Age Smart

The following article was written by Harriet Vines, Ph.D., the author of Age Smart. You can view her blog at http://www.agesmart.blogspot.com/.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported September 12, 2007 that life expectancy rates in the US have reached an all-time high. According to the CDC, Americans are now living longer than ever, with those born in 2005 expected to live for nearly 78 years.

However, as Jonathan Swift observed 300 years ago, "every one desires to live long, but no one would be old." How is that possible? How do you live longer and not 'grow old'? The answer is to take control and age pro-actively. Mental fitness, coupled with a healthy lifestyle, gives you the power to shape the way you age and enjoy your retirement living.

Just as you exercise to strengthen your body's muscles to keep physically fit, you should exercise the muscles of your mind to stay mentally fit. Try this now. Look around you, and see how many red objects small enough to fit in your pocket and blue objects that are too large you can find in two minutes. There, you just strengthened your powers of observation, an important mental muscle.

Here's another fun, effective way to increase circulation to your brain. Name as many objects as you can for each of your initials, or for family members' initials, or for U.S. presidents' initials in two minutes. Next time, name countries. Do simple exercises like these whenever you have a few free minutes – waiting on a line, for the game to start or the light to change….

Your brain's job is to mind your body; your job, mind your brain. Evidence is growing that physical and mental fitness can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. That's worth a few minutes of your time.

You can age the way you want to if you put your mind to it.

Dr. Harriet Vines is the author of Age Smart – How to Age Well, Stay Fit and Be Happy, available at book stores, online and at http://www.agesmart.us/.

The Dangers of Flexibility

Everyone wants us to be flexible.

“It’s good for you,” they say. “You don’t want to be rigid, which can cause you to break, collapse under pressure, or get injured.”

It is better to be flexible than stiff, but stretching comes with its own set of dangers. I’ve seen plenty of people hurt by stretching incorrectly, or too much, or at the expense of other activity.

Many people are flexible to the breaking point, stretched too thin. Even though we were all taught to “go for the burn” and “to stretch until you can’t stretch any more,” all health professionals now agree that pushing that hard creates injury. You want to feel a slight pull and, with just the right amount of tension, you will feel the muscle relax. Here’s a great article: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/flexibility/a/aa022102a.htm.

By the way, I think the best book on this subject is Bob Anderson’s Stretching (http://www.amazon.com/Stretching-Bob-Anderson/dp/0936070013). I also learned a lot about stretching from Sharon Butler’s Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, (http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Carpal-Tunnel-Syndrome-Repetitive/dp/1572240393).

Remember, at some point a pulled rubber band will break. You don’t want that to happen to your muscles or tendons, becuase not only will it hurt, but the tear will be repaired with inflexible scar tissue.

When flexibility is put first in fitness priority, it can be counterproductive. The old adage of stretching as warm up isn’t as effective as stretching after the tissues are warmed up. Not only is the possibility of a muscle pull lower, putting tension on the muscles after activity helps the muscle and connective fibers line up so the next time you exercise, you’ll be ready sooner and have less chance of a connective tissue micro-tear.

Strength and flexibility go hand and hand. Tissues need to be strong to lengthen and in order to add strength, they need to be elastic. I’ve always had difficulty stretching my hamstrings and deep hip flexors. I started making progress with my hamstrings when my quadriceps (the opposing mucles) became stronger, and realized that my deep hip flexors, that’s the psoas and iliacus, couldn’t stretch until the opposing deep hip extensors were strong enough to put my pelvis in the correct position.

While warming up with aerobics, lifting weights, and then stretching is a well-rounded workout, it’s also possible to include activities where all three components of fitness are combined. Martial arts, dancing, volleyball, yoga, Nia, and undulation all come to mind.

It’s good to be adaptable, equally strong and flexible; to be able to bend when necessary—and, at other times, stand firm so others have the chance to be flexible, too.

Less Than Ideal Circumstances

After a week without a formal yoga practice, I sat down this morning to collect myself.

