Getting old? Feeling old?
Think your aches and pains are just a part of aging?
Think again!
And what’s this got to do with a kayak?? Read on to find out!
I’ve heard from people as young as 30 (yes- 30!!) that this or that pain, or condition, or limitation is well, expected, due to their age! They say, ‘well, what do I expect? I’m getting older!’
And that goes for you too-forty, fifty, sixty or seventy or eighty year olds!
Nope! Don’t buy it!!
Yes, of course, things change as we age. And our desire to do things changes as well. Our lifestyles change. Perhaps hitting the gym for hours a day isn’t anything some of us want or even could do because of time or kids or whatever. We often have changed our lifestyles, and that’s a big factor.
But it’s also about our attitudes and expectations that are the reason why we aren’t as limber or strong or pain-free as we want to be.
If we expect to deteriorate, we do. If our attitude is that there is nothing we can do to help ourselves because it is simply due to aging, we do nothing. And guess what? Doing nothing only makes it worse!
You know what else makes it worse?
Talking to friends and comparing notes about our aches and pains, or our inability to sit on the floor and get back up ourselves.
Yep, that’s a thing. An important thing. I read a study that said people who could not sit on the floor and get back up themselves, with little or no support, had higher mortality rates. Seriously.
The scientists said they think it’s because that ability requires flexibility, strength and coordination which are markers of a healthy body. And in that particular study, btw, the participants ranged from 51 years old to 80! Meaning there were 80 year olds sitting on the floor, and getting back up.
What does that have to do with our attitudes about aging?
If we think it’s normal to not be able to sit in the floor after a certain age, we don’t do it. If we think think it’s normal to be in pain at a certain age, we don’t seek solutions.
If we accept the ideas from our culture and the endless tv commercials that we are old and limited, we are.
In China, when people have pain, they go to an acupuncturist to help. If they are not as limber as they used to be, they start doing Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Have you ever seen Tai Chi done in the park in China? Most of the people are well above 80 years old. They are limber and fit and out moving their bodies.
Here’s the thing-
If you are, say, not flexible, like you can’t touch your toes, you have two choices:
1. Accept it’s just how you are. You’re old or built this way or just can’t do it, so you don’t even try.
2. Or, you could look up ways to increase your flexibility! There are many. You can practice bending over from a seated position or a standing position and practice breathing and stretching every day.
You know what? You may end up touching your toes! Or, even if you don’t, I bet you will be more flexible.
Look into why you feel your age is limiting you. Really think about why you’re not feeling so great.
Write a list. Is it pain? Is it weakness? Is it a lack of balance? Is it lack of mobility?
Then turn that list into a quest and look for solutions.
Do something like this- ‘ I feel weak.’
The quest? I want to be stronger.
Search for solutions.
Look up “How to be stronger in my body”
You’ll be amazed at all the solutions that come up. See what works for you. Try them out. Then stay with it.
Because we are designed to move. We degenerate if we don’t. We are designed to last. But we may need some help to get started, or need some new ideas. Or need some help with some condition that’s in our way. Look for them.
To leave you with an image that made my day, and one that I think of when I start feeling old, or scared about being as old as I am. (I mean at this very minute, I’m older than I’ve ever been, aren’t you?)
I was at a cabin on a lake a few weeks ago. There was a whole family there celebrating someone’s birthday. That someone was walking around with her visor and swimsuit. Chatting with her family. Running around with her grandkids. Catching balls and throwing them back. Happy. Smiling.
Then I saw her easily get into a sit-in kayak and paddle away.
Don’t worry, she came back, and got out of her sit-in kayak, unassisted and without spilling into the water from losing her balance like many at any age often do.
That lady out on that lake paddling and playing with her grandkids was 84 that day!
Just saying. Look for more of that. Look for strong, flexible people at your age, or even older. Look for solutions not more excuses for your limitations.
And go have fun out there.
Getting old? Feeling old?
Think your aches and pains are just a part of aging?
Think again!
I’ve heard from people as young as 30 (yes- 30!!) that this or that pain, or condition, or limitation is well, expected, due to their age! They say, ‘well, what do I expect? I’m getting older!’
And that goes for you too-forty, fifty, sixty or seventy or eighty year olds!
Nope! Don’t buy it!!
Yes, of course, things change as we age. And our desire to do things changes as well. Our lifestyles change. Perhaps hitting the gym for hours a day isn’t anything some of us want or even could do because of time or kids or whatever. We often have changed our lifestyles, and that’s a big factor.
But it’s also about our attitudes and expectations that are the reason why we aren’t as limber or strong or pain-free as we want to be.
If we expect to deteriorate, we do. If our attitude is that there is nothing we can do to help ourselves because it is simply due to aging, we do nothing. And guess what? Doing nothing only makes it worse!
You know what else makes it worse?
Talking to friends and comparing notes about our aches and pains, or our inability to sit on the floor and get back up ourselves.
Yep, that’s a thing. An important thing. I read a study that said people who could not sit on the floor and get back up themselves, with little or no support, had higher mortality rates. Seriously.
The scientists said they think it’s because that ability requires flexibility, strength and coordination which are markers of a healthy body. And in that particular study, btw, the participants ranged from 51 years old to 80! Meaning there were 80 year olds sitting on the floor, and getting back up.
What does that have to do with our attitudes about aging?
If we think it’s normal to not be able to sit in the floor after a certain age, we don’t do it. If we think think it’s normal to be in pain at a certain age, we don’t seek solutions.
If we accept the ideas from our culture and the endless tv commercials that we are old and limited, we are.
In China, when people have pain, they go to an acupuncturist to help. If they are not as limber as they used to be, they start doing Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Have you ever seen Tai Chi done in the park in China? Most of the people are well above 80 years old. They are limber and fit and out moving their bodies.
Here’s the thing-
If you are, say, not flexible, like you can’t touch your toes, you have two choices:
1. Accept it’s just how you are. You’re old or built this way or just can’t do it, so you don’t even try.
2. Or, you could look up ways to increase your flexibility! There are many. You can practice bending over from a seated position or a standing position and practice breathing and stretching every day. You know what? You may end up touching your toes! Or, even if you don’t, I bet you will be more flexible.
Look into why you feel your age is limiting you. Really think about why you’re not feeling so great.
Write a list. Is it pain? Is it weakness? Is it a lack of balance? Is it lack of mobility?
Then turn that list into a quest and look for solutions.
Do something like this- ‘ I feel weak.’
The quest? I want to be stronger.
Search for solutions.
Look up “How to be stronger in my body”
You’ll be amazed at all the solutions that come up. See what works for you. Try them out. Then stay with it.
Because we are designed to move. We degenerate if we don’t. We are designed to last. But we may need some help to get started, or need some new ideas. Or need some help with some condition that’s in our way. Look for them.
To leave you with an image that made my day, and one that I think of when I start feeling old, or scared about being as old as I am. (I mean at this very minute, I’m older than I’ve ever been, aren’t you?)
I was at a cabin on a lake a few weeks ago. There was a whole family there celebrating someone’s birthday. That someone was walking around with her visor and swimsuit. Chatting with her family. Running around with her grandkids. Catching balls and throwing them back. Happy. Smiling.
Then I saw her easily get into a sit-in kayak and paddle away.
Don’t worry, she came back, and got out of her sit-in kayak, unassisted and without spilling into the water from losing her balance like many at any age often do.
That lady out on that lake paddling and playing with her grandkids was 84 that day!
Just saying. Look for more of that. Look for strong, flexible people at your age, or even older. Look for solutions not more excuses for your limitations.
And go have fun out there.