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2010-02-09

2010-01-19

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:00 AM

Photo by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald

Lorrie Glass Coffman helps Ginny Neis, Wellsville, achieve a pose Wednesday morning during a yoga class designed for older adults. “It’s cheaper than physical therapy and more fun,” Neis said.

Seniors strive to stay fit, healthy

By COURTNEY SERVAES, Herald Staff Writer

Yoga can benefit people young and old, Esther Raugewitz says.

She should know.

Esther and her husband, Richard, Wellsville, both regularly participate in yoga classes — even though they now are seniors.

“It’s a cheap way to stay in good health,” Esther Raugewitz said.

Before taking classes, Raugewitz said the couple — like many senior couples — regularly walked around town, but participating in a class has helped them in many ways.

SOMETHING NEW

Esther Raugewitz had never tried yoga before.

She read about it and decided she wanted to give it a try when a class began being offered in the area.

Since starting yoga class four years ago, Esther said she has noticed a difference.

“It’s helped me tremendously with strengthening the back and relieving the sciatic pain,” she said.

It’s helped her husband’s breathing and joints, she said. And he’s only been doing it for a year.

“I have less trouble with my breathing and less trouble with my back,” Richard Raugewitz said.

Esther Raugewitz attends a class on Mondays, while her husband attends one on Saturdays — both at HourGlass Fitness & Wellness in Wellsville. Other classes, like the Ottawa Recreation Commission’s “Personal Actions To Health,” also help seniors stay healthy while gently exercising.

During his yoga class, Richard Raugewitz said they work on coordination and breathing, stretching and bending.

“It’s got to help,” he said. “As long as you keep it within reason and don’t go overboard.”

NOT TOO LATE

It’s never too late to build muscle mass, Lorrie Glass Coffman says.

“Clinical studies show that people can build muscle at any age,” Glass Coffman, owner of HourGlass Fitness & Wellness, said. “You can start weight lifting at 90 and still build muscle.”

And Glass Coffman said you don’t have to be at a certain fitness level to attend the classes either — that’s why she sees the value of leading senior yoga classes.

“The ladies have seen the physical benefits, and I think they’ve seen the mental benefits,” she said of her female class on Mondays. “They do have more confidence in themselves to try something different.”

But Glass Coffman said yoga isn’t all about exercise. It’s also about mental health, she said.

“I try to make it fun. It’s not really conventional,” she said of the class of seniors. “A big aspect of yoga is that you learn about yourself and learn to trust yourself.”

HAVING FUN

It’s like laugh therapy, Glass Coffman says.

Members of her senior classes laugh a lot when exercising.

“It’s entertaining — talking and having conversations,” Richard Raugewitz said.

His wife would agree — she says she regularly laughs and jokes while attending the classes.

“If we couldn’t have fun doing it, we would be staying home,” Esther Raugewitz said. “We have a lot of fun. We laugh.”

Not only do participants laugh, but she said they improve and grow to live healthier.

“I can’t say I have lost any weight,” she joked. “But I don’t think it’s always about that.”

Raugewitz said it has benefited the couple in the long run — providing strength and flexibility.

“I don’t think we would be as healthy and strong in our joints if we didn’t do this,” she said. “It’s just been beneficial in just being able to live a better life at this age.”

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