366: Ageless Wellness: The Healing Benefits of Restorative Yoga for Older Adults

00:00:00 Angela: Gym memberships, spa memberships, these things are expensive, when really you can just simply do a basic restorative yoga practice at home with very little minimal expenditure. And there are such things known as, like, yoga kits. And in these yoga kits, you have the yoga mat, you have a couple of yoga blocks and a strap, and that's really where you can begin your practice and to just trust that your body's being supported by the props and there's no effort in.

00:00:35 Maya: This is the Healthy Lifestyle Solutions podcast, and I'm your host, Maya Acosta. If you're willing to go with me, together we can discover how simple lifestyle choices can help improve our quality of life and increase our longevity in a good way. Let's get started.

00:00:54 Maya: So, hello, my friends. Welcome back to another episode. Now, today I have Angela Fischetti on the show. She's been on the show before, and I'm going to add a link in the show notes so that you can hear her story of how she came to this way of living and now working with the elderly population, that forgotten population that she feels many people don't support. So in the first interview, we talked about the importance of strength training, especially as we age. So I'm going to ask you to revisit that interview.

00:01:24 Maya: Today we're talking about the importance of having restorative yoga. Restorative yoga is a slower practice that allows us to ground ourselves to be with one to maybe four poses during an hour, to connect with our bodies, to presence ourselves. The way that Angela described how people see yoga in general is to have to kind of push yourself and do a lot of strength and all of this, sort of this sports mentality. While restorative, yoga is more about being here now, connecting with the body and building strength in a different way, while we also restore our energy.

00:02:09 Maya: So, anyway, as always, I have a great time talking to Angela, so I hope that you enjoy this episode. In addition, after the short interview, we will be attaching a video. If you're watching the YouTube video, she's making a special restorative yoga practice just for us. So I hope that you enjoy this. And all the contact information for Angela will be in the show notes as well. Let's welcome, Angela.

00:02:35 Angela: It's wonderful to be back here with you. Do you know that it is almost a year and a half ago, so this is a lot of fun as a follow up. Thank you so much. So a couple of things that have happened. One was like just beginning when I made the first appearance on your show, and that was for the plant based platform, Feel Fabulous Over Forty. And it's produced by the, well it's a virtual vegan production company, and that's called Better Life Summits.

00:03:08 Angela: So what they did is I was a member of that. And after a couple of years of being a member, they contacted me and said, we think you might be a fit to actually work with us, and so to become a video provider. And that's what happened. I love it. I get to provide strength training videos for the platform, but also yoga videos for members. And this way, they're there on the platform and they can go back and hit the replays whenever they want. But it's really exciting, too, because I'm still a member of that group and I attend different functions.

00:03:48 Angela: And it's a way for me to as a member, to get to understand the demographic better as to what their needs are. And it is really rather phenomenal to watch people who have strokes and maybe in active cancer treatment sitting in a wheelchair or have an oxygen tank on and they're lifting weights with me.

00:04:20 Maya: Incredible.

00:04:21 Angela: It's on a whole nother level. And that, these people, I don't have to get into like, where do we get our protein and all that stuff with them. They just know. So it's a much different experience at this point in my life. This year I turned 65, and to have this experience after 35 plus years of doing this is really quite moving. And then I also basically do somewhat of the same. But the whole video approach is different, though, with Timaree Hagenburger, and she's known as the Nutrition Professor. Do you know her work? She is spectacular, and she's a registered dietitian nutritionist, and she only teaches plant based, and she teaches, also for the State of Florida.

00:05:11 Angela: For that platform, my videos are different, but they're still focused on strength training, and I'm a member of that as well. And again, to just be involved and to watch and listen to the challenges of others and her platform is small, but, man, they have a lot of challenges, and they are committed. They're committed to the food, they're committed to the exercise. So it's very gratifying. So that's what opened up since I last saw you. And then occasionally work with people virtually.

00:05:51 Angela: But then I've done some projects with [Sid Nader], and I think she attended the show today with your interview with Dr. Marbas, and she invited me to be a contributor to the Chef AJ 2024 Bundle, the plant based bundle. And what I'll be doing there is also providing strength training tips. So my world has really gone into virtual work and with virtual clients, and it's really been expansive with whole food plant based, which is a thrill for me. It's an absolute thrill.

