February 21, 2024 • 30 mins
Embark on a transformational journey with Leslie Matthews, a 77-year-old beacon of wisdom in the yoga community who's defying age with grace and agility. This episode promises to enlighten you on how yoga's adaptability transcends physical limitations, bringing vitality and balance to life's silver years. Leslie, with her dance background and now an yoga instructor, shares her story and her curriculum designed to make yoga accessible to all, regardless of age or mobility.
Let's uncover the secrets to a safe and enriching yoga practice that harmonizes body, mind, and spirit. Leslie imparts her vast knowledge on how yoga complements other physical activities and serves as a healing art form for various ailments. Additionally, she offers a simple, yet powerful breathing technique to help alleviate stress.
Wrap your mind around the digital evolution of yoga instruction and the incredible rewards it brings to the table. Leslie and I discuss the unique challenges of teaching yoga through a screen and how imperative clear communication is for a personalized and impactful online class experience. Whether you're an athlete or new to the world of yoga, there's a place for you in this supportive community. Tune in and let this episode be the nudge you need to weave yoga into the fabric of your daily life.
Thank you for listening.
Be sure to visit the Restless to Renewed website for pictures and more information about episode guests at www.RestlesstoRenewed.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Janice (00:43):
Welcome to Restless, to Renewed Women Redefining the
Silver Years.
I'm your host, Janice Neely,and joining me today is Leslie
Matthews.
Leslie is a certified yogainstructor who offers remote
classes that can be accessedfrom anywhere in the world.
Hello, Leslie, how are youdoing?
Leslie (01:03):
Hi, Janice, I'm doing great .Thanks for having me.
Janice (01:06):
You're welcome.
I'm anxious to talk to youtoday about your work as a yoga
instructor, and I understandthat you're 77 years old and
that you started practicing yogaseveral years ago.
So when did you first becomeinterested in yoga?
Leslie (01:23):
Well, I've always been interested in the
mind-body-spirit connection andI did that through dance for a
long, long time.
And then I first tried yogaabout 30 years ago to help calm
my overactive mind and lookingfor peacefulness, and I found
that through yoga.
Janice (01:42):
That's nice.
I actually tried yoga back inthe 1970s when I was pregnant,
and I bought a book calledHealthy Pregnancy the Yoga Way,
and I did all my poses and Idropped off.
So I need to get started again,but you have been really,
really helpful to me andinspiring about yoga, so I think
(02:04):
that I need to take part in ita little more often than I've
been doing.
Anyway, what profession wereyou in before you became a yoga
instructor?
Leslie (02:14):
I was a dancer and dance teacher.
I created the dance program atHarpeth Hall School in Nashville
in the fall of 77 until 1999and then created the yoga
curriculum there until I retiredin 2020.
Janice (02:30):
So you were a dance teacher.
What did that look like atHarpeth Hall?
I'm just curious.
Leslie (02:37):
Well, when it started it was very different than what it
evolved to.
But I started with just one ortwo little classes.
They had just built thisbuilding, an art center, and so
they wanted to have dance inthere.
So I started with that and thenstarted with dance clubs after
school and from that we builtconcerts and then the curriculum
(02:58):
grew and it just evolved andevolved and it's still a really
active program there.
Janice (03:03):
It sounds like so much fun.
I would love to have been partof that when I was in school.
Getting back to yoga, now youswitched gears and you became a
yoga instructor, and so todayyou have your own business, and
I'm wondering what type of yogathat you teach currently?
Leslie (03:21):
Well, my training is in Yengar based yoga and I have
sort of let that evolve throughthe years.
So I teach a mindfulness andalignment based yoga.
Alignment is really reallyimportant in your skeletal
system and mindfulness and howyou think about it and how
you're working with it.
And then I use that same basein my chair based yoga, it's
(03:42):
just that we use a chair forsupport in there.
Janice (03:47):
So what is your preference when you teach?
Do you like the mindfulnessbest or the chair based, or do
you even have a preference?
Leslie (03:54):
They're different, but they're the same.
So I would say that mindfulnessand alignment goes right into
chair based yoga as well.
Chair based yoga is designedfor people that can't get up and
down off the floor easily fromknee injuries or hips and
sometimes back injuries.
I really love teaching thatbecause it allows people that
(04:16):
are older or injured to stillhave a practice, whereas I have
a regular mindfulness and yogaclasses still pretty gentle, but
you do go up and down off thefloor a lot.
I use the same poses andeverything is the same.
Everything in mindfulness yogacan be modified to chair based
yoga.
Janice (04:37):
Okay.
So if you're a person who needsor feels more comfortable
taking a chair based yoga class,that doesn't mean you'll be
missing out on anything.
Leslie (04:46):
Oh no, oh no, oh, you'll get the exact same benefits.
Janice (04:51):
That's perfect.
Then you mentioned the type ofyoga that you've been trained in
.
Can you give us a little briefhistory about yoga for those
people who are not familiar withit?
Leslie (05:09):
Yoga was created in India.
That's where it started over5,000 years ago, and Mr.
Lyengar is the one that reallybrought yoga to the whole form.
It wasn't seen much until aboutthe 50s.
That's when he brought it overhere.
But Lyengar yoga is using cropsand like blocks and bolsters
(05:33):
and belts and blankets, and it'sjust to allow you to access the
poses more efficiently so thatyou have the correct alignment.
Janice (05:43):
Oh okay, I was noticing on your website that you used
some props in the pictures, butI also noticed that you are very
intentional about making surepeople are safe.
Leslie (05:59):
Yes.
Janice (05:59):
During the class.
Leslie (06:00):
That's probably my first priority is that people are
safe.
I don't think people understandthat you can get hurt in yoga
if you don't understand whatyou're doing.
So knowledge is the key that'sreally, really important to me,
and that you work safely, thatyou work at your level.
People get hurt when they tryto push past their understanding
and knowledge of the poses orwhat their body abilities are.
Janice (06:26):
Well, that's important because I understand you have
some older students and you wantto ensure that they are safe
and that there's no injuryduring the class.
Leslie (06:46):
My students age, I mean I have some in their 30s, but
mostly I would say that themajority of my students are in
the 50 to 90 age group.
Janice (06:57):
That's amazing.
Leslie (06:58):
Yeah, but I do have some younger students that do it and
I have some younger studentsthat really enjoy their chair
based yoga, because it justmeets their needs in a different
way.
Janice (07:08):
Well, I think that it's very encouraging that it doesn't
matter what age you are thatyou can participate.
I know there's a lot ofactivities that people feel like
they've aged out of.
Leslie (07:27):
It is, and you're just never too old for yoga or too
young.
It just kind of meets you whereyou are.
So if you have certain things,yoga fills in in one way, or if
you have another injury, it justcomplements everything.
It's not going to work againstanything that anybody does.
Janice (07:45):
Well, that's helpful to know because I think that some
people think stretching orwhatever is going to pull muscle
or whatever.
So you guide them through thatto make sure that they don't
push themselves too hard andgrow into it.
Leslie (07:59):
Absolutely.
And I think that I've never hada student, never had a student
that had the right teacher andwas working at the right level
and worked with knowledge thatdidn't improve.
And you're right there onstretching, that you can get
hurt on stretching, becausestretching is working one way.
Weight training is workinganother way.
(08:20):
running is working one way.
playing tennis, playing golf,all of these things work one way
.
So, for example, if you'rerunning, you can be really tight
in your hips and your calf andyour ankles and yoga meets you
there and it fits it up.
If all you do is do a lot ofstretching, you might be weak
because you're not building anymuscle and there's a lot of
(08:41):
strengthening that goes on inyoga.
If you are playing tennis orgolf, you're one-sided, you're
asymmetrical, so that yoga comesin and balances that.
It just balances everything,and then it also balances your
mind, body spirit too.
Janice (08:59):
Okay.
So when you talk about mind,body spirit, can you give me a
little bit more informationabout what that means and what
the connection is?
Leslie (09:09):
The connection is the breath.
But you can.
So you can do this in otherthings too.
You can be doing it with musicor painting or playing an
instrument.
It's connecting your mindemotionally, physically, and
spiritually.
You've been there, right?
You see a piece of art and yougo, oh, wow, it expands your
(09:30):
spirit.
Yoga does that because you areworking those three things mind,
body, spirit and connecting itwith your breath so that your
mind works one way, the emotionswork one way, and if you want
to change your feelings or youremotions.
So if you're an angry person,if you can change your body and
your breath and your mind, youwill change the other things too
(09:54):
.
Mindfulness also means beingpresent in the moment.
That's so hard.
It is for everybody.
Janice (10:03):
Yeah, that's just so hard.
I think we all experience thedaydreaming, the mind wandering
and thinking about oh, when am Igoing to get the grocery store?
Leslie (10:11):
Today I call them brain breaks.
You can just go in some placelike that.
That's part of the practice isreally bringing you into focus
and if you're focusing on yourbreath and if you're focusing on
what it is you're doing and ifyou understand, this is really
important.
If you understand what it isyou're doing and why that's a
really important part for me intraining people.
(10:31):
That way you can't think ofother things.
But it takes practice.
I mean it's not going to happenovernight.
Janice (10:39):
Well, you and I talked about my inability to breathe at
the proper time during yoga,but I never thought about the
fact that I would have topractice breathing.
Yeah, it comes to you naturally.
Leslie (10:51):
The breath pattern that I use is called the one-two
ratio breath and this is reallygood for any of the listeners.
If you're stressed out or youhave anxiety or you have trouble
sleeping, just take a deepbreath through the nose, not
through the mouth.
You just breathe in forwhatever counts two to three,
four counts and then double thatexhale.
So if you breathe in for threecounts, you exhale for six
(11:15):
counts and it's just very, verycommon to your nervous system.
Janice (11:21):
So that makes me think, then, that I wouldn't say it's a
cure for anxiety, but it'd be areal help for anxiety issues.
Leslie (11:32):
It helps anxiety.
Yeah, I'm not going to say it'scure anxiety by any means, but
it's very helpful and what itdoes is bring you into the
present so that you don't haveall those wheels going on.
If you're thinking about yourbreath and you're working on
that, you really can't thinkabout a lot of other things.
If you're counting your breath,you really can't think about a
lot of other things.
Janice (11:52):
That makes sense.
So I really need you.
Leslie (11:57):
Well, you have me.
Janice, You've got it.
Janice (12:01):
So are there any other health benefits you want to
mention?
Leslie (12:04):
Oh, there's so many health benefits.
Of course, as I've told youbefore, I think all exercise is
beneficial.
It's going to help everybody.
It's what's going to keep youyounger and it's going to keep
you just going forward insteadof going backward.
But yoga complements and fillsall the other spaces that you
have.
But there's been a lot ofscientific studies that show
(12:27):
yoga improves flexibility, and Ifound these in myself.
So it improves flexibility,strength, posture, body
awareness.
It's helpful with inflammationand mental health.
That's what we were talkingabout with anxiety.
And what I love so much,especially as we get older, is
that most of the poses are heldand are isometric, so they're
(12:48):
holding the bones and it's beenshown to improve bone strength.
So for people that are tendingtoward osteoporosis or
osteopenia, which does have itsown things, if I'm teaching
somebody with that, I have adifferent, a little different
approach because I don't want tocause any more issues with it.
But one of the things they sayis strengthen the bones, and the
(13:10):
way you strengthen the bones isyou pull against the bone and
that makes the bone stronger.
Janice (13:18):
I know that everything you mentioned just now was
beneficial.
But there are two things Ithink about as after we cross
over that 50 year mark in ourlives, and one of them is the
posture.
I notice in myself.
I'm starting to bend over alittle more and you know, you
(13:40):
see people that are looking downand part of that is the fact
that our bones change.
You know if you haveosteoporosis or something.
But that's one thing.
And then the second thing isinflammation.
Oh my gosh, that causes so manyproblems in your body.
Leslie (13:58):
Right.
Well, you know that we'resitting working at the computer
and on the telephone or drivingthe car or you know anything.
