We all know that your health matters, especially as you age.  I remember how weird and annoying it was to hear older people talk about their health when I was younger.  

 

Well, I was ignorant and probably arrogant, thinking I didn’t have to worry about that. Well, here I am, understanding and experiencing the conversations they were having.  

 

The more I read and live, I realize how blessed I have been to be obsessive about exercise.  Even more so with this big bleep in the road with my hamstring.

 

I see how much I miss exercise.  

How much joy exercise brings me.  

How much better I feel when I have exercised.  

How much energy I have during and after exercising.

How much flexibility and agility exercise provides.

How much confidence and well-being I feel from exercising.

 

Exercise has helped me live a healthy life – physically, mentally, and emotionally.  

 

Did you know that exercise was one of the best antidotes for aging?  Your muscles and body start declining around your 30s and 40s unless you consciously counteract that process with some strength training and other exercises.  

 

“In a book called Exercised by Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman, he talks about how exercise and health relate and why exercising regularly through old age is beneficial. Lieberman particularly claims cardio is the ideal exercise type for elderly individuals to remain in perfect health,” Dr. Alan Christianson shared.

 

Another statement Dr. Christianson shared was, “Oxygen performance, or VO2 max, is one of the most prominent markers of your vitality. This is your overall energy level.  It’s how well you can stay mentally focused or burn fat for fuel, how long you can go before you’re wiped out, or how likely you are to get a chronic disease.  It’s how long you live.  Your VO2 max ties to all the factors that go into how you feel as you age. And aerobic training improves your VO2 max levels – no matter your age or the challenge you’ve had in the past.”

 

What are you doing to stay healthy?  What regular exercising are you doing?

 

It is a known factor that exercising with others help create more accountability and discipline to ensure that you follow through.

 

What stories are you telling yourself about why you can’t exercise?  

 

Yes, I understand many people are not as mobile. But I can tell you that after watching the Paralympics and reading many of their stories, it’s hard to think many of you can’t get up and move more.  

 

It’s your health.  It’s living and thriving.

 

I also know just because you know something doesn’t mean you do it. Just like I know, gluten, dairy and sugar aren’t my friends.  I can do well for a while, but I haven’t fallen to the side of total health for myself.  

 

What do you need to do to be the healthiest you?

 

Food is medicine.  Our food leaves us clues as to what is healthy for you and at this particular time in your life.  Are you listening to what you are hearing?  

 

Your thoughts create your reality.  Are you monitoring what you are thinking?  How? Make sure the things and people you listen to are uplifting, supportive, and kind.

 

What you focus on is what you get.  

 

How are you taking care of yourself emotionally, mentally, and spiritually?

 

As Reverend Sally Beach says, “You are the one who has the most influence over my experiences in life.  In any situation, I decide what to notice, what to care about, and what to do.”

 