Don’t Get Old
What does that word “old” mean to you, a number? Can you describe what “old” is? Do you have any symptoms of what you think means you’re getting older? I remember teaching a 28-year-old student who had difficulty raising her right arm up over her head. She was in constant pain from the stiffness in her upper body. She went to her doctor. She had an extremely stressful job. She was a divorce attorney; I don’t know if you can get a more stressful job than that. She had chronic migraines. I think a lot of us can relate to the body rebelling against what we do day-to-day. Was she getting older? At 28? What kind of messaging are you left with, when someone tells you what you might expect, when you get to a certain number.
I guess at the time when the doctor said “you’re 28” that meant she was getting older, and she was going to have to begin to experience this part of aging. We get messages like this from our friends, family, and those who treat us when there isn’t much else, they can offer.
I learned that at 19. Although I was in decent shape and physically looked very fit. My symptoms did not match the way I looked, and they were severe. You can’t always judge a book by its cover. There are millions of people who will have experience with chronic pain in their lifetime. Unfortunately, as we age it is more likely to have chronic pain with little help. We simply have trained ourselves to age with our thoughts, and the old paradigm of how to exercise.
Your Body is Your best Teacher
There are many great teachers out there but none as good as your own body. The Miracle Ball Method works through your nervous system. Each of us is an individual. Imitating that perfect body at the gym or wanting the posture you once had cannot be done through imitation. Our bodies know where balance, good posture is, and alignment. This is something that each of us can achieve throughout our lifetimes. Even if we feel we are a lost cause and have a list of reasons why, give your body a chance. It knows how to unwind those tight muscles that strangle your breathing and prevent your body from moving in the right direction. It will give you options something few of us have as we navigate through these difficult experiences of wanting to feel better.
What’s wrong with the old paradigm, it works through imitating others. It focuses on what you want to achieve rather than on what you are doing. Changing the body is not hard, you need consistency and the right messaging. But if you only focus on where you want to be, you miss how the body can naturally recover on a daily basis from what ails you. There is a very specific process where your body can realign you through your own senses.
Be aware of the messaging all around you
The media, social media, and health clubs all present this beautiful body image, is that what youth is? And if you don’t have that, are you old? If you can’t get the flat abs, or bend like a pretzel is that old? Should we give up when the back hurts, and our posture begins to be noticeably different? When we go for treatment, perhaps there’s a bit of a desperation for an answer why is this happening? Getting older is a very logical response when you’re 80, maybe. It’s not a logical response when you’re 28, 35,45 or even 55.
It makes sense when we spend so much time looking outside of ourselves for answers and don’t realize our own bodies can self-correct the stiffness, the lack of energy, the aching back and tight shoulders. We live in a very superficial world and our bodies suffer as a result.
Most of us are exposed to two options for our bodies. Constantly striving for the beautiful bodies of youth, that some of us never experience, or the bodies that seem like we are just stuck with them as they are. There is a third choice. Don’t compare yourselves to others. The choices are not do a particular exercise so you can look like one of the beautiful people or just fall apart because that seems out of reach. Having taught many beautiful people, they can have a significant amount of chronic pain. It looks good on the outside but let’s explore something that looks good on the outside and feels great on the inside.
Practice Makes Possible: The Miracle Ball Method
The Miracle Ball Method works through a part of the body most of us have never experienced. We think of the outward appearances of the tight abs and flexible spines. We just don’t know how to get there because the old paradigm of imitating someone who does have that, usually doesn’t work. And if it does, it might be skin deep. You look good on the outside but you just still feel that chronic backache, or stiff shoulder.
Getting old is a state of mind, but so is being young. I have worked with many young people, with very “old” bodies. To conclude for now, Old is not a number, or simply a state of mind, because our bodies are listening. They will respond to what you believe, based on what you see and what others tell us. Your body is your best teacher. Learn from it.
Join me for my next 8 week series “Don’t Get Old” beginning Jan 27th. Not only will you learn the method, you will also discover key areas of the body along with 5 must do moves to prevent the typical signs of aging from taking over. Resist the messaging that’s out there. Make a world of difference starting with your body.
