For Father’s Day:

How You Can Lengthen Your “Healthspan” With Yoga!

I’m excited to share with you an important new book I’m reading called Outlive, The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, MD., a Toronto-born Canadian and pioneer of wellness medicine in the US.

His 2023 “runaway best seller” offers science-based advice on every aspect of healthy living.

More specifically for me, a yoga teacher, much of what he says validates with modern research what I advocate as evidence-based yoga.

Although he doesn’t often talk about yoga per se, he says one heartening thing for me in a footnote in the chapter on exercise:  

“Some of these basic . . .stability moves that I am describing have analogues in classic yoga poses, and a top-notch yoga instructor can help you develop the neuromuscular control and awareness that are essential to proper stability, but most yoga classes are too vague and loose for my taste.”

This is the very reason I felt driven to write The New Yoga: From Cult and Dogma to Science and Sanity. I was frustrated that a lot of yoga teaching repeats unvalidated, sometimes nonsensical claims handed down from teacher to teacher. They originally came from well-meaning and sometimes brilliant gurus who, however, lacked the benefit of modern postural sciences.

From his experience transitioning from traditional medicine to focussing on wellness, Attia recommends many moves similar to science-based yoga teaching. For example, the value of segmented cat cow, the importance of eccentric contractions, the grounding of the four corners of the feet, breath awareness and always moving with precision for stability.

This was music to my ears.

There are other recommendations and protocols you can read about in his book - or you can come to my classes online or in person while we explore age-reversing protocols together! Check them out here.

It’s best to start early to improve what Attia calls your “healthspan.” But Barry, one his patients at Attia’s unique clinic, Early Medical, didn’t take his health seriously until his early eighties. Nonetheless, he “eventually got to a point where he could hop off a pair of yoga blocks and land in a squat.” Maybe we’ll try that in class – one day!

The takeaway from this newsletter is to never stop working on improving your “healthspan,” especially through an evidence-based program like The New Yoga!

Attia’s book, Outlive, together with a yoga mat, would make the perfect Father’s Day gift for all those guys who have yet to take their wives advice and realise the wide-ranging benefits of an evidence-based yoga class!

You can order it through my website here.

Finally, just a reminder that my in-person classes Monday morning are now at Cedarbrae Community Centre upstairs until September.

Rob