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Hi, I’m Kasey Claytor, your meditation and Well-being instructor.
In our TV, internet, and magazine ads, we see in bold type: Anti-Aging, Reverse Aging, Stay Young, Youth Shield, and Protect against Aging!!
It sounds as though the number 1 disease afflicting our society is aging! You really have to research to find positive examples of people experiencing healthy, normal, enjoyable (yes) aging.
There is obviously a tremendous underlying fear of aging, with visions of an unattractive, helpless, frail, and unhappy senior and then…that unmentionable… death.
We are even shocked when we see a vibrant, active, and productive 80-year-old. So much so, we put him or her on the news!
This perception results from our attitudes and beliefs. We push aging away, seeing our senior years as an unimportant, leftover part of life we don’t want to look at. And there is the Western view of death, which is to talk about it and think about it as little as possible, the unknown being so unthinkable and frightening. Yet death is just a door to the next adventure.
There is another way. With grace and a new perspective, we can embrace aging, taking advantage of every benefit and joy of this last phase of human life. From seeking mentors and role models to healthy practices for wellbeing, we can create an enriching, purposeful later life, replete with wisdom and higher consciousness.
We make endless decisions throughout our life that determine how well we will age. We now know that 50% to 80% of our healthspan and disease risk comes from non-genetic factors—such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress, and socioeconomic status. The rest is environmental, including our spiritual, mental, and emotional attitudes.
We can rewrite our story and how it unfolds. We all live in our own alternate universe of our own making!
Our choices include our thoughts and beliefs, how we react to our thoughts and emotions, how we take care of ourselves physically, and the company we keep, to name a few.
The common theme throughout is the extent to which we experience well-being. I love that word, wellbeing, the meaning of it and the condition. What does it mean?
Well-being in Dictionary.com: A good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity.
The absence of pain or other symptoms of illness isn’t the same as experiencing well-being. We all know that taking a pain reliever for a headache doesn’t bring about an overall sweeping Joy. We experience well-being through self-care, self-inquiry, communing with nature, and our natural rhythms.
I want to add emotional and spiritual health, in which we are connected to the depth of all that we are, with a sense of reverence and awe at our very existence. This does not mean that we are happy all the time because life is messy and complex. We learn and grow through our challenges and changes, through allowing ourselves to feel and love deeply. If we do this with awareness, it adds positively to who we are.
Here are some ways to age well, with emphasis on wellbeing:
Listen to your body. If it whispers discomfort, tiredness, stiffness, lethargy, or restlessness, it is telling you to shift your focus, pause to notice, and take loving care. The answer lies in your innate body’s intelligence. Learn its language. Do this at the first sign, and you will ward off more serious, louder cries for attention, i.e., dis-ease.
As we age, we accumulate toxicity in mind and body from what isn’t metabolized. Physical and emotional systems must function strongly and healthily to extract optimal nourishment from the environment. Conscious awareness helps us identify where we store these toxins through our symptoms and sensations. Gentle, routine cleansing and balancing help release these toxins.
Your body’s condition reflects what is going on emotionally within you. We hold our past traumas and injuries—emotional and physical—in our bodies. Doing yoga has been shown to help release past trauma, such as PTSD, in people.
Allow your emotions to come up and be felt. We all have a knee-jerk reaction to shove those uncomfortable feelings back down, but doing that over and over means we don’t ‘digest’ them properly, and they will continue to exist as underlying stress. If you sit with your feelings, acknowledging them, they will dissipate on their own and no longer torture you!
Every day, intend your life to be what you desire. Intention is powerful. Begin your day with thoughts and plans that make you smile. How will you be? How will you treat others? How grateful will you feel?
Meditation/Prayer. Spend some time each day in solitude, offering yourself to your highest version and to God, and be still. The benefits are clear, but did you know studies show this practice can dramatically change your brain, making it more flexible, creative, clearer, and emotionally balanced?
Eat mindfully. Eat only when you are hungry. Leave 25% of your stomach empty to aid digestion. Sit down to eat, and don’t eat when you are upset. Reduce frozen, leftover, uncooked, nuked, and canned foods. Eat fresh foods with different colors and tastes.
Move your body. Choose to move throughout the day. Walk outside every day. Stretch or do yoga and keep flexible. Walk outside barefoot. Not only is it good for you, but as you age, it will help you maintain good balance.
Keep making plans to look forward to. Your desires fuel you forward and keep you vital and interested. Nothing will pick you up like making concrete plans for a great event or trip.
Love Yourself. So very important. Look into your eyes in the mirror and say, “I love you!” Love others—that’s your job!
Choose role models or Archetypes you want to emulate. This is also very powerful. There’s a ton of literature out there to help you discover the archetypes you resonate with. Your dreams & daydreams, your attraction to certain stories, and your heroes and heroines offer hints; once you focus on these examples, you will be propelled to make shifts in your life. You will soon be displaying attributes that were once hidden, attributes you never knew you had!
Surround yourself with positive people who are where you want to be. And eliminate, to the best of your ability, those who undermine your joy.
Go with what makes you strong. Everything—people and activities—either gives you energy and nourishes you, or makes you feel weaker. Pay attention and choose wisely.
Don’t retire. I don’t mean you should stay in a job you dislike. If you are 56, 61, or 65 and cannot wait to retire, seek what inspires you, what you’ve always wanted to do. Go for the joy it brings. Joy flowing through you is what keeps you healthy and dynamic!
Invest Your Money. Yeah, put some money aside each payday in long-term accounts, so you live in abundance as you age. And knowing you have that fills you with confidence.
Ignore the Cultural Messages coming from society, media, or any source telling you that your life will be somehow ‘less’ because of your age.
Find your Courage. You must be fierce and bold to age gracefully. And do not ever give up. You are a magnificent, absolutely amazing, and unique being, the likes of which have never, ever been seen before. Reach down deep within, and all the riches in life are there for you.
The next podcast will cover how the recommendations from Ayurveda can help us age gracefully.
Briefly, Ayurveda tells us every human function: organization, metabolism, reproduction, digestion, elimination, etc., is operating for your optimal balance, or homeostasis. All these simultaneous functions are an activity of the universe. According to Ayurveda, Imbalance causes eventual illness. As we age, it’s highly beneficial to flow with the universal rhythm of nature, because we are a part of it. Our biological functions ebb and flow with nature’s tides. In tune, we experience vitality & joy. Out of sync, we notice mental or physical distress.
There is a vitality that flows through you; all of you know what that feels like. When you are following your inner guidance and passions, you will undoubtedly be nourished by it.
Let’s meditate now!
Let’s now set your timer. Set it for 20, 25, or 30 minutes. Your choice.
Sit up straight, gently close your eyes, and relax your face, your eyes, your shoulders. Lay your hands gently in your lap or on your thighs. Take a few slow, comfortable breaths, noticing how any tightness in your body releases with each exhale. If you like, before you begin your practice, think of your esteemed teachers or Godly image, and imagine their energy flooding into your being. Then begin repetition of your mantra; you can use so hum if you don’t have one. Or you can just observe your breath. Namaste. You’re on your own now. Remember to come out of meditation gently. Until next time, with love.