One of the delightful things we did while I was down visiting family in San Diego was to get up each morning and do a little Tai Chi/Yoga type movement. Normally I run Ellen through a whole set of exercises each morning to help with her recovery, but I rarely have the time to do anything myself. If I got up at 5 in the morning, I would have the time, but that is not going to happen.
We were following a video program my Mom found as a recommended program for seniors at a hospital therapy center. The presenter of the program was moving alongside an 87-year-old client of his. At the end of the video she spent a minute telling us how she had become invalid from lack of movement and how well she was doing now that she was doing regular movement activities. You can find it here.
This is kind of the key to success with movement. There are a ton of things you can do to get moving, but the real key is to do them regularly. For folks that are housebound, following along with a video like this one is an excellent choice. This particular program did not require anything other than a chair for some of the moves. The pace is very gentle and very doable. We were all easily able to follow along and keep up.
Joining a regular group is also an excellent choice. For instance one of my patients, Bob Brach, teaches a gentle yoga class at the Sacramento Yoga Center titled “Gentle Yoga with Bob.” It is really nice to get together with other folks to do some regular movement to improve mobility, strength, and balance in an environment where safety and gentle pacing are key concerns. When engaged with a group of many others doing the same thing, it is generally more fun and easier to stay motivated. More on his class here.
The rule of the body is “Use it or lose it.” The body is very efficient and any tissue that you don’t use will reprocess and turn it into something else useful. Balance nerves quickly degenerate if you are not using them on a daily basis. You can lose 50% of your muscle strength if you do not use your muscles for only two weeks. Bone strength depends on occasionally doing strenuous exercises that stress the bones enough to convince the body that you really need to build strong bones.
I have written enough in the past for you to all know how important exercise is if you want to have any quality of life as you age. Do you want to be feeble and always afraid to do anything for fear you will fall and break a bone? That sounds like no fun at all.
But there is an even more important reason for exercising – metabolic health. Regular exercise is necessary to keep your body cells responsive to insulin. When they are insulin resistant, they ignore the attempts of your insulin to get the necessary nutrition into the cells. Insulin resistance is the basic underlying cause of almost all diseases of aging – heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc… So exercising is a critical part of preventing all the diseases of aging.
You can age gracefully and healthfully or you can degenerate and spend you golden years suffering and spending your days going from doctor to doctor and taking handfuls of pills. Healthful aging is entirely about lifestyle, not about doctors. You have to eat the right foods in the right amounts and at the right times. You have to exercise to the right degree with the right frequency. You have to build healthy joyful connections to others as well as develop a good relationship with your quiet inner self. You have to want to keep embracing life, keep learning, keep growing, and keep loving.
Tai Chi and yoga are good choices for building flexibility, stability, and balance. For strength I really suggest super slow weight lifting. Super slow weight lifting is especially good for reducing the insulin resistance, and it only needs to be done once a week for maybe 15 minutes max. The body likes to go really fast for brief bursts every so often – 20 to 30 seconds several times a day 2 or 3 times a week. Your body likes to do occasional endurance activities like long walks or bike rides or trail climbs. (Power shopping during the holidays might count as well.) Just being in nature has powerful healing benefits all its own, as does sharing your life with a beloved pet.
As you can see from the length of the list I am forming, this is a lifestyle we are talking about, not a prescriptive therapy you can do at a physical therapists office. There are no pills you can take to replace any of these body needs for participation with life in a wide variety of ways. Your body needs variety. It needs challenge.
There is a great lie that is promoted in this culture, which I am trying to erase. It is the lie that you can sit back and be comfortable. Here is the truth: COMFORT CREATES DEGENERATION. Even sitting for more than 20 minutes starts creating health issues. The idea that we are looking forward to when we can retire and just be comfortable is exactly what is creating entire generations people living in pain and suffering. I would not be surprised if this story of “a comfortable retirement” was not just another marketing ploy designed to sell more pharmaceutical drugs.
In countries where people are known for living long healthy lives, there is no such thing as retirement. People work and are constructively active well into their 80’s and 90’s. They are connected socially and have deep family connections. In fact the level and depth of connection is the strongest single factor for predicting health of any community of people.
So “Move it or lose it.” Dump the goal of comfort and indulgence and replace it with meaningful participation with your loved ones and your community. Age gracefully and in good health with all your faculties functioning well instead of following the crowd into pain, suffering, and medical life support in your attempt to achieve comfort.