming up as a possible answer to my problems. I didn’t know anything about the practice, but it seemed to be a better way to get this stretching done.

That’s when I started doing yoga. I was too embarrassed to go to very many classes, so I watched videos on YouTube and followed along. I found everything about the poses and the classes challenging, but I persisted. I started feeling better right away.

I came across a set of videos containing a 90 day yoga challenge with Lesley Fightmaster. It was called called Yoga Fix 90, and it promised to build a daily yoga practice for life. I didn’t think I was ready, but I decided to try it anyway.

Yoga every morning before work, for 90 days, was a real stretch. Pun intended.

I found that if I spread my yoga mat out on the floor on the way to the bathroom the night before, I had the best luck. Bleary eyed and headed to the john, I stepped on it and realized that I was supposed to be doing yoga. For me, this worked. It was that little nudge that I needed to get me on that mat. I laid out everything I would need— a pillow, my workout gear, wireless earbuds so I could hear the YouTube video, a yoga block. I tried to make it dead simple so there would be no excuses.

I completed a full 90 days of yoga and changed my body forever

The difference in my body was like night and day. I went from worn out to full of energy. From tight and crampy to free and confident. From slumped and sad to eager and ready. My posture improved, my core got stronger, and my back stopped hurting. It was like a new lease on life. I knew I would never go back to my old self. I would keep doing yoga. There wasn’t any other option.

Since then, I have kept up my yoga practice. I go to the occasional in person live class, but mostly I use videos and video conference classes through Zoom or Skype. Yoga happens almost every day in one form or another. I have several routines memorized that take from 15 to 30 minutes.

My daughter was inspired by my experience and also does yoga. Sometimes we practice together, which is really cool. She isn’t as hardcore as I am about it — yet. Give her 30 years to see what it’s true benefits are.

I believe that yoga can help everyone

These are just some of the broad physical effects that yoga could give a person. There could be increased oxygen and blood flow to the tissues, alleviation of pain and stress, increased core strength, improved posture, and improved balance from practicing yoga daily. Inner peace, well being and happiness also might result.

My personal experience showed me that I don’t have to live with pain and a back so sore that it ruins every day. I can get out of bed able to walk upright. I can stand on hard surfaces for hours without it leaving me crippled. I give yoga credit for how young I look and constantly get mistaken for someone 10 years my junior. It’s a good problem to have.

Are these enough benefits to to consider spending a few minutes each day stretching, breathing and feeling good? Join me anytime and we can practice together. Let me know in the comments!

I love nature. Do you spend any time outside in the winter? Here’s how I’m staying warm and keeping up with all of my outdoor activities: