Being Mortal – Factoids about Aging we Need to Know

When we find a good book or good movie, we love to share it with a friend. Justine recommended this book to me and I am only halfway through and already have taken some new things I learned into my Yoga teaching. For instance, did you know that forward head carriage can cause choking when people eat? The reason being is that the neck, and thus the esophagus, is not in vertical alignment which restricts the ability to swallow. Wow, that makes so much sense! And just another reason to be very aware of the position of the neck over the shoulders, and share its importance with our students.

Here’s anothering interesting factoid on Osteoporosis from this book…

“Even as our bones and teeth soften, the rest of our body hardens. Blood vessels, joints, the muscle and valves of the heart, and even the lungs pick up substantial deposits of calcium and turn stiff. Under a microscope, the vessels and soft tissues display the same form of calcium that you find in bone. When you reach inside an elderly patient during surgery, the aorta and other major vessels can feel crunchy under your fingers. Research has found that loss of bone density may be an even better predictor of death from artherosclerotic disease than cholesterol levels. As we age, it’s as if the calcium seeps out of our skeletons and into our tissues…”

Below is another factoid I learned from this book and I turned into a reason and benefit to do more finger/hand movements in my Yoga classes.