(Aside: that’s because I exercised heavily at the Nightmare at Beaver Lake http://www.nightmareatbeaverlake.com/ where I acted 7 nights to scare 10,686 people. It was a great show sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sammamish, http://www.sammamishrotary.org/! All net proceeds will go toward humanitarian projects in Sammamish and worldwide.)

Two weeks ago, I had a private yoga lesson with Robin Rothenberg of The Yoga Barn (http://www.yogabarn.com/). In addition to a great set of poses that she developed just for me, she reminded me that the beginning of a good practice starts with checking in. How do I feel: physically, energetically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

It’s clear that acting had taken its toll. Energetically I was drained. Mentally I was wired. Physically I felt good in places and was exhausted in others. As I sat and observed my state, I let my body undulate to soothe my sore spots, awaken my sleepy spots, and relax my agitated spots, which brought me even greater awareness.

I had been working in less than ideal circumstances—as had the other hundred volunteers who put on the haunted “house.” We do this a lot in life: run ourselves to the brink for a good cause. Now it’s time to regenerate.

Even though I felt I “should” do the practice that Robin created for me, I took the poses that warmed me up and added some restorative ones as well. (Check out these links on restorative poses: www.wikihealth.com/Restorative_yoga_poses and http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaphotogalleries/ig/Restorative-Poses-Gallery/)

Afterwards, I felt more even physically, mentally and energetically. I also felt more centered emotionally and spiritually. I made a commitment to myself to check in often and put myself in more ideal circumstances before the runaway holiday free-for-all that will start in a few weeks.

Stay tuned for a future article about my favorite place to rejuvenate, the Olympus Spa (http://www.olympusspa.com/). I hope I can get there before Thanksgiving.

Alive! Expo

Where do you get reliable health information? My husband injured himself in a home improvement accident and went straight to WebMD (http://www.webmd.com/) to find out if an emergency room visit (and all its associated costs) was necessary when you drill through your hand. He followed the instructions. Since the wound was clean and not in his foot, he bandaged it and now, the next day, it’s healing nicely.

To have the best health possible, you need to be proactive in seeking health information. What food will provide optimum nutrition? Do you need to take supplements? Will certain therapies be beneficial to you?

If you’re in Seattle, you have a wonderful opportunity to learn about natural health at the Alive! Expo (http://www.aliveexpo.com/) at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Saturday, November 3rd and Sunday, November 4th. Hundreds of natural health companies will be represented including Aubrey Organics, North American Herb and Spice, and Super Supplements.

In addition, there will be cooking demonstrations and samples of everything from smoothies to natural health care products. And, both days will include speakers on topics from Detoxing your Home to What Sugar Cravings Mean. I’ll be speaking on the Main Stage on Sunday the 4th from 5:00 to 6:00 pm about a natural treatment for back pain and arthritis—Undulation.

I have about a dozen free tickets to this event, and you don’t have to come to hear me speak to use one. After all, I bet you know a lot about undulation already. Let me know right away if you’d like a free ticket and I’ll arrange to get it to you.

Your underlying health determines how well you can heal from a wild, flying drill—or whatever other unexpected injury or illness comes your way. Take some time to prepare yourself with good information.

Nightmare at Beaver Lake

I frequently extol the virtues of adding variety to movements. It keeps the body fresh. Halloween gives us an excellent opportunity to try something different. When playing a new role, even if just for a few hours, we change our mannerisms, tone of voice, and subtle movement patterns.

Believe it or not, screaming has advantages for your neck and jaw muscles. So while you’re thinking of how to experience Halloween this year, consider going to a haunted house. I’m a member of the Rotary Club of Sammamish (www.sammamishrotary.org) and this is the fourth year we’ve presented the Nightmare at Beaver Lake (www.nightmareatbeaverlake.com), which opens tomorrow, October 25.

I’ll be acting at this event, which will give me plenty of exercise in new and unusual patterns. Perhaps I can make you scream—or run—giving you the chance to move in different ways. (See if you can recognize me in the 2006 Nightmare photos, www.nightmareatbeaverlake.com/photo_gallery/2006_Gallery/index.htm.)

Whether you like to scare or be scared, I encourage you to have fun this Halloween. Fun is certainly a component in creating vitality in your body.