It pulls you forward and I'veactually had students that have
come to me privately that we'vecounteracted that.
(14:22):
But it comes to a point if youdo it too long those bones
calcify and you get that hump onyour back.
But I've had real success withone of my students and we've
done a lot of work with openingthat shoulders because she was
starting on that Dowager home,hump that's what you call it,
right, a Dowager.
You know what I'm talking about.
Janice (14:40):
Right.
Leslie (14:41):
And we did a lot of work on opening the front side of
the body and we made some reallydramatic changes with her.
So you know, there it is mind,body, spirit, intention-based,
idea-based, focus-based, and theinflammation reduction just
comes from the whole bodyexperience, the breath and the
movement and releasing of stress.
Janice (15:03):
It's amazing how much stress can affect inflammation
and pain and joints and so forth.
Leslie (15:09):
Right, and you know, one of the things I haven't talked
to you about this, but one ofthe things that really has
brought me to working withstudents like that.
I have a lot of people that cometo me that have had injuries or
two things.
One is they want some help withinjuries and keeping in practice
, and the other is they justwant to learn how to do yoga so
(15:30):
they can go take a class too.
But I've had several major,major injuries, and the one
thing I've had there was asix-year period where I had
three major surgeries One was adetached hamstring, one was a
foot injury and one was a backinjury.
And that's a lot of that camefrom dance, because that's hard
on your body, and one of thethings that it taught me about
(15:54):
myself when I'm working withother students is that you can
actually look like you're not inpain, but you can be really
suffering, and I understand thatbecause I've been through it
myself, and the compassion ithas given me for working with
those students is really, reallyimportant for me, because I
want people to know that they'renot going to be disregarded
(16:16):
because they you know they hurt,they say they hurt, I know you
can hurt and not look likeyou're hurting.
Janice (16:22):
Right, you don't have to be limping around or holding
your back or whatever.
Leslie (16:27):
Right, especially people with back injuries.
I mean I think people, you know, really discount people
sometimes because of that and Idon't believe in that.
I believe in seeing people andthem being seen.
Janice (16:39):
Well, what is your favorite pose and why?
Leslie (16:43):
First of all, let me say that yoga is for everyone, but
some poses are not for everybody.
Janice (16:50):
Right.
Leslie (16:50):
So I love the warrior poses because they're standing
poses and they help developstamina and open your hips and
your shoulders and they reallyhelp you improve your breath
work, your breathing work, and alot of people hold their breath
all the time.
Everybody right now, take adeep breath.
Janice (17:11):
You're going to hear me now in the microphone.
So you meet someone and theystart asking you about yoga and
they are interested, but theysay to you yoga would be too
hard or I'm not flexible, Ican't do that, or I can't get
down on the floor, I'm too old,or I think other means of
(17:35):
exercise are more beneficialthan yoga.
Leslie (17:38):
I can take those one at a time really to say that yoga
is too hard.
It can be really hard, but youneed to start.
You need to have a teacher thatwould give a few private
classes to help them just beginto understand what the poses are
.
You need to have the teacherand a class that's right for you
(18:01):
.
So not every teacher is rightfor every student, and so they
need to do their homework alittle bit and find a class If
they're not flexible.
This one I always find so funny.
My to answer why you takeclasses is to improve your
flexibility.
For example, if I wanted tolearn how to play tennis, I
would take classes in tennis.
I wouldn't have to be a tennisplayer to learn how to play
(18:23):
tennis.
The getting down, up and down onthe floor that's a really big
one for a lot of people, and Italked about it a little earlier
.
And that's where chair-basedyoga really comes in.
It's so great because you canbe really active and you can do
every pose that you did, but youhave that support.
So if you have chair-based yoga, you don't even really have to
(18:43):
worry about going up and downoff the floor.
Like I said, I just think thatyoga is for everyone.
I'll just say that It'll cometo you when you're ready for it.
I know that when I was youngerand dancing, I felt a little
slow.
For me, now, it feels just fine.
Dancing is a little fast, but Ijust think it's really
(19:04):
important to do your research.
Don't go into a big, huge classat the Y unless you know the
teacher or you've talked to theteacher in the beginning.
It's a commitment.
It's not a one-time fix-a ll.
It's a commitment.
Janice (19:19):
So you're doing your classes via Zoom.
So how do you makeaccommodations from a distance?
Is there a certain way that youask questions prior to their
class?
Leslie (19:32):
Yes, yes, this is.
This was a challenge for mewhen I started teaching on Zoom
because, you know, I don't haveany hands-on with them.
What I really like for peopleto do if they're going to sign
up for my classes is I usuallywill email and say do you have
any movement limitations that Ineed to know about?
And most of the time, whensomebody hasn't you know,
(19:55):
they'll say gee, I have a hipinjury, I have this, I have that
, and they'll tell me about it,and so I will try to address
that when I'm teaching class.
Like Janice, your shoulder, Iknow you have this bad shoulder.
Maybe you want to bend yourelbow here instead of shaking
your arms straight out, thatsort of thing and most of them
(20:16):
will let me do it.
Communication is really reallyessential, and I am open to
emails and texts from mystudents.
It's not an imposition for me.
I feel that's part of my job.
So if somebody doesn'tunderstand something, if they
don't tell me, I won't know.
So if they'll just let me knowand then we'll find a way to
work through it and address it.
(20:37):
Is that enough of that, if youthink?
Janice (20:40):
I think that people might assume that, because it's
a distance learning class, thatit is not personalized, and it
sounds like what you're doing isactually more personalized than
a lot of in-person classes.
Leslie (20:54):
It's true.
It's true, I think you're righton that, and the beauty of the
technology is that we can havetwo different time zones and
people in different places andand do it on Zoom and the
comfort of your own home and allof that.
But it is easy for it to beisolating.
So it's been really importantto me to reach out to my
(21:16):
students and be open to them.
I really want questions.
I really want people to connectwith me.
Janice (21:25):
And I understand that in your class, that they can
either turn their screen on andyou can see them, or they can
turn it off if they're, you know, want to work out in their
pajamas or whatever.
