Yoga After 50 For Dummies has given me an excellent foundation to continue yoga in my aging years. It is well organized, easy to follow, and thoughtful to the challenges of motion in advanced years. I recommend this book for those who want to include a healthy yoga program in their life.

I completed my Yoga Teacher’s Training in 2012. I was eager to share my knowledge and taught at various locations. Then I got hit with 3 cancers. My road to recovery was helped my yoga. Yoga helped not only my body recover, but also my mind and spirit.

Now have severe osteo arthritis. I need a cane to walk any distance. And yoga, as I practised it, is now difficult.

Yoga After 50 For Dummies, written by Larry Payne, PhD, founding president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, takes the guesswork out of starting or continuing yoga at 50 and beyond. Step by step, pose by pose, AARP’s newest For Dummies title shows how to adapt stances and breathing to your changing body in order to reap the benefits of this ancient practice, as well as how to use yoga to calm the mind and body.

Yoga After 50 For Dummies helps readers target weak spots, avoid injury, and deal with pain and chronic conditions. Four color photos guide readers through 45 poses with modifications.

“The goal of this new book is to make Yoga accessible to almost everyone without injury,” says Payne. “You don’t need to be athletic, flexible, or strong to do Yoga– all you have to do is concentrate, breathe, and relax.”

Payne divides up the book in six parts. Each part builds the reader’s knowledge of yoga so that at the end, they have complete routines that address a variety of conditions.

In part 1, Payne situates the practice and yoga in a 50-Plus world. I had to realize that with my osteo-arthritis, I can’t do the vigorous work out that I could accomplish a few years ago. I needed to change my scope of what I can do. That is listening to your body and practising without injury.

The basic twenty great postures for the 50-Plus yoga are introduced in Part 2. It forms the foundation for building sequences safely. This is followed by how yoga integrates into your everyday life in Part 3.

Part 4 is where the condition specific applications are explored. Here yoga adaptations are shown for people with, for example, lower back, knee, hips, osteoporosis, and pelvic floor issues.

All the previous concepts are put together in Part 5 where Payne instructs the reader on five, 15, and 30 minute routines that can be done from home. Finally, he wraps the yoga journey with some tips for making your practice safe and increase your joy in life.

This is an excellent book to guide a 50-Plus enthusiast to start a yoga practice. “Even the greatest of Yoga masters practised differently as they aged,” state Payne. I have certainly discovered that and use this book as inspiration to continue my yoga journey.

About The Book

Yoga After 50 For Dummies by Larry Payne, PhD (August 2020, Wiley, ISBN: 9781119631514, 360 pages, $26.99). For more information, please visit: wiley.com.