“I’m About to Be 60 Years Old, I Can’t Do This.”
A personal share from Humble Haven’s Director of Operations, Rachel Berry
"If there were ever an anti-aging pill, I would call it exercise." This is quote from Ernestine Shepherd. Have you ever heard of her? At one point, she was known for being one of the oldest competitive bodybuilders in the world. She didn’t even start exercising until she was 56 years old.
I have an old friend who recently started coming to Humble Haven. When I say old, I mean her and I go back to bartending at Phil’s Continental Lounge serving vodka limeades old, not that she is physically old. When I was setting her up with an intro offer, I said to her, “you know this is hot yoga, right?” to which I was met with, “Girl, I can't do your yoga, it'll kill me. I'm menopausal, I will literally have a heat stroke and die." Three days later, she showed up to her first yoga class with no yoga mat – she didn’t even know what a yoga mat looked like – a cotton t-shirt and socks on.
On any given day in the studio, whether it is someone stopping by to check us out or a new student approaching their first class, you’ll hear comments about the heat, their inability to do X because of their age, their lack of flexibility that they assume is a prerequisite to get into class, and of course the inevitable request for a beginner’s class. I hate to be so curt, but in some cases, dare I say most cases, these are all just excuses that people come up with to justify why they can’t do this kind of stuff. And by stuff, I mean exercising physically, and mentally, to take care of your whole self. I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole and talk about all the benefits that yoga and exercise can help us with, I think after 2020, we now know how important it is to take care of our whole self, right?
Despite the roller coaster of emotions, both internally and externally, my friend has continued to show up even after an encounter with Bootcamp that she thought would be the end of her. I’ll spare the fine details, but it should be no shock that we typically learn a lot about ourselves after a difficult experience. “I’m about to be 60, I can’t do any of this. I should leave.” But, she didn’t and it was likely a turning point in both her commitment to start taking better care of herself and a realization that she is capable of more than she gives herself credit for. A realization that when you fail to take care of your body, jumping back into the game is not at all easy. A realization that albeit tough, there is always a way to modify exercises to match your capability. A realization that while she fought intense feelings of embarrassment, sadness, and defeat, the teacher took the time to speak with her, one on one, and remind her that we have all had this experience before. A realization that it is okay to feel uncomfortable, and that it is sometimes even necessary for our growth. Not a single one of us has had the privilege of skipping over the hard part and going straight to being an expert. We are all beginners at some point and frankly, life happens, and it causes us to have to start over, time and time again.
When you continue to show up for yourself, you not only work on your physical health, but you do the inner work that it takes to become a better version of you, day in, and day out, no matter what stage of life you are in. Here at Humble Haven, I think we can all relate when it comes to being met face to face with our feelings. We have all experienced moments of anxiety as we enter our first (or new style) class. We have all felt moments of intimidation and defeat, perhaps the overwhelming wave of tears that show up when we are in pigeon pose; but we also get to experience the opposite when we walk out of these doors. We get to feel confident, supported, safe, strong, seen, relieved, lighter, less anxious. Free. The person who is almost 60, who just put their mat down in the back of the room, who doesn’t want an assist chip, and is doing all they can to hide their feelings of insecurity has no idea of that the person next to them, the person who is in their 30’s, is also feeling the exact same way. Age has absolutely no bearing on the benefits you can get from taking a class here at Humble Haven. Whether it be a Yin class on your lunch break, wrapped up like a burrito, enjoying those few minutes away from your computer screen and not having to answer to anyone. Or be it bootcamp, forty-five minutes of physical movement that has you second guessing whether this was even a good idea, to that post- class ‘let me just sit in my car for a few minutes and gather myself’ feeling of wow, I feel so much better. There is a class here any given day, for any age, any body type, and every single body. Just show up! Start slow, find what you enjoy, and do it regularly. Please stop letting your age hold you back from your potential. Come move with us!
How to get started at Humble Haven Yoga
All of our classes are formatted to be accessible to all practitioners, and our teachers are equipped to offer modifications and amplifications for every pose to help meet you where you are each day. We often suggest that those who are new to vinyasa-style or new to heated yoga try our Power Down or Hamstrings+Hips+Spine offerings first, but encourage you to try each of our various class styles. Please reach out if you have any questions. We hope to see you soon!
Roll out your mat.
We’d love to invite you to join us and have shared two special offers below, for students brand new to us.