I am curious, how do you take care of yourself? Do you work out, practice yoga, attend pilates or perhaps you are a runner or walker? Do you meditate, practice mindfulness or do you take the time to enjoy complete stillness?
What about your diet? Do you eat healthy or do you eat whatever you want? Do you feel healthy? If yes what are you doing to stay there and if not what could you do to feel better?
Aside from your body are you keeping your mind healthy as well? Are you learning new things as you age? Do you read, play games, learn languages, play an instrument?
I will be 50 in November and although I am not bothered by aging I have decided that I want to be the best version of myself as I age. So I have made myself a priority. I now attend hot yoga classes daily and it is the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done. I also love walking, hiking and snowshoeing. I wear a Fitbit and I try to get a minimum of 10,000 steps a day.
I am learning to meditate, even if it is only for 5-10 minutes a day. I try to come to stillness, which in itself is a challenge, and to clear my mind of the clutter to rid it of the negative and stressful things that might be dragging me down.
I am making an effort to eat better 80% of the time. I have found that as I age my body does not like certain things anymore, like too much gluten or dairy. Now more than ever my body is teaching me what it needs to be healthy and when I eat badly I pay the consequences. Don’t get me wrong I still eat sweets and pizza just not as frequently.
As for my mind, I have always been a life long learner, my mind is filled with facts and information that I may only need if I am on Jeopardy but I don’t care because I love to learn new things. I love puzzles and word games but I hate scrabble and to be honest I have never played a video game. I would rather read than watch tv and enjoy listening to podcasts.
I am however not very social, in fact I am sure in a former life I was a hermit. I have to work on that because they say that the more active your social life as you age the better you feel and it keeps your mind and body young.
Please share, what do you do to take care of yourself and would you say that you are more mindful about taking care of yourself as the years go by?
Have a great day!
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I think as we get older we do think more about looking after ourselves, we no longer take it quite so much for granted. Last October I gave up sugar entirely, every form including honey. I only eat natural occurring sugars in fruits etc now. I did this for no other reason than to see if I could do it, I thought it would be a fun challenge! The incredible thing is nearly a year later and I have never looked back. I didn't lose weight because I didn't need to, I was always full of life and energy, but no even more so, I have equally as much energy as the teenagers and children. I do eat sensibly, I never eat any form of fast food, I rarely eat red meat and I don't eat any form of processed food. I make sure I move as much as I can, if I can walk to school to collect then children on a fine day then I will do rather than taking the car. I play tennis several times each week and I walk the dogs. My relaxation is the garden, I will weed and prune and plant, it's a place of hard work and incredible relaxation both at the same time!
I do Pilates 2x per week and interval run/walk training the other days. I used to do yoga, but my teacher moved and I shifted to Pilates. For years I took an exercise class, but it got boring and Pilates is more challenging physically and mentally.
I'm a flexitarian–mostly vegetarian but not a stickler and I do like a hamburger or steak tartare a couple of times a year. I've tried to stop all sweets except fruit–at least I don't buy any. So if I'm out shopping with my daughter, we have the right to an ice cream cone from Jeff de Bruges–if you're going to eat crap, make it the best quality crap.
When I run, I listen to podcasts like Planet Money, Fresh Air, On Point, TED Radio Hour, 99% Invisible, The Torch, etc. Intellectually stimulating. I also listen to them in the car via bluetooth and while I clean and cook. I am always learning, but also accomplishing something not very stimulating at the same time.
Our household is bilingual, so every conversation is a brain exercise.
I love to read, though I am so focused on the election that I haven't read much fiction lately. I had started Don Quixote, which is incredibly good. I read out loud to my daughter, which has refreshed my memory of classics like Tom Sawyer, the Laura Ingalls Wilder oeuvre, Heidi, etc.
With age (I'm 55), health is more important than beauty. In a way, it becomes beauty itself. Good posture (thank you Pilates), steady weight, endurance, no injuries–those are what keep us young.
Dearest Elizabeth!!!! Great question! Well, I too love to learn. I couldn't enjoy being a teacher if I wasn't a learner because you learn EVERY DAY in the classroom as well as from seminars, conferring with colleagues…..and I eat as well as I can because I will be 59 in April. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT….meditating is something I've never mastered, but I do find that when I carve out "me time" – at least a few hours a day, I feel GREAT. In the garden, by the lake or on a walk alone, I am able to find myself again. And when I do, I am ready to create or teach.
Eating right is imperative. ENJOY!!!
I do a lot of walking, hiking, and swimming. It keeps me in shape.
This is such a great question Elizabeth and I love the quote 'if you don't take care of your body where are you going to live' it's so cute and true. You already know about my yoga and I try to get to the gym a couple times a week for the weights and core work. And sigh, I do try to meditate off my yoga mat but I admit it's hit and miss. Oh, and reading. Reading is always the way I give back to myself.
xo
Leslie