Senior Health & Fitness Day Inspirational Stories
Author: Shannon Miller Lifestyle
Seniors are defined as the age group of “over 55.”
Many people are shocked by the mail marketed to “seniors” that they get starting on that birthday. Why are they shocked?
Well, because 55 is the new 30, that’s why!
There are so many people starting anew in their wellness journey at 55 or later. Many have never even exercised before, and decided to make a change after 55. Many had slip ups, downturns, and illnesses, but gathered their strength after 55 and made life better for themselves. The predominant theme here is: age doesn’t matter – Health does.
Here’s examples of SML “Seniors” that we love:
- Case in point, Dr. Gayle Carson is a life coach for seniors. She is 74 years old, and a three time cancer survivor (bless her soul). She exercises for 2 hours a day and coaches other seniors to introduce fitness into their lives. Her cute and hilarious blog site is called “Spunky Old Broad” (notice the acronym is SOB), where she preaches living a “regret-free life.” A regret-free life would include a life of wellness and fitness, according to her blog.
- Joanie Jacobson, author of “Baby Boomer Way“also preaches a healthy lifestyle for seniors. She decided at age 58 to get a handle on her weight and lost 60 pounds by beginning a cardio routine. She runs 5K’s.
- Debbie Rosas is the creator of a new fitness craze called “Nia”. And she happens to be 63 years old. Nia is designed to work functionally with the body, reducing stress and injury, and increasing overall FUN in a workout. Rosas is the image of a young, energetic woman, regardless of her actual age in time.
From Debbie Rosas:
7 Keys to Getting Fit After 55
Choose the sensation of pleasure. Begin to pay attention to moving and sensing pleasure. If you don’t feel pleasure when you move, change how you move. Your body will guide you into the path of least resistance if you listen to it.
- Get up and down from the floor for 60 seconds a day. One of the best ways to condition the body naturally is to move from the ground up, using the body’s joints and spine the way they were designed to be used: opening and closing to allow for movement to occur.
- Discover Your Body’s Way. No matter what your movement or fitness choice, learn to sense your body moving the way it moves. Let go of following someone outside of you.
- Daily dance. Allowing for body to move for as little as 5 minutes a day can begin to reconnect you with the sensation of pleasure. Put on your favorite music and dance for joy and pleasure. Add one-minute a day, and soon you’ll be dancing for more than thirty minutes a day.
- Laugh. It’s easy to shift your perspective on life with the power of laughing. Lie on your belly and laugh for 15 seconds, on your back, for 15 seconds, then sit up and laugh for 15 seconds and end by standing and laughing for 15 seconds.
- Sound. Add vocal, emotional sounding into your workout. Making sound releases stress and makes room for you to sense and hear pleasure. Use the vowel sounds of “A-E-I-O-U”, exhaling these sounds as you run, bike, perform sit ups, and/or dance.
- Find meaning. Make what you do be something meaningful to you. If you love what you do, you’ll be more inclined to do it every day.
Fitness after 55 starts with cultivating the sensation of pleasure in your body and life.
- 87 year old Andrew Garber’s kidneys failed about a year ago. This World War II veteran would not even let kidney failure hold him back. An avid tennis player, Garber finished second in a Midwest division tennis tournament. He also works out at the gym four times a week…in between his kidney treatments. Why? Because he knows that doing the workout will keep him stronger longer, and make his illness more endurable.
- You may have heard that the world’s oldest yoga teacher, Tao Porchon-Lynch, is 93. She is considered to be the happiest person by some, as well. She says “yoga…is something that lives within you…and it makes me face the world.” She has had hip replacement surgery, and can still lift her lotus off the floor with ease.
- At 91, Olga Kotelko is the fastest, oldest athlete. She is still running the 100 meter dash, at under 24 seconds. She has earned 600 gold metals.
Not at that level yet? Well, that’s okay. Even if you are a senior, and you have never been athletic, or you have been sedentary for your entire life, you can make a change. That change could make a huge difference in your quality of life!