Move over Madonna.

An 82-year-old from Highland may become the new poster girl for Ashtanga yoga.

The amazingly limber queen of pop and Ashtanga devotee flung her leg behind her head for a recent magazine cover and made it look as easy as breathing.

Local instructor Kimberly Moore is certified in Modified Ashtanga, which was created to make the vigorous form of yoga accessible to those who might not be able to do the strictly prescribed acrobatic-style forms.

And one of her students, Loretta Argerus, 82, of Highland, started taking class with Moore at a Hammond church. Argerus now can hold Utkatasana pose, which strengthens thighs and elongates the spine, for 65 seconds.

Yoga helps 82-year-old woman's body heal

Loretta Argerus recalls the humiliation of her impairment and the role yoga has played in her metamorphosis.

"As I got older, I got to where I absolutely could not sit down," Argerus said.

"I'd begin to lower my body to a chair and my knees would collapse and I'd drop 6 to 8 inches," she said. "I used to be a square dancer and I remember sitting down in a gymnasium one day. My body went 'whop' on the bench and it reverberated through the gym. Everybody knew that I had just sat down. It was beyond embarrassing.

"It has changed my life," she said of Ashtanga yoga.

"I can sit normally in church or anywhere. When I started yoga, I couldn't even stand in line without touching a wall or post to keep me from swaying. I bounced off walls because of dizziness from medications.

"Standing in line at a post office is a major operation when you can't stand straight. That business of keeping my balance for normal walking and sitting -- it's a miracle."

Argerus, one of yoga instructor Kimberly Moore's students, suffered a lifetime of genetic spinal problems and physical ailments caused by a DPT vaccine, which left her unconscious and paralyzed as a child.

She and her 80-something classmates aren't looking to improve their Twister game, but thanks to practicing yoga postures, they can perform more easily the simple tasks of daily living.

The seniors are a breed of Ashtangis who clearly understand their bodies' limitations but breathe life into their pained places. Their practice has helped them come back from injury and brings insight and comfort to their whole being.

There's a perception Ashtanga is "Marine Corps" yoga -- only for the young, the lithe and the strong. Moore and her trainer, Larry Schultz, of It's Yoga in San Francisco, think otherwise.

Outlandish acrobatic Ashtanga postures may be impressive, but the style is simply not representative of yoga or useful for Westerners.

So Schultz opened a studio in 1989 after studying with founder Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India, and to make Ashtanga more accessible, Schultz developed a more pragmatic, modified version.

Ashtanga has six levels or series. Moore is certified to teach the first level called Yoga Chikitsa. Currently, she practices a partial series with her senior group, but is looking for a location or facility at which to offer the full modified series.

What sets Ashtanga apart is the chronology and repetition of the postures. The series may never vary in the number, type and organization of the poses.

Seniors have trouble with forward bends and extreme hip and knee openers, yet Moore's class can perform 17 out of 30 in the first level in proper sequence.

All have mastered stoking the body's flame with the ujjai breathing technique, which is deep, audible and coordinated with each posture. With oxygen flowing, their bodies' furnaces roar and their minds focus on the moment.

Ashtanga practice tends to be pedantic but yields benefits including better flexibility, coordination and posture; increased strength, endurance and energy; improved heart and lung function; less stress and a stronger mind/body connection.

"We take poses and hold them for longer and longer periods," Argerus said. "I relax and fall into the pose. You don't feel the tension you do when you first go into the pose. Your muscles relax. Things that hurt initially stop hurting."

Marion Wheeler, 90, started yoga within a month of having a modified radical mastectomy as well as a spleen removal. She lost four inches of height from osteoporosis but gained an inch back.

"The breathing techniques help keep me calm," she said.

Bob Brock, 82, has greater range of motions despite two rotator cuff tears and hamstrings "as tight as steel bars."

Bill McCoy, of Munster, is a funeral director and is on his feet for long periods of time. He's learned to position his spine and thighs in a way that he doesn't tire when standing.

"Yoga gives attention to discomforts in your body and teaches you to treat it kindly," he said. "It has eliminated my body aches without pain or agony. It's not forceful. There's a common sense factor built into it.

"We've created bad habits over generations and the body starts breaking down earlier than necessary. The science of yoga counteracts them."

McCoy feels his practice is mind-bending as well.

"I believe my life runs a little smoother with it than without it. Practicing regularly offers a sense of well being in a natural and genuine way. It becomes a part of me that carries into my whole life."

Yoga is noncompetitive by nature and Moore feels the media exposure Ashtanga will receive at the Olympics is misleading.

"The athleticism and physical beauty is remarkable but people tend to dwell on it too much," Moore said. "It can become a trap -- a cult of the body. The idea is to detach from your body and focus on universal truths. The body is subject to nature's law. It ages. It falls apart. It dies. It's not always going to be poetic and capable of fabulous postures.

"To focus on the physical pose is to take yoga out of context. We're a competitive society and we look to see who can put their ankles behind their heads. It doesn't serve any purpose.

"Don't be attached to your physical form. It doesn't last. Concentrate on how well you feel afterwards and be encouraged to sit in meditation, to be kinder or take a bigger interest in your community."

WHAT IS ASHTANGA?

A vigorous, fast-paced series of postures flowing one into another, Ashtanga provides a high-energy workout. By synchronizing movement with breath, it generates internal heat and sweat and makes muscles pliable for maximum stretching. The practice induces the elimination of toxins and purifies the body. It serves as a path to health, flexibility, strength and balance through concentration and counteracts the aging process.

SOURCE: www.itsyoga.com

THE FUNDAMENTALS

Ujjai: a special breathing technique

Bandha: a technique that works like a valve for energy

Dristhi: a point of gaze or focus

Vinyasa: the union between breath and movement

Asana: the yoga posture and the most visible part of Ashtanga

SOURCE: www.ashtangayoga.info

DID YOU KNOW?

Ashtanga Yoga was chosen to become a demonstration sport at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Judging will be similar to gymnastics. Officials said it was a natural choice with its predetermined sequences. Lyengar yoga was too slow, Bikram yoga too revealing and Anusara yoga too touchy-feely for TV.

SOURCE: www.ashtanganews.com

TO STRIKE A POSE:

Explore Modified Ashtanga yoga at 9 a.m. July 27 at Yoga in the Park in Munster at Community Veterans Memorial at Calumet and Superior Avenue. The cost is $8. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat or towel. The session will benefit students of all levels and disciplines.

FYI:

Contact Kimberly Moore, of Joyful Heart Yoga, at (708) 662-0100 or e-mail moorevitality@aol.com for more information about Ashtanga, her class at First United Methodist Church in Hammond or interest in starting a full Modified Primary Series class.