Life Lessons Learned- Ask Your Body What it Needs

Life Lessons Learned:  How to age Gracefully Tip # 3

Ask Your Body What it Needs—and Listen to How it Feels

By,Cassandra George Sturges

The mass media saturates us daily with promises of eternal youth if we purchase new exercise equipment, diets, pills, surgeries, and magic slim-down-no-stomach potions. And if you don’t want to lose weight, surely you want to get rid of wrinkles, grow new hair, and/ or remove age-spots. These commercials are followed by why you should increase your insurance policies and plan your funeral. Society forbade you to age gracefully.

I used to ride an exercise bike for one hour every day. I didn't know that doing this was deteriorating  my knee joints. I didn’t want to admit it to myself that I could barely walk up and downstairs. One day I just got super honest with myself and said, “Hey you, if you are around another 30 to 50-years if you are lucky—you will be in a wheel chair. If you want to be able to use those knees…and I know you do… you need to find another type of exercise.”

Not only have I have come to the conclusion, that certain exercises are not good for my body at this juncture in my life; I have also learned that there are several foods that no longer agree with my digestive system. Additionally, I have discovered that I can’t eat before I go to bed because it affects my sleep. When I was younger, I could eat whatever I wanted-- whenever I wanted to eat with no negative consequences.

Now that I am fifty, my body demands being pampered. She wants enough sleep, breakfast in the morning, and vitamins. My body enjoys hula-hooping, yoga for beginners, and naps. She insists on reading not just self-help, non-fiction, and current events like in the past—she indulges in fictitious erotic romance novels and suspense thrillers.

Don’t listen to what other people are telling you to do to be healthier—what they did worked for their body type. Every person’s body is different. It has a different DNA design and history of usage. Listen carefully and respectfully to your body and it will tell you what it needs to be healthy and vibrant.