00:06:37 Angela: But what has happened more and more, I created a YouTube channel, and it's called Boomer and Beyond Wellness. And for me, it's all about, my work has to be inclusive. And when I say that, I'm talking about the fact that I find that my profession, the fitness field in particular, is very elitist. And I didn't realize that for decades until really now. And, you know, the expression of sitting is the new smoking. Well, you know, the thing is that there are a lot of people that… they can't help it. They have to be in a chair. So for some, it's rather judgmental, the saying.

00:07:23 Angela: So I look at this and I go, well, then I'm going to really start providing more video content for people in a chair because some people can't help it, because of their profession. They're in that chair all day long. So I say, let's change the perspective on what we think are limitations and look at the chair and go, how do I turn that into an instrument of health to help me? Because I'm going to be in it. And for some, they're in it 24/7. But if there's some part of their body that can move, let's move that body in the chair and learn how to experience exercise from that perspective.

00:08:06 Angela: And I am real, big now about just let's change, reframe your thoughts. I tell people with my work, don't jump right in. If you have excellent, whatever conditions that I list and I talk about, right? It's like, don't just jump in and do the work because you're excited, you're eager, you want to get strong or whatever. I want people to preview the video first. I want them to look at it. And because those of us who have had chronic issues and for decades, right, Maya, for decades, and for some people, like multiple chronic issues at once, I want them to look at it from the perspective of what they can do, because we're real good at knowing what we can't do.

00:08:53 Angela: And that's smart. That's very smart to know that. But what I find and is the older that we get and I'm going to say that meaning me, I'm 65, I'm allowed to say that. I'm not afraid of that word, okay? I just don't think it's an offensive work word. And okay, for some people, they might want to be called more seasoned in life. Okay, I'll take it. But the point being is that we must be able to find a way to open up, broaden the perspective of what exercise is. Because all too often, those who are plant based in the community are marvelous. But they're young and they don't know the experience of what it's like to try to muster up the strength just to get out of bed because they're hypothyroid or something like that, right?

00:09:46 Angela: And so that's what my work… because of my participation in these communities and maybe in other platforms, that I'm a member as well. But because of this participation these last few years, has completely changed my perspective on how to include others, how to break down that wall. Because I think the Allopathic community is too fast to say to somebody, you have a back problem. You can't work out, you can't do exercise. I'm like, Yo, wait a minute. Whatever happened to personalized exercise protocols? Whatever happened to… did you ever hear of chair yoga, chair exercise? What about telling somebody, why don't you go slow?

00:10:41 Angela: Maybe you learn one movement at a time that you can handle because you can literally create your own exercise protocol from one movement at a time. So I haven't really thought about it in this depth, but that is what has happened over the three year process of really getting involved in the platforms, in the whole food plant based platforms.

00:11:07 Maya: You're so passionate about this world that you provide a service for, and I appreciate that. And you're so right in the sense that there's a whole group of individuals that are not being considered, because most of us, not myself, but the younger community that goes plant based or has been eating healthy for quite a while. They might be running marathons. And that's sort of, the kind of perspective that they have, is that there are all the rest of us over here.

00:11:39 Maya: And then we still are dealing with individuals who can barely hike or can barely walk or just basic things that they need support in. And so this is what you do. It's like, you support people in physical activity, in building strength. No matter where they are, you meet them where they are.

00:12:01 Angela: Thank you for saying that. I have a client who has had several falls, and he's been a client for probably about 14 years. And he's at the point where he's petrified, right, of the falling, because now he's, like 85. And he has broken a couple of bones with this process. But what I see is the PT that he's getting. My issue with a lot of physical therapists is they're there like a medical doctor is to hone in on what the specific issue is, and they're great with that.

00:12:40 Angela: The problem is that, well, in this gentleman's case, he's not walking. He was daily, walking for 20 minutes, and I'm like, yeah, guys, you got to go after the gate. You got to go after his gate. So let me take care of the strength training of the legs and while you're working on the injury. But also, it's like, okay, because he broke his wrist. Well, you know me when I broke my wrist. Now, I know it's, 20 year difference. But he has a whole space available up here that's not affected. And my feeling was like, wait a minute. And I contacted his PTs. What do you think about these ideas?

00:13:24 Angela: I said, I had him buy wrist weights. I said, Why can't we slap a wrist weight up here? Because he's thin, and it's like a wrist weight made for men, and it can wrap it around up here. Why can't we do movement with the humerus? What the heck's that got to do with the radius down at the bottom? Can I do some? And she was like, oh, my God. Do it. Do it. I'm like, thank you.

00:13:50 Angela: So just last week, I got, when we had our session, and I said to him, now this is all virtual. And I said to him, listen, you need to because the hands, he can't pull the weights in and out of the wrist weight. So I was like, well, that's nice. Take the weights with you. When you go to physical therapy, have somebody remove three pounds from each of those wrist weights. We're going to start working with them next time. We're wrapping it around up here. I said, no more excuses, otherwise you're going to lose the shoulders next, right?

00:14:26 Angela: So he was like, okay. I said, there you go. That's the point. It's just, look at the body, look at the person, understand what it is that drives them. This man loves to go out and take photographs of architecture. And he's got a following on Facebook for this. And so that means he's walking around. And without that, he loses, bit of his soul because it's also an artistic kind of creative project for him.

00:15:06 Angela: You find out these things about somebody. And then you go, how do I tie this into the workout? How do I make it so that this is, he can equate that process with, oh, if I keep my upper body strong, I could help myself walk with my cane or walker, I could stop, take the photos of what I need. And you know what I'm saying? It all is part of the process. He might not be able to do much standing, but give me the device, bring in the device, bring in the walker. Let's get you up and down. Teach you how to use the walker to stand up. Sit down. What is it? It's squatting, right?

00:15:47 Angela: So just the guy needs to squat. You need to sit in a chair and you need to be able to get up. You have to get in and out of your car. And frankly, you got to get up and down from the commode because it's a problem for a lot of seniors. And that's why those things are built up high for them. But then it contributes to constipation and not being able to void correctly because the seat is too high. You see what I'm saying?

00:16:11 Angela: So you look at the movements and you look at activities of daily living. Look at functional movements and then go after the strength training for that stuff. And then if they've got other stuff that they like to do in their lives, well, then you could target that. But you got to go after multiple joints, multiple large muscles, because this is how we have to survive in life.

00:16:37 Maya: That's right. Just everyday movement. I remember I contacted you when, as I'm going back into strength training and understanding how, the importance of building muscle and having balance in my life. I remember asking you how you felt about the fact that as a result of not working out as much during the pandemic and all that, I can barely do a pull up. And then I think you, discouraged… you said, hey, that's not really important because at the end of the day, when am I going to be pulling myself up? There are other things that I can do to support my everyday life.

00:17:14 Angela: Right. Now the thing is that the pull up is a great compound movement. Now you're talking about a pull up of your entire body weight.

00:17:22 Maya: Yes.

00:17:23 Angela: So I'm not telling you to never do that, okay. At all. But what I'm telling you is it's steps in the process that you can build up to it. But ultimately, I'm looking at what do you actually do in life? Or maybe you want to strive for that goal, for the full body pull up without any help. Maybe you want to strive for that. But if you have any pre existing issues within the shoulders, you've got to be able to tie that into the work. Find out what's doable, build up, build up to it. Never just start there because where are you going to go? Me, pull ups, I don't do them. I do them, supported because I blew out my rotator cuff.

00:18:14 Angela: And it's like, okay, I'm happy with this, though. I can get a functional movement. I can get a compound movement with a pull down, with a supported pull up. I can still do that. Why not do it? Why not try it?

00:18:28 Maya: Right. I mean, the other day, I was in the pool at the deepest part of it, and I tried to come out like how we normally have in the past, just pull yourself up or raise yourself out of the water. And I was like, oh, my God. And it's really a shoulder injury from a fall that never, though I went through physical therapy, I didn't continue to work on it. So I lost a lot of muscle on both shoulders. Well, I lost the strength to do those kind of things.

