Why We Normalised Decline and Should Not Have. A look at how movement, habits, and culture shape ageing, and what we can do to stay strong and capable.
This is a brilliant take on how we treat movement. The teeth analogy cuts through all the usual fitness nonsense becuase it reframes the whole thing as basic maintenence instead of an optional lifestyle choice. I've seen something similar with my dad who avoided exercise his whole life and now at 72 struggles with basic tasks that should be automatic.
Thank you. And I practice what I preach. My routine goes in a sequence in the morning: I brush my teeth, I drink a jar of water and then I do Radio Taiso, animal movements, a plank (for my back problems) and fascia stretches. I takes all of 8 minutes and if I don't do anything else, I still did basic maintenance. Once the habit is in place it is very easy. Forming the habit is trickier but I got ways for it to ;)
This reminds me of a "picker upper" gadget my father bought when he began having difficulty bending over--basically a pair of rubber coated tongs at the end of a long stick. With controls at the handle you squeeze to operate the tongs. Maybe if he worked on flexibility he might not have needed that thing, or at least put off needing it until many years later. I remember thinking at the time that those tongs were a type of surrender.
Yeah, it sounds like a cop out. Some old people are very obstinate about how they do things instead of being obstinate about keeping their capabilities. I know someone close to me who's as stubborn as a donkey. We've had a talk about using that stubbornness for good instead of evil ;D
This is a brilliant take on how we treat movement. The teeth analogy cuts through all the usual fitness nonsense becuase it reframes the whole thing as basic maintenence instead of an optional lifestyle choice. I've seen something similar with my dad who avoided exercise his whole life and now at 72 struggles with basic tasks that should be automatic.
Thank you. And I practice what I preach. My routine goes in a sequence in the morning: I brush my teeth, I drink a jar of water and then I do Radio Taiso, animal movements, a plank (for my back problems) and fascia stretches. I takes all of 8 minutes and if I don't do anything else, I still did basic maintenance. Once the habit is in place it is very easy. Forming the habit is trickier but I got ways for it to ;)
This reminds me of a "picker upper" gadget my father bought when he began having difficulty bending over--basically a pair of rubber coated tongs at the end of a long stick. With controls at the handle you squeeze to operate the tongs. Maybe if he worked on flexibility he might not have needed that thing, or at least put off needing it until many years later. I remember thinking at the time that those tongs were a type of surrender.
Yeah, it sounds like a cop out. Some old people are very obstinate about how they do things instead of being obstinate about keeping their capabilities. I know someone close to me who's as stubborn as a donkey. We've had a talk about using that stubbornness for good instead of evil ;D