Leslie (21:35):
That most of my students turn their their cameras off.
I love it when they leave themon, but I certainly understand
that.
And yes, if you want to take itin your pajamas, that's fine.
I think that I give cues thatare clear enough that people,
once they get used to doing thesame, I know people just listen
to me.
They watch me, but they listento me more and I don't really
(21:57):
have to see them.
I try to address everythingwith verbal cues.
Janice (22:01):
Yeah, well, I know I did a class the other day and I was
needing to watch because Iwasn't sure about where my body
parts were supposed to go.
But if I would practice likeyou said, then your verbal
assistance would be enough.
I think I just need to take afew classes to know what's going
on.
Leslie (22:22):
Right.
And also, you know, the part ofyoga is not a one shot deal.
I mean, it's a commitment andit's a lifetime practice.
It's not something that you canin my opinion this is my
opinion, I shouldn't say that,but I, you know, I think people
need to understand that it's notgoing to be just an exercise
class.
It's a much deeper level.
You get plenty of exercise, butyou have to study a little bit,
(22:45):
you have to practice, you haveto be consistent if you want to
grow and if you want to make ayoga part of your life, that's,
it will be part of your life.
Janice (22:56):
We had a friend a few years ago, it was a guy that my
husband used to coach ball withwhen our kids were young.
He had a heart attack and hewas a very thin guy and very fit
but you know you would neverassume that he would have a
heart attack.
His doctor recommended that hestart yoga and he told my
(23:18):
husband it was wonderful.
He said it was life changingfor him.
Leslie (23:23):
It changed my life.
It really did.
It changed my life.
You know people come like saidyoga will come to you when
you're ready for it that oldthing about when you're ready.
The teacher will come and yogawill come.
That same way.
It is wonderful and it is sogreat for stress release.
I always have at least a 10minute shavasana at the end.
That's a rest period.
(23:44):
It's so calming and relaxingand it's also the time that the
body processes all theinformation that you gave it.
So this is a lying downposition on the floor you might
have your legs up or on a pillowor something, but where you
focus on your breath and lettinggo of any tension in your body,
and that also helps withsoreness too.
(24:06):
Now yoga can be reallystrenuous.
There's other types of yogaashtanga and power yoga.
I don't teach that kind of yoga, but there are people that
that's the kind of yoga theywant.
Nothing wrong with that.
It's just not the way I teach.
But it is wonderful.
Janice (24:23):
Yeah, I think I mentioned to you the other day
too that I was telling my sonabout you and he said that a lot
of professional sports figuresare taking yoga classes now, and
it's not just for theflexibility and so forth, but it
is actually strength building,because when you hold a pose,
you're building some strength.
Leslie (24:43):
Right Bone strength as well as muscle strength, and
also a lot of athletes aretaking yoga for the ability to
learn how to keep their mindreally focused in on what it is
they're doing.
There's a guy in Nashville thatwas a big basketball player
named Clyde Lee.
I don't know if you rememberthis man, but he played for
Vanderbilt, I think, and hebecame a yoga instructor.
(25:06):
So when I was teaching yoga atHarpeth Hall for the sports
teams, I called this man and Isaid what is it?
What do you recommend?
Where do you think that Ishould focus?
And that was his main thing isfocus on visualization and
staying present.
So it's it's mind, body, spirit.
Remember, it's those threethings connected with the breath
(25:26):
.
Janice (25:27):
Mind, body and spirit.
But even the sound of yoga, orthe word concerns some people.
What would you say to them toease their mind?
Leslie (25:44):
I would say do your homework about your classes and
your teachers and find the onethat's right for you.
Find something that resonateswith you.
Don't just say, oh, I triedyoga and I hated it.
You just have to find the rightteacher in the right level of
class to work.
And remember not to beinhibited or Intimidated,
because everybody had theirfirst yoga class and you know
(26:06):
when I used to teach liveclasses when someone would come
in I'd say, oh, janice is heretoday and this is her first
class, and everybody would say,yay, we know what it's like and
were really happy for them to doit.
So it's again.
It's just Important tounderstand that it's a lifetime
journey and it takes patienceand consistency to achieve those
(26:29):
many, many benefits that areavailable to you.
Yoga has so many healthbenefits.
I mean, we've talked about themand, like I said, I've never
seen anyone not improve overtime.
So if you're really unsure, youreally want to do it.
iI's an investment in yourhealth and wellness.
Janice (26:46):
Can you cover the steps that someone would need to take
if they want to attend classes?
Leslie (26:52):
It's really easy, okay, so you just go to my website,
Leslie Matthews dash yoga andyou click up at the top.
There's some little tabs andthere is scheduling rates.
You click on the date thatyou'd be interested in taking a
class and I get a message andI'll get back to you and send
(27:13):
you the link.
And once you get the link, allyou do is click on the link.
You don't have to do anythingelse.
And if you want to do arecording, you'd have to tell me
you wanted to recording Then Iwould send you a recording link
later.
Janice (27:27):
Okay, and so you offer individual classes and also
package offerings.
So this sounds easy enough.
So do you have any closingwords for us?
Leslie (27:40):
Oh well, first of all, I want to thank you for being
interested in this.
For the listeners that don'tknow Janice, she is an amazing
human being and she's just doneso many things that have helped
me, so I'm just so grateful forthat, Janice, really, and just
remember everyone that yoga isfor everyone.
When you're ready for it, don'ttry to force it.
(28:00):
Take the steps just like youwere learning anything else.
It's a learning curve, and bepatient, be consistent and
you'll get there and you'll reaphuge, huge benefits.
Janice (28:14):
Well, I can't see how anyone would argue with that.
This sounds so wonderful and Iwould encourage everyone to go
to Leslie's site.
So if you want to learn moreabout yoga in general, or if you
want to schedule an onlineclass with Leslie, just visit
her website and, like shementioned, it's Leslie Matthews
dash yoga.
(28:34):
com.
