Traditional yoga postures for modern geriatric care or women's yoga lineages of the lambourn valley

Abstract

This article is a personal reflection on the evolution of Yoga teaching and practice in the United Kingdom as I have experienced it growing up and growing old(er) in the Lambourn Valley in Berkshire, in the South West of England. I chart the development of a new style of Yoga Postures for Geriatric Care, describing some of the circumstances within which Yoga for the elderly has become increasingly meaningful. Along the way I will address the question of what in a modern tradition constitutes authentic practice, and what is the acceptable room for therapeutic innovation. Specifically, I ask, if pain and sickness are an obstacle to personal development should we try to transcend or to cure it? © 2014 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden.