“Most aging is just the dry rot we program into our cells by sedentary living, junk food and stress,” says Dr. Henry Lodge. And the news gets even better because as he notes, “our bodies are designed to age slowly and remarkably well.” He also says that we can live vibrant energetic lives doing everything from cycling to skiing well into our seventies and eighties. He believes that most diseases stem from poor life styles not chronological age.
Why we age
Stress you see, can trigger certain hormonal imbalances that literally cause your cells to break down prematurely. Stress speeds everything up by increasing your metabolism, your heart rate and breathing and this in turn can create heart disease and from there a host of other maladies. This state of dis-ease is called the fight or flight response. Yet on a physical level you’re most likely not responding adequately because your stress is usually psychological, and not due to say, being chased by a bear. When we are in this state of fight or flight adrenalin is pumped into our bloodstream to assist us in meeting the danger before us. But what happens is that often the danger you’re reacting to doesn’t require adrenalin and so this constant stress takes its toll on your body.Our society is a progressive one, it’s always changing and hopefully evolving, but this can cause wear and tear on your psychological resources. Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard says many are experiencing “constant insecurity in a job, inability to make deadlines…and social rules that were once binding.” This is not only aging you by creating hormonal imbalances but it’s creating a diseased environment for your mind and body.
Let go of age and refuse to get caught up in the game of limiting yourself.
- If you listen to people talk about age, it’s often about what you can no longer do. Oh, now that you’re thirty, watch out for those knees, maybe you should stop running. Or, who do you think you are dancing like some spring chicken? …Fall in love again? Come on, you're too old!
Walk, jog, or go to the gym on a regular basis.
- Talk yourself into loving being active. Fully appreciate that your muscles were made to move, your bones adore resistance training, and your activity level is actually a communication to your cells to not decay, but to grow, AKA, remain young.
Learn to tune into the joy inside your body
- when you’re exercising your cells are jumping for joy and releasing all sorts of wonderful chemicals in celebration! The only stumbling block is you thinking that you should ask yourself whether you want to exercise or not. Just like going to work, don’t ask yourself if you want to, just do it.
Have meaningful connections with someone or something that matters a lot to you
- Have passion for life through connecting.
Every morning, night or both, spend time being inwardly quiet.
- Breathe deeply and fix your mind upon something that stills it, slows it down and takes you inside yourself and away from the world.
It’s never too late to slow down biological aging. In fact, age may one day become irrelevant to life, except when it comes to getting a license and social security. But realize that science is showing us more and more that if you put effort into living, living returns the favor by keeping you in the prime of your life far longer than you ever believed possible. Now if you can only find a natural way to get rid of those laughing lines!
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