You can also follow her onFacebook and Instagram, and and
in addition, Leslie'sinformation is going to be
listed on our Restless toRenewed website, so there'll be
a little bio there and somelinks and also this podcast.
And as a last bit ofencouragement to you about the
class, the best thing is for newpeople your first class is free
(28:56):
, so can't beat that.
Finally, I want to thank ouraudience today.
This podcast serves as a forumfor women over 50 to highlight
their hopes and their dreams andtheir achievements.
If you would like to learn moreabout Restless to Renewed,
visit the website at RestlesstoRenewed.
com.
There you will find links toother episodes, bios on the
(29:20):
Restless to Renewed women andrecommended resources.
Thank you for listening todayand please join us again.
Welcome to Restless, to Renewed Women Redefining the
Silver Years.
I'm your host, Janice Neely,and joining me today is Leslie
Matthews.
Leslie is a certified yogainstructor who offers remote
classes that can be accessedfrom anywhere in the world.
Hello, Leslie, how are youdoing?
Leslie (01:03):
Hi, Janice, I'm doing great .Thanks for having me.
Janice (01:06):
You're welcome.
I'm anxious to talk to youtoday about your work as a yoga
instructor, and I understandthat you're 77 years old and
that you started practicing yogaseveral years ago.
So when did you first becomeinterested in yoga?
Leslie (01:23):
Well, I've always been interested in the
mind-body-spirit connection andI did that through dance for a
long, long time.
And then I first tried yogaabout 30 years ago to help calm
my overactive mind and lookingfor peacefulness, and I found
that through yoga.
Janice (01:42):
That's nice.
I actually tried yoga back inthe 1970s when I was pregnant,
and I bought a book calledHealthy Pregnancy the Yoga Way,
and I did all my poses and Idropped off.
So I need to get started again,but you have been really,
really helpful to me andinspiring about yoga, so I think
(02:04):
that I need to take part in ita little more often than I've
been doing.
Anyway, what profession wereyou in before you became a yoga
instructor?
Leslie (02:14):
I was a dancer and dance teacher.
I created the dance program atHarpeth Hall School in Nashville
in the fall of 77 until 1999and then created the yoga
curriculum there until I retiredin 2020.
Janice (02:30):
So you were a dance teacher.
What did that look like atHarpeth Hall?
I'm just curious.
Leslie (02:37):
Well, when it started it was very different than what it
evolved to.
But I started with just one ortwo little classes.
They had just built thisbuilding, an art center, and so
they wanted to have dance inthere.
So I started with that and thenstarted with dance clubs after
school and from that we builtconcerts and then the curriculum
(02:58):
grew and it just evolved andevolved and it's still a really
active program there.
Janice (03:03):
It sounds like so much fun.
I would love to have been partof that when I was in school.
Getting back to yoga, now youswitched gears and you became a
yoga instructor, and so todayyou have your own business, and
I'm wondering what type of yogathat you teach currently?
Leslie (03:21):
Well, my training is in Yengar based yoga and I have
sort of let that evolve throughthe years.
So I teach a mindfulness andalignment based yoga.
Alignment is really reallyimportant in your skeletal
system and mindfulness and howyou think about it and how
you're working with it.
And then I use that same basein my chair based yoga, it's
(03:42):
just that we use a chair forsupport in there.
Janice (03:47):
So what is your preference when you teach?
Do you like the mindfulnessbest or the chair based, or do
you even have a preference?
Leslie (03:54):
They're different, but they're the same.
So I would say that mindfulnessand alignment goes right into
chair based yoga as well.
Chair based yoga is designedfor people that can't get up and
down off the floor easily fromknee injuries or hips and
sometimes back injuries.
I really love teaching thatbecause it allows people that
(04:16):
are older or injured to stillhave a practice, whereas I have
a regular mindfulness and yogaclasses still pretty gentle, but
you do go up and down off thefloor a lot.
I use the same poses andeverything is the same.
Everything in mindfulness yogacan be modified to chair based
yoga.
Janice (04:37):
Okay.
So if you're a person who needsor feels more comfortable
taking a chair based yoga class,that doesn't mean you'll be
missing out on anything.
Leslie (04:46):
Oh no, oh no, oh, you'll get the exact same benefits.
Janice (04:51):
That's perfect.
Then you mentioned the type ofyoga that you've been trained in
.
Can you give us a little briefhistory about yoga for those
people who are not familiar withit?
Leslie (05:09):
Yoga was created in India.
That's where it started over5,000 years ago, and Mr.
Lyengar is the one that reallybrought yoga to the whole form.
It wasn't seen much until aboutthe 50s.
That's when he brought it overhere.
But Lyengar yoga is using cropsand like blocks and bolsters
(05:33):
and belts and blankets, and it'sjust to allow you to access the
poses more efficiently so thatyou have the correct alignment.
Janice (05:43):
Oh okay, I was noticing on your website that you used
some props in the pictures, butI also noticed that you are very
intentional about making surepeople are safe.
Leslie (05:59):
Yes.
Janice (05:59):
During the class.
Leslie (06:00):
That's probably my first priority is that people are
safe.
I don't think people understandthat you can get hurt in yoga
if you don't understand whatyou're doing.
So knowledge is the key that'sreally, really important to me,
and that you work safely, thatyou work at your level.
People get hurt when they tryto push past their understanding
and knowledge of the poses orwhat their body abilities are.
Janice (06:26):
Well, that's important because I understand you have
some older students and you wantto ensure that they are safe
and that there's no injuryduring the class.
Leslie (06:46):
My students age, I mean I have some in their 30s, but
mostly I would say that themajority of my students are in
the 50 to 90 age group.
Janice (06:57):
That's amazing.
Leslie (06:58):
Yeah, but I do have some younger students that do it and
I have some younger studentsthat really enjoy their chair
based yoga, because it justmeets their needs in a different
way.
Janice (07:08):
Well, I think that it's very encouraging that it doesn't
matter what age you are thatyou can participate.
I know there's a lot ofactivities that people feel like
they've aged out of.
Leslie (07:27):
It is, and you're just never too old for yoga or too
young.
It just kind of meets you whereyou are.