00:18:57 Maya: And so now I see because, let's face it, a lot of us don't have a lot of exposure to the elderly population. I am not around the elderly group of people to see what happens when you don't exercise and when you're not keeping up with all of this. So when you were here last, you spoke to us about the importance of strength training. And I'd love to transition to talking about the importance of restorative yoga.

00:19:26 Angela: Absolutely. I want to say one thing to you. When you get out of the pool, you're talking about pushing down on the side to let, okay. This movement is also tricep work. All right? So you want to, just make sure that you're strengthening all of this stuff, because you do want to be able to get up and out of a pool if that's going to be your athletic setting, if being in a pool, doing pool exercise or swimming, you want to tie that in now, you want to get those triceps and biceps strong.

00:19:56 Angela: Yeah. For me, restorative yoga. Yoga is just a must from the perspective of counterbalancing. Just balancing out the strength training. Because for me, it's also about calming my mind and, you know, I'm American, Italian. I'm from Brooklyn. I'm an Aries. I'm kind of a fiery person. And I need to be able to be quiet. I need to go quiet. And I'm not great at being still quiet, like sitting in absolute meditation. I am really great at moving in, quiet. And a lot of people call that like a meditation in motion.

00:20:50 Angela: And I just let the breath and my body just let… it drives my movements in yoga, as opposed to me coming in and saying, I'm going to do this, this and this. I might do that because my body will say, man, your hamstrings are tight. Let's do something about that. But for me, the experience of yoga is much more about being present in the moment and allowing the breath to dictate my effort. Because in yoga, it will be, you'll do this, a lot of people just hold the breath when they're trying to push through a stretch.

00:21:30 Angela: And it's like, yeah. No, that's kind of, gym mentality. Either way, you never want to be there. Either way, you want to breathe when you're strength training and you want to breathe when you're doing yoga. And the thing about restorative yoga is that it activates the parasympathetic nervous system. And what is that? That's the rest and repair system. But here's an interesting thing. It's also known, Maya, as rest and digest. And I didn't piece that together until recently. And I'm like, wait a minute. There's a gut brain connection with restorative yoga.

00:22:12 Angela: So it's affecting your microbiome. And there are a lot of different, like, breathing techniques in yoga in general, and of course, they're utilized in restorative yoga, and some of them are designed specifically to target the diaphragm. Now, these breathing techniques are also called in Sanskrit, pranayama. And so there are some breathing techniques that affect the diaphragm more specifically.

00:22:40 Angela: But to understand that, all breathing techniques engage the diaphragm. It's not like, oh, that one, the breath of fire is going to be the one that's going to engage the diaphragm. No, they all do. And when you have these techniques that utilize the diaphragm, it decreases the stress in the body, according to the NIH. And I'm going to read off something to you folks.

00:23:08 Angela: The National Center for the Complementary, for Complementary and Integrative Health, there was a 2019 review of three studies with a total of 800 participants, and they found preliminary evidence suggesting that diaphragmatic breathing exercises may help to reduce stress. Now, they always have to say, may help. They have to always use that word, may.

00:23:33 Angela: And that was though, it was actually, yeah, 2019. I just wanted to make sure I got that right for you. And they say the use of props in restorative yoga, according to Healthline magazine, and they have a wonderful article from September 23, 2020, the Benefits of Restorative Yoga and Poses to Try. They say that props, a key feature in restorative yoga, is the use of props for instance, blocks, bolsters, blankets, straps, the list goes on. And props help you hold passive poses for longer without exerting or tiring your muscles out, right? So it also allows you to feel comfortable and supported regardless of your experience with yoga.

00:24:21 Angela: And that's what I love about it, because you see, the way that yoga is taught oftentimes in this country is also very elitist. Has to be in the five star spa, has to be with every sort of fancy prop you can think of. These things are expensive. Gym memberships, spa memberships, these things are expensive. When really you can just simply do a basic restorative yoga practice at home with very little minimal expenditure.

