Is there a magic formula for Healthy Ageing?
As I transit my 7th decade of life, (I sound like an orbiting body), I am becoming more aware of the ageing changes in my own body. I have had good health for most of my life and have had the opportunity to travel and study and work, both here in Australia and overseas.
As I age, I am aware of the never-ending advice and information about how to “age successfully”. Anti-ageing products, food with age-reversal qualities, and Age Reversal Coaches advertising their programs to keep you healthy into old age, abound on social media and in magazines. Do they work – yes and no.
Ageing is a gradual and individual process and can-not be stopped or reversed.
How you age can be modified by you, to remain as independent and have as a good quality of life as possible.
The message from the ‘Blue Zones” (the areas where people have aged successfully) is the same information from the research. A good quality plant-based, fresh food diet, daily activities to maintain range of motion of joints and muscle strength and a purpose for living with social connections.
The beautiful view of a temple from my travels in Bhutan.
I first started yoga when I was a student nurse in the early 1970’s. I have continued to practice on and off ever since. I have undertaken a more focused practice and a Yoga Teacher Training and a Yoga Therapist training over the last 10 years. I have found the practice of yoga to be a valuable tool for mental and physical health, and have met many like-minded people. This has included the privilege to travel to countries overseas on yoga retreats.
On the trips over-seas to Bhutan and India, I noticed the older people who were still living independently, carried out daily physical tasks, helped with grandchildren and ate a basic diet. However, the younger generations were developing many western chronic health problems such as Type II diabetes in India and hypertension and cardiovascular disease in Bhutan.
In a research article ‘Yoga for Healthy Aging: Science or Hype’, (Madhivanan et al. 2021. Advanced Geriatric Medical Research. 3(3)), the study demonstrated “Yoga has been found useful in maintaining physical mobility and functional independence in seniors”.
The interventions were not laborious gym routines or tying yourself in the knots as many yoga poses are portrayed, but simple daily activities that stretch and strengthen the muscles and keep the joint moving, and quiet time to reflect and to enjoy the life that you have.
So the answer to ‘Is there a magic formula for health ageing?’. The answer is NO. It is the combination of many factors, lifestyle, friends and time for yourself, is a good start.