So if you have certain things,yoga fills in in one way, or if
you have another injury, it justcomplements everything.
It's not going to work againstanything that anybody does.
Janice (07:45):
Well, that's helpful to know because I think that some
people think stretching orwhatever is going to pull muscle
or whatever.
So you guide them through thatto make sure that they don't
push themselves too hard andgrow into it.
Leslie (07:59):
Absolutely.
And I think that I've never hada student, never had a student
that had the right teacher andwas working at the right level
and worked with knowledge thatdidn't improve.
And you're right there onstretching, that you can get
hurt on stretching, becausestretching is working one way.
Weight training is workinganother way.
(08:20):
running is working one way.
playing tennis, playing golf,all of these things work one way
.
So, for example, if you'rerunning, you can be really tight
in your hips and your calf andyour ankles and yoga meets you
there and it fits it up.
If all you do is do a lot ofstretching, you might be weak
because you're not building anymuscle and there's a lot of
(08:41):
strengthening that goes on inyoga.
If you are playing tennis orgolf, you're one-sided, you're
asymmetrical, so that yoga comesin and balances that.
It just balances everything,and then it also balances your
mind, body spirit too.
Janice (08:59):
Okay.
So when you talk about mind,body spirit, can you give me a
little bit more informationabout what that means and what
the connection is?
Leslie (09:09):
The connection is the breath.
But you can.
So you can do this in otherthings too.
You can be doing it with musicor painting or playing an
instrument.
It's connecting your mindemotionally, physically, and
spiritually.
You've been there, right?
You see a piece of art and yougo, oh, wow, it expands your
(09:30):
spirit.
Yoga does that because you areworking those three things mind,
body, spirit and connecting itwith your breath so that your
mind works one way, the emotionswork one way, and if you want
to change your feelings or youremotions.
So if you're an angry person,if you can change your body and
your breath and your mind, youwill change the other things too
(09:54):
.
Mindfulness also means beingpresent in the moment.
That's so hard.
It is for everybody.
Janice (10:03):
Yeah, that's just so hard.
I think we all experience thedaydreaming, the mind wandering
and thinking about oh, when am Igoing to get the grocery store?
Leslie (10:11):
Today I call them brain breaks.
You can just go in some placelike that.
That's part of the practice isreally bringing you into focus
and if you're focusing on yourbreath and if you're focusing on
what it is you're doing and ifyou understand, this is really
important.
If you understand what it isyou're doing and why that's a
really important part for me intraining people.
(10:31):
That way you can't think ofother things.
But it takes practice.
I mean it's not going to happenovernight.
Janice (10:39):
Well, you and I talked about my inability to breathe at
the proper time during yoga,but I never thought about the
fact that I would have topractice breathing.
Yeah, it comes to you naturally.
Leslie (10:51):
The breath pattern that I use is called the one-two
ratio breath and this is reallygood for any of the listeners.
If you're stressed out or youhave anxiety or you have trouble
sleeping, just take a deepbreath through the nose, not
through the mouth.
You just breathe in forwhatever counts two to three,
four counts and then double thatexhale.
So if you breathe in for threecounts, you exhale for six
(11:15):
counts and it's just very, verycommon to your nervous system.
Janice (11:21):
So that makes me think, then, that I wouldn't say it's a
cure for anxiety, but it'd be areal help for anxiety issues.
Leslie (11:32):
It helps anxiety.
Yeah, I'm not going to say it'scure anxiety by any means, but
it's very helpful and what itdoes is bring you into the
present so that you don't haveall those wheels going on.
If you're thinking about yourbreath and you're working on
that, you really can't thinkabout a lot of other things.
If you're counting your breath,you really can't think about a
lot of other things.
Janice (11:52):
That makes sense.
So I really need you.
Leslie (11:57):
Well, you have me.
Janice, You've got it.
Janice (12:01):
So are there any other health benefits you want to
mention?
Leslie (12:04):
Oh, there's so many health benefits.
Of course, as I've told youbefore, I think all exercise is
beneficial.
It's going to help everybody.
It's what's going to keep youyounger and it's going to keep
you just going forward insteadof going backward.
But yoga complements and fillsall the other spaces that you
have.
But there's been a lot ofscientific studies that show
(12:27):
yoga improves flexibility, and Ifound these in myself.
So it improves flexibility,strength, posture, body
awareness.
It's helpful with inflammationand mental health.
That's what we were talkingabout with anxiety.
And what I love so much,especially as we get older, is
that most of the poses are heldand are isometric, so they're
(12:48):
holding the bones and it's beenshown to improve bone strength.
So for people that are tendingtoward osteoporosis or
osteopenia, which does have itsown things, if I'm teaching
somebody with that, I have adifferent, a little different
approach because I don't want tocause any more issues with it.
But one of the things they sayis strengthen the bones, and the
(13:10):
way you strengthen the bones isyou pull against the bone and
that makes the bone stronger.
Janice (13:18):
I know that everything you mentioned just now was
beneficial.
But there are two things Ithink about as after we cross
over that 50 year mark in ourlives, and one of them is the
posture.
I notice in myself.
I'm starting to bend over alittle more and you know, you
(13:40):
see people that are looking downand part of that is the fact
that our bones change.
You know if you haveosteoporosis or something.
But that's one thing.
And then the second thing isinflammation.
Oh my gosh, that causes so manyproblems in your body.
Leslie (13:58):
Right.
Well, you know that we'resitting working at the computer
and on the telephone or drivingthe car or you know anything.
It pulls you forward and I'veactually had students that have
come to me privately that we'vecounteracted that.
(14:22):
But it comes to a point if youdo it too long those bones
calcify and you get that hump onyour back.
But I've had real success withone of my students and we've
done a lot of work with openingthat shoulders because she was
starting on that Dowager home,hump that's what you call it,
right, a Dowager.
You know what I'm talking about.
Janice (14:40):
Right.
Leslie (14:41):
And we did a lot of work on opening the front side of
the body and we made some reallydramatic changes with her.
So you know, there it is mind,body, spirit, intention-based,
idea-based, focus-based, and theinflammation reduction just
comes from the whole bodyexperience, the breath and the
movement and releasing of stress.
Janice (15:03):
It's amazing how much stress can affect inflammation
and pain and joints and so forth.
Leslie (15:09):
Right, and you know, one of the things I haven't talked
to you about this, but one ofthe things that really has
brought me to working withstudents like that.
I have a lot of people that cometo me that have had injuries or
two things.
One is they want some help withinjuries and keeping in practice
, and the other is they justwant to learn how to do yoga so
(15:30):
they can go take a class too.
But I've had several major,major injuries, and the one
thing I've had there was asix-year period where I had
three major surgeries One was adetached hamstring, one was a
foot injury and one was a backinjury.
And that's a lot of that camefrom dance, because that's hard
on your body, and one of thethings that it taught me about
(15:54):
myself when I'm working withother students is that you can
actually look like you're not inpain, but you can be really
suffering, and I understand thatbecause I've been through it
myself, and the compassion ithas given me for working with
those students is really, reallyimportant for me, because I
want people to know that they'renot going to be disregarded
(16:16):
because they you know they hurt,they say they hurt, I know you
can hurt and not look likeyou're hurting.
Janice (16:22):
Right, you don't have to be limping around or holding
your back or whatever.
Leslie (16:27):
Right, especially people with back injuries.
I mean I think people, you know, really discount people
sometimes because of that and Idon't believe in that.
I believe in seeing people andthem being seen.
Janice (16:39):
Well, what is your favorite pose and why?
Leslie (16:43):
First of all, let me say that yoga is for everyone, but
some poses are not for everybody.
Janice (16:50):
Right.
Leslie (16:50):
So I love the warrior poses because they're standing
poses and they help developstamina and open your hips and
your shoulders and they reallyhelp you improve your breath
work, your breathing work, and alot of people hold their breath
all the time.
Everybody right now, take adeep breath.
Janice (17:11):
You're going to hear me now in the microphone.
So you meet someone and theystart asking you about yoga and
they are interested, but theysay to you yoga would be too
hard or I'm not flexible, Ican't do that, or I can't get
down on the floor, I'm too old,or I think other means of
(17:35):
exercise are more beneficialthan yoga.
Leslie (17:38):
I can take those one at a time really to say that yoga
is too hard.
It can be really hard, but youneed to start.
You need to have a teacher thatwould give a few private
classes to help them just beginto understand what the poses are
.
You need to have the teacherand a class that's right for you
(18:01):
.
So not every teacher is rightfor every student, and so they
need to do their homework alittle bit and find a class If
they're not flexible.
This one I always find so funny.
My to answer why you takeclasses is to improve your
flexibility.
For example, if I wanted tolearn how to play tennis, I
would take classes in tennis.
I wouldn't have to be a tennisplayer to learn how to play
(18:23):
tennis.
The getting down, up and down onthe floor that's a really big
one for a lot of people, and Italked about it a little earlier
.
And that's where chair-basedyoga really comes in.
It's so great because you canbe really active and you can do
every pose that you did, but youhave that support.
So if you have chair-based yoga, you don't even really have to
(18:43):
worry about going up and downoff the floor.
Like I said, I just think thatyoga is for everyone.
I'll just say that It'll cometo you when you're ready for it.
I know that when I was youngerand dancing, I felt a little
slow.
For me, now, it feels just fine.
Dancing is a little fast, but Ijust think it's really
(19:04):
important to do your research.
Don't go into a big, huge classat the Y unless you know the
teacher or you've talked to theteacher in the beginning.
It's a commitment.
It's not a one-time fix-a ll.
It's a commitment.
Janice (19:19):
So you're doing your classes via Zoom.
So how do you makeaccommodations from a distance?
Is there a certain way that youask questions prior to their
class?
Leslie (19:32):
Yes, yes, this is.
This was a challenge for mewhen I started teaching on Zoom
because, you know, I don't haveany hands-on with them.
What I really like for peopleto do if they're going to sign
up for my classes is I usuallywill email and say do you have
any movement limitations that Ineed to know about?
And most of the time, whensomebody hasn't you know,
(19:55):
they'll say gee, I have a hipinjury, I have this, I have that
, and they'll tell me about it,and so I will try to address
that when I'm teaching class.
Like Janice, your shoulder, Iknow you have this bad shoulder.
Maybe you want to bend yourelbow here instead of shaking
your arms straight out, thatsort of thing and most of them
(20:16):
will let me do it.
Communication is really reallyessential, and I am open to
emails and texts from mystudents.
It's not an imposition for me.
I feel that's part of my job.
So if somebody doesn'tunderstand something, if they
don't tell me, I won't know.
So if they'll just let me knowand then we'll find a way to
work through it and address it.
(20:37):
Is that enough of that, if youthink?
Janice (20:40):
I think that people might assume that, because it's
a distance learning class, thatit is not personalized, and it
sounds like what you're doing isactually more personalized than
a lot of in-person classes.
Leslie (20:54):
It's true.
It's true, I think you're righton that, and the beauty of the
technology is that we can havetwo different time zones and
people in different places andand do it on Zoom and the
comfort of your own home and allof that.
But it is easy for it to beisolating.
So it's been really importantto me to reach out to my
(21:16):
students and be open to them.
I really want questions.
I really want people to connectwith me.
Janice (21:25):
And I understand that in your class, that they can
either turn their screen on andyou can see them, or they can
turn it off if they're, you know, want to work out in their
pajamas or whatever.
Leslie (21:35):
That most of my students turn their their cameras off.
I love it when they leave themon, but I certainly understand
that.
And yes, if you want to take itin your pajamas, that's fine.
I think that I give cues thatare clear enough that people,
once they get used to doing thesame, I know people just listen
to me.
They watch me, but they listento me more and I don't really
(21:57):
have to see them.
I try to address everythingwith verbal cues.
Janice (22:01):
Yeah, well, I know I did a class the other day and I was
needing to watch because Iwasn't sure about where my body
parts were supposed to go.
But if I would practice likeyou said, then your verbal
assistance would be enough.
I think I just need to take afew classes to know what's going
on.
Leslie (22:22):
Right.
And also, you know, the part ofyoga is not a one shot deal.
I mean, it's a commitment andit's a lifetime practice.
It's not something that you canin my opinion this is my
opinion, I shouldn't say that,but I, you know, I think people
need to understand that it's notgoing to be just an exercise
class.
It's a much deeper level.
You get plenty of exercise, butyou have to study a little bit,
(22:45):
you have to practice, you haveto be consistent if you want to
grow and if you want to make ayoga part of your life, that's,
it will be part of your life.
Janice (22:56):
We had a friend a few years ago, it was a guy that my
husband used to coach ball withwhen our kids were young.
He had a heart attack and hewas a very thin guy and very fit
but you know you would neverassume that he would have a
heart attack.
His doctor recommended that hestart yoga and he told my
(23:18):
husband it was wonderful.
He said it was life changingfor him.
Leslie (23:23):
It changed my life.
It really did.
It changed my life.
You know people come like saidyoga will come to you when
you're ready for it that oldthing about when you're ready.
The teacher will come and yogawill come.
That same way.
It is wonderful and it is sogreat for stress release.
I always have at least a 10minute shavasana at the end.
That's a rest period.
(23:44):
It's so calming and relaxingand it's also the time that the
body processes all theinformation that you gave it.
So this is a lying downposition on the floor you might
have your legs up or on a pillowor something, but where you
focus on your breath and lettinggo of any tension in your body,
and that also helps withsoreness too.
(24:06):
Now yoga can be reallystrenuous.
There's other types of yogaashtanga and power yoga.
I don't teach that kind of yoga, but there are people that
that's the kind of yoga theywant.
Nothing wrong with that.
It's just not the way I teach.
But it is wonderful.
Janice (24:23):
Yeah, I think I mentioned to you the other day
too that I was telling my sonabout you and he said that a lot
of professional sports figuresare taking yoga classes now, and
it's not just for theflexibility and so forth, but it
is actually strength building,because when you hold a pose,
you're building some strength.
Leslie (24:43):
Right Bone strength as well as muscle strength, and
also a lot of athletes aretaking yoga for the ability to
learn how to keep their mindreally focused in on what it is
they're doing.
There's a guy in Nashville thatwas a big basketball player
named Clyde Lee.
I don't know if you rememberthis man, but he played for
Vanderbilt, I think, and hebecame a yoga instructor.
(25:06):
So when I was teaching yoga atHarpeth Hall for the sports
teams, I called this man and Isaid what is it?
What do you recommend?
Where do you think that Ishould focus?
And that was his main thing isfocus on visualization and
staying present.
So it's it's mind, body, spirit.
Remember, it's those threethings connected with the breath
(25:26):
.
Janice (25:27):
Mind, body and spirit.
But even the sound of yoga, orthe word concerns some people.
What would you say to them toease their mind?
Leslie (25:44):
I would say do your homework about your classes and
your teachers and find the onethat's right for you.
Find something that resonateswith you.
Don't just say, oh, I triedyoga and I hated it.
You just have to find the rightteacher in the right level of
class to work.
And remember not to beinhibited or Intimidated,
because everybody had theirfirst yoga class and you know
(26:06):
when I used to teach liveclasses when someone would come
in I'd say, oh, janice is heretoday and this is her first
class, and everybody would say,yay, we know what it's like and
were really happy for them to doit.
So it's again.
It's just Important tounderstand that it's a lifetime
journey and it takes patienceand consistency to achieve those
(26:29):
many, many benefits that areavailable to you.
Yoga has so many healthbenefits.
I mean, we've talked about themand, like I said, I've never
seen anyone not improve overtime.
So if you're really unsure, youreally want to do it.
iI's an investment in yourhealth and wellness.
Janice (26:46):
Can you cover the steps that someone would need to take
if they want to attend classes?
Leslie (26:52):
It's really easy, okay, so you just go to my website,
Leslie Matthews dash yoga andyou click up at the top.
There's some little tabs andthere is scheduling rates.
You click on the date thatyou'd be interested in taking a
class and I get a message andI'll get back to you and send
(27:13):
you the link.
And once you get the link, allyou do is click on the link.
You don't have to do anythingelse.
And if you want to do arecording, you'd have to tell me
you wanted to recording Then Iwould send you a recording link
later.
Janice (27:27):
Okay, and so you offer individual classes and also
package offerings.
So this sounds easy enough.
So do you have any closingwords for us?
Leslie (27:40):
Oh well, first of all, I want to thank you for being
interested in this.
For the listeners that don'tknow Janice, she is an amazing
human being and she's just doneso many things that have helped
me, so I'm just so grateful forthat, Janice, really, and just
remember everyone that yoga isfor everyone.
When you're ready for it, don'ttry to force it.
(28:00):
Take the steps just like youwere learning anything else.
It's a learning curve, and bepatient, be consistent and
you'll get there and you'll reaphuge, huge benefits.
Janice (28:14):
Well, I can't see how anyone would argue with that.
This sounds so wonderful and Iwould encourage everyone to go
to Leslie's site.
So if you want to learn moreabout yoga in general, or if you
want to schedule an onlineclass with Leslie, just visit
her website and, like shementioned, it's Leslie Matthews
dash yoga.
(28:34):
com.
You can also follow her onFacebook and Instagram, and and
in addition, Leslie'sinformation is going to be
listed on our Restless toRenewed website, so there'll be
a little bio there and somelinks and also this podcast.
And as a last bit ofencouragement to you about the
class, the best thing is for newpeople your first class is free
(28:56):
, so can't beat that.
Finally, I want to thank ouraudience today.
This podcast serves as a forumfor women over 50 to highlight
their hopes and their dreams andtheir achievements.
If you would like to learn moreabout Restless to Renewed,
visit the website at RestlesstoRenewed.
com.
There you will find links toother episodes, bios on the
(29:20):
Restless to Renewed women andrecommended resources.
Thank you for listening todayand please join us again.
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Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.