00:24:53 Angela: And there are such things known as, like, yoga kits. And in these yoga kits, you have the yoga mat, you have a couple of yoga blocks and a strap, and that's really where you can begin your practice and to just trust that your body's being supported by the props and there's no efforting. That's the thing that is hard for people with restorative yoga. There's no efforting. It's like, what? No pushing, no trying. You just find that place and it doesn't matter how many props you need.

00:25:29 Angela: I mean, there's a pose called Hero’s Pose, and it's in Sanskrit, it's Virasana. And when you're on the floor and your knees and your feet are separated and your butt's sitting down on the ground in between the feet. But the knees are very much hyper flexed here and compressed. So for some with knee issues, well, then you can start sitting up on yoga blocks. Listen, I've had students with five yoga blocks. I mean, they're way the heck up there. But does that mean they're not doing the yoga pose because they're using the props? Because there's a lot of school of thought out there that, well, if you're using props, it's not pure yoga. I'm like, are you kidding?

00:26:15 Maya: Well, that takes us back to what I was saying earlier, that if you can barely walk, if you can barely sit up and sit down, I mean, you got to start where you can to support your body by–

00:26:26 Angela: Exactly.

00:26:27 Maya: When you wanted to come on, yeah. When you wanted to come on to talk about restorative yoga, I was really excited because I got into that as a result of someone else that came on the show and talked about it a while back. And I thought, well, let's see what it's all about. And yes, my local yoga studio, although I can do those at home, like you said, very supportive poses that in many ways I feel supported. Like, I feel like I'm being held and allowed to just be without me always doing, which yoga does. Sometimes you feel yourself, like you have to push through something through a pose and all of that, but also feeling restored in many ways.

00:27:09 Maya: And I think that parasympathetic part that you were talking about is maybe what is restored. Like the fact that we never really take the time to just stop and refuel. And that's what it feels like. How do you work with people this way virtually, and how do you support them that way?

00:27:29 Angela: I do it virtually. And if somebody's really close to my home, then I go to their home. But I mostly do all of this work virtually, except, of course, massage therapy. Right. But with training and with yoga, it's all done virtually. I'm trying to think I had wanted to say something to you about the restorative yoga. Okay, this is what I wanted to say. The reason why yoga is so important to me, besides what it does for me, for helping me have a more calm, stable brain, for this brain that is quite active, right?

00:28:07 Angela: Is that in order to make gains in strength training, you have to have downtime, because it's that downtime that allows the muscle to grow, the muscle to get stronger, that allows the effect of the bone health as far as strength of the bone and the health of the bone. These are the downtimes that are required, but yet, you're still moving, even though your joints are supported by these props.

00:28:52 Angela: Oftentimes I think of, like an image. I'm being supported by the lap of Mother Nature because I'm down on the ground and I'm just there. But the body can't constantly get slammed. And a lot of people like to do power yoga daily, and I used to love to do that until I recognized it's a little bit more of the, for me, not somebody else, may not be for somebody else, but for me was a little bit more of, this has got the sort of weightlifting mentality to it. Right? And it's great, though. It's a wonderful form of yoga.

00:29:37 Angela: I'm just saying that, especially with the aging process, I want to avoid inflammation. And what people don't understand is when you execute exercise, and I don't care what modality it is, it could be yoga, it could be lifting weights, whatever it is, jumping on a rebounder. If you execute movements incorrectly, then you can create inflammatory processes in the body because of the exercise. So with restorative yoga and utilizing the props, the likelihood of creating an inflammatory response is pretty much minimized.

00:30:25 Angela: And for those who are already dealing with chronic issues, I don't mind them starting out with restorative yoga. It gets them reintroduced to their bodies. It gets them to get past, to help them get past the kind of imposed limitations on the perspective of their health. And, well, I can't move and I can't this and I can't that. Because a lot of other voices and a lot of outside messages are saying this, restorative yoga is very forgiving.

00:31:01 Maya: It's a beautiful process. I'm telling you. Earlier you said that you feel like you're in the lap, like nature's lap, just there.

