Healthy Habits & Longevity

We need to talk about growing old.

Among the numerous desires that every human being carries into adulthood, growing old with quality is perhaps one of the most challenging or neglected and shrouded in challenges. Some may even shy away from reflections on the subject, but we need to talk about it. Don’t just think about the chronological factor, because it really doesn’t matter whether you are 25, 30, 40, 50, or 80- odd years old. What will make a difference in your life and, of course, in the quality of your old age, is the functionality of your body, your muscle strength, your cognitive capacity, and the availability that you will have to fully enjoy everything that life brings you in all phases.

Many see old age as a limited phase, but they are tremendously wrong. Growing old is part of our evolutionary process. On this journey, we carry personal and genetic histories that can manifest themselves in illnesses, injuries, accidents, and countless physical issues. But this need not become our reality. We can actively build health and set long-term goals to live longer and as fully as possible. What I see most often, however, is that people don’t always succeed in adopting this approach of a long-term commitment to self-care.

To me, the failure of this personal commitment is because many lack education about the value of building health. Furthermore, they assume that fitness activities or getting in shape are what generates health, which is not true—this leads them to be negligent with their body and health. An example of how fitness activities compromise our overall well-being is the insane quest to exceed physical limits that results in the accumulation of injuries and pain over a lifetime. Fitness activities also typically involve specialization— training in a limited range of movements. Specialization, however, leads to the disruption of the correct and natural aging process.

Read the full article: Kaiut Yoga – January 2023 – Healthy Habits