Suza Francina

Autobiography of a Yogini: Innocence, Illusion, Illumination
A Spiritual Memoir by Suza Francina

Book Description and Excerpts

Suza was born in 1949, in The Hague, Holland, and is of Dutch–Indonesian heritage. She has lived for over fifty years in Ojai, California, a valley widely considered one of the most beautiful and sacred places on Earth. She is a former mayor of Ojai and a spokesperson for green, sustainable lifestyles.

Suza Francina is a pioneer in the field of teaching yoga to people at midlife and older. Her first book Yoga for People Over 50, was published in 1977. She is the author of The New Yoga for People Over 50 (Health Communications, Inc., 1997); Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause (HCI, 2003); and The New Yoga for Healthy Aging (HCI 2007). She is currently completing a spiritual memoir:
Autobiography of a Yogini: Innocence, Illusion, Illumination.

Read Suza's published and unpublished writings, musings, lessons and advice in Suza's Writings.

Yoga In the Ojai Valley, Breathe New Life Into Your Bones!
Your Daily Yoga Vitamin--Handstands for Healthy Bones

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Today a young woman brought her mother to my Gentle Yoga class. She explained that her mom had never taken yoga before and, as I could see from the mom's rounded spine, that she had osteoporosis. The daughter placed her mom's mat by the wall, alongside the rest of the students, who ranged in age from 62 to 84. The young woman explained that she took yoga from various teachers, and that she was here to accompany and observe her mom. She placed her own mat into a far corner of the room where, I realized five minutes into the class, she thought she would be able to do her own practice.

While my experienced students were hanging in Downward Facing Dog Pose in the lower yoga wall ropes,
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I showed the new student (the mom) how to lie down on the floor to relax her back. I put two folded blankets under her head and a ten-pound yoga sandbag across her pelvis. After checking to be sure that her upper and lower body were in line, she rested her lower legs on a chair seat. This is an easy position that passively stretches the back muscles.

It soon became evident that this new older student (the mother of the younger, experienced student), was a quick learner and soon she was practicing Downward Facing Dog Pose with the rest of us. While teaching, I could see the daughter out of the corner of my eye practicing other poses. "You know," I finally said, "This is not going to work. Come over here and take the class with us."

We practiced a series of lying down hip openers, leg stretches and twists. Then we stood up and practiced the weight bearing Standing Poses, with the back foot against the base board, the upper hand holding the upper wall rope, and lower hand on a chair or block, to make sure that everyone moved from their "hip hinge," critical for people with osteoporosis. Standing poses are key poses for strong, healthy bones.
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About half an hour into the class, the young student suddenly exclaimed, "I'm stretching more than in my other classes. We usually move around more. Here we are holding the poses much longer!"

Aha! That explains why she had planned to observe her mom and do her own thing in the corner. She must have read the class description, "Gentle Yoga Over 60," and assumed it would be too easy. Instead, practicing the same basic poses as her mother, she said it was one of the most challenging classes she had ever taken.