There are a number of elderly gentlemen at camp whose company I enjoy and whose elder sense and wise comments I enjoy. But every so often, one of these gentlemen of age 60 or higher makes a comment about their arthritis, or their back pain, or their stiffness, or their physical handicaps.

I do my best to listen politely. The list of aggrieved ailments goes on. Eventually, with some difficulty, the ailing sage forces himself up from his chair and goes off to work… slowly.

I check my watch each time, and observe how I have ten minutes more than they do to get where I need to be.

And then I stand up, face east, and do the sun salutation of my yoga routine. It takes five or ten minutes, and leaves me briefly breathless. But then I run off to my next engagement.

Because the yoga may make me stiff now… but it’s adding to my flexibility every day. And I want to get up from chairs gracefully in twenty years. Not struggling in pain.