What is Aging?
July 4, 2021
What is aging? We've been adding years since the day we were born. It's kind of a natural thing. You’re 1, You’re 2, You’re 5, You’re 11, You’re 21. How the heck did I get to 50? When do we start to feel we’re aging? In fact, all that growing we did from birth to whenever in our late teens we stopped growing was, in fact, aging. We come to a new point where we're fully grown. We're as tall as we're going to be - I'm resentful because both of my parents are taller than me - our vertical reality isn't going to change until we are much older. Yeah, I'm taller than my Mom now. Doesn't seem right. The length of our arms and legs stay the same. It is our spine, eventually, that can shrink. Exercise and a good diet can help. Our body weight, most of us have learned, can continue to fluctuate. Though we gradually increased from 10 lbs. to 40 lbs. to 100 lbs. to whatever our weight at 18, we can add and subtract weight throughout life. For many, this can become a lifelong battle. I remember an older friend telling me for her she gained 10 pounds every decade. I vowed to not match her experience.
So we age from birth on. But when do we begin to notice we are aging. I think this is different for every person. For me, it was around 27. I woke up one day with muscle cramps. I had literally never had a muscle cramp in my life. I have loose ligaments. This is a diagnosis straight from a doctor who told my mother I should be a circus performer. I had danced since I was young, biked, hiked, cross country-skied, rode horses, and other activities without ever feeling any discomfort until I was 27.
That was the first time I noticed I was aging. I'll also note that I appreciate that my mother was ahead of me on this fact. A beauty who worked in the cosmetic industry advised me to start wearing sunscreen daily from when I was 25. At 63, I am extremely grateful she gave me that recommendation. I have wrinkles, but nowhere near as many as I would have had with my fair skin. So we can do things, like sunscreen, to take care of ourselves and to reduce the signs of aging.
What did I do when I got my first muscle cramps at 27? Went back to dance class. It was around this time too that I developed a foot problem and went to a doctor. Loved this guy. He said, "Stop dancing." That never happened. I found my way forward through movement.
As I work with people 13 to 91 what I notice consistently is that people who move feel better than people who do not move. You don't have to run marathons or do handstands, but moving every day will keep you feeling younger than not moving. Check out my offerings if you'd like some encouragement. Let's move and age well together.