00:31:10 Angela: The lap of Mother Nature.

00:31:11 Maya: The lap of Mother Nature. That's exactly how it feels like that I'm being supported. How many of us are ever cuddled or cradled or held? That's a huge need that most people have. And when you're on the bolster and then sometimes, depending, the yoga instructor comes down and kind of pushes you down or supports you or brings energy to you or an oil or something to kind of support what you're doing, it really feels like, it feels gentle. And yet in that gentleness, you're gaining so much.

00:31:45 Angela: It's embryonic, right?

00:31:47 Maya: Oh, yes. Oh, my gosh, yes. I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. It's a beautiful experience.

00:31:53 Angela: Yeah, it really is. But even in the work that I do, Maya, even when it's restorative yoga, I have to take into considerations the chronic issues that people have. Now, some people may not have what they think are chronic issues, but then you later find out, oh, well, you herniated that disc. This is stuff that you have to take into consideration when you design a yoga session for somebody, when you design a strength training session. It's the stuff I take into consideration. I don't put anybody on my massage table unless I have a session with them, reviewing a client health history form.

00:32:44 Angela: I won't do it because I am not afraid to seek guidance from medical healthcare practitioners who know my clients body best. So I only want to bring in, movement that serves. I don't need people getting injured. And that's why I created the YouTube channel. So the way that the information is presented, is presented one time through, whatever the lesson is for the video of the day, whatever it is, all of the movements are presented. Let's say, if it's strength training without any accessories, without any weights, without any bands and tubes, for people who have these chronic issues, for people who are brand new to strength training, to people who are brand new to exercise and movement.

00:33:49 Angela: And that is why my yoga, if I do, let's say, a floor class. Now, so many people in our population cannot, not our, my population. You're a lot younger than I am. But so many people in my population and older, they get them on the floor, forget it. And so that's when I was like, you know what? I have to figure out a way to teach yoga to people who can't get down on the floor. So bring out that chair, folks. That's no longer my enemy. That's no longer the enemy. And it's the whole cycle of it, all comes back down to how do we include everybody in the work? And that's how the work is presented.

00:34:40 Maya: I, so appreciate that. And even if you're able to do yoga, at least myself in my community, there's a grassy patch area. Artificial grass. But people live in different age groups here in our community, but they do these yoga practices once a week out in the public in this grassy patch thing, and it's like 50 people there. Well, I don't want to be. Well, I mean, it's great for the younger community, but I don't want to be–

00:35:11 Angela: It's a younger community, got you.

00:35:13 Maya: Bending over, flex, doing whatever in public. So I prefer either a small class or even if you offer one on one this way with, right, because not everybody feels comfortable in public, which is why many people shy away from the gym. Nobody wants to be seen.

00:35:33 Angela: It's a good point you're bringing up. I mean, I worked in Home with this client, I don't know, it must have been about ten years, a husband and wife. And then the pandemic hit. And they're literally just a couple of blocks away and I didn't go back. We continued on virtually. Now, probably about six months ago, they moved to Orlando. And it's no big deal for us because I'm still working with them virtually. But here's an interesting thing. They moved to a place that they have access to an incredible gym, because they told me where they were going and I looked it up and I'm like, oh, my God, what a facility, right?

00:36:16 Angela: And so they don't want to be in there. They go only if they're feeling really super confident, which is great. And I've absolutely encouraged them. You need to work with people if you're going to use any of the cardio equipment, whatever it's going to be. But you must get proper direction on how to adjust the machines and all of that. They still work with me in Home. Even after they started that experience of going. They wanted the quiet attention away from the music and focus.

00:36:54 Angela: And for me, what I'm going to do then in that situation is go, okay, you're going to work on the machines over there, but you're going to do the free weights, the bands and the yoga with me, because now I can complement that work as well. But I want them to be able… It's very important as we get older to work the body unilaterally. So that's why yoga is so great, which means one side at a time. Yoga, you're doing one side and then you're doing the other side.

00:37:20 Angela: This is important stuff for balance and strength as well, because there is strength in yoga when you're holding a pose. If it's not restorative, it's work. Restorative just has a different intention and it has an important intention part of me. And I think too, where for me, because the whole pandemic was so, like it destroyed my business, right. Every angle of what I teach and do. Oh, don't come near me. Don't come near me. So it was Restorative yoga that helped me, get me out of my fear, get me out of, this is it, I'm done. Now what do I do?

00:38:14 Angela: And it kind of like, for me, helps just my thinking process to not be so much on alert, because we've been on alert for a lot of years now in this country and politically, what's going on and all that stuff. I kind of like, all right, let's get everybody on floor, lie down and let's do, supported bridge. Unite the heart to the throat chakra. Send some peace and love. We’re good.

00:38:44 Maya: That's right. Well, you know, that kind of reminds me during the Pandemic, there was another individual in Canada at the time. Now, she's moved away, but who did do, she offered a restorative session, restorative yoga. It was mainly women. It was four of us that logged in from different parts of the world and we did it together. And that was the first time that I experienced restorative yoga. And at home.

00:39:09 Angela: Yeah, there you go.

00:39:11 Maya: So this is a beautiful experience. I feel like someone like myself. Same thing. Sort of like what you were saying, very stressed. I hold a lot in my body. I retain that stress. The anxiety, the thoughts, the fears that come in have helped me to kind of ground myself. Like, that's what it feels like restorative yoga, when I come out of the studio, I mean, I'm here, I'm present, I'm alive. That's how I feel.

00:39:38 Angela: Yeah, and–

00:39:39 Maya: And back in my body.

00:39:41 Angela: Yes. And doesn't it knock the fight right out of you?

00:39:44 Maya: Yes, it does.

00:39:45 Angela: Right? Because sometimes people will be like, I'm driving to the yoga class, but then a guy cut me off on the way there and that's going to really piss me off. But then when you come out from that yoga class, you go, oh, okay, I might like you after all. It just knocks the fight right out of you.

00:40:04 Maya: It sure does. So now, how can people learn more about these sessions that you offer? Do they just go to your website? Tell us more about how that–

00:40:14 Angela: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Well, I tell people, if you want to really kind of get an idea of how I work, then you can go to the YouTube channel, which is Boomer and Beyond Wellness, and you can just see the videos there to see if my approach is something that works for you. And then what I tell people to do as far as to reach out to me, you can contact me by way of the contact form on my website, which is boomerandbeyondwellness.com, and I'll repeat it, boomerandbeyondwellness.com. That's how I would do it. And on there, there's a services tab so you can see what I offer. And then there's also an FAQ tab. And it'll give you an idea of what to expect at the first session. That kind of stuff.

00:41:04 Maya: I really do appreciate and really admire how you've been growing since I've met you. I mean, you've been doing this, you have years of experience working in your field, but you've had to endure these changes and modifications that people have had to make when you are used to working in person with individuals and now Zoom virtual, the virtual world has opened up. And now it's just a nice option for everyone to connect with experts that they feel that they can identify with, that they resonate with.

00:41:36 Maya: And then I just want to kind of bring it in again. When we talk about lifestyle medicine, the pillars of lifestyle medicine, we know that nutrition is important. You are also on board with living a clean lifestyle, a plant forward lifestyle. However, when it comes to yoga and what you're teaching, I feel like you cover several pillars of lifestyle medicine because you have the, being physically active, which is important. And if you're limited, you can't and so physical activity, stress management. Yoga, restorative yoga helps with sleep. Right. That's an important one.

00:42:15 Maya: And when you talk about calming your parasympathetic or just activating your parasympathetic system, you're more open to building healthier relationships, which is also a pillar of lifestyle medicine. So your wellness program, this program that you have, really can take care of several other pillars.  And so this is–

00:42:36 Angela: Thank you for that. I appreciate that.

00:42:38 Maya: Definitely.

00:42:39 Angela: If I can add just one other thing, particularly for women who are overweight and obese, they're also oftentimes, just kicked to the curb in the fitness community, but also the medical community when they say, I understand the whole idea and the fact that one doesn't have to work out in order to lose weight. However, you're taking away some power from somebody. So if a woman is overweight or obese, well, she may not be in contact with her body and actually might want… not to have anything to do with it. But I find if I put a weight in her hand or put her in a yoga pose and I have her hold or she does one exercise with it, these people give them an opportunity to have some sense of control over their lives.

00:43:33 Maya: Absolutely.

00:43:33 Angela: And this is why I think it's very imperative that movement is taught during the work, the weight loss process. Not wait till the weight is gone and then work out. No, just let them… get them in touch with their body again.

00:43:48 Maya: You're right. Because when I think of, like, myself I battled a lot with fatigue when I was younger. And so I was the person in the basic yoga classes where the majority of the people were older, like elderly, and I was like, in my twenties at the time. So I was barely able to do basic movement because I was just so fatigued in my body. And even today, when I'm doing a certain pose and I can hold it longer or challenge myself more, my self esteem improves. It’s empowering to know that you're building strength no matter how little.

00:44:25 Angela: That's right.

00:44:27 Maya: So the warrior pose, I love, I mean, there's a mindset behind that pose.

00:44:32 Angela: Right.

00:44:33 Maya: I am strength. I am power. It's in me. It's in me. So I love the idea where you're saying, like, if you have body size issues or those, kind of things. Even holding a pose, like the warrior pose, is empowering.

00:44:50 Angela: That's right.

00:44:51 Maya: And it does get you back in your body, and you're like, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Like, I'm grounded. I'm here.

00:44:56 Angela: That's right. Absolutely. And brava for you. I teach the warrior poses a lot to females, and I teach goddess pose to men.

00:45:06 Maya: Whoa. Really? Oh, my gosh. What is the Goddess Pose?

00:45:11 Angela: Well, the one that I'm thinking of done in a more restorative fashion is when you're lying down on your back soles of the feet together, they're as closest to your groin as possible, and then your knees are supported by blocks. Men are unbelievably tight, oftentimes tight in the hips and inner thighs. That's a very feminine female movement. Warrior two, whether a man has never done yoga or is extremely seasoned at it, every time they plant it, their pelvis just goes right into that hip rotation. That's very challenging for women.

00:45:48 Angela: And also the whole concept of split that mat in half with the power of your own two feet. Boom. I get a whole nother reaction out of the female who's not used to voicing herself and not planting her feet on the ground and owning them.

00:46:08 Maya: Yeah. Wow. That's incredible. I love that you help men open up this way.

00:46:14 Angela: Yeah, I love to do that. I have them do the belly dance, by the way.

00:46:19 Maya: That's great.

00:46:20 Angela: It's hilarious, but it's great. It just, it softens. It just softens. It's all I'm doing is softening, that's all.

00:46:28 Maya: Angela, it has been a pleasure having you back on the show and talking this way, and I believe that in addition to this interview, we will have a link or be able to share what restorative yoga looks like probably on your channel. Is that right?

00:46:44 Angela: I'm going to be actually creating a class for you. I'm creating a class for your platform. But what I'm doing, because women in particular have reached out to me on this, and I understand this because I'm an insomniac myself, I'm going to be teaching a restorative class that is to help you go to sleep. It will be designed specifically to be done at night. If you want to do it during the day, that's great, but you might fall asleep. This would be because women, menopause, who sleeps later in life, get up several times. I want to teach a class for that, for you.

00:47:24 Maya: Oh, my gosh. I can't wait. So we're going to make sure that people can watch it, or I'll put a link so that people can follow. This is going to be amazing. And I do agree. I've understood that, the yoga part of it, it's better to do it before you go to sleep. I mean, because you'll sleep heavenly.

00:47:41 Angela: Yeah. There you go. There you go.

00:47:43 Maya: Thank you so much, Angela, for joining us today.

00:47:46 Angela: Thank you for having me back, Maya. It was an absolute pleasure.

00:47:49 Maya: You've been listening to the Healthy Lifestyle Solutions Podcast with your host, Maya Acosta. If you've enjoyed this content, please share with one friend who can benefit. You can also leave us a five star review at ratethispodcast.com/HLS, this helps us to spread our message. As always, thank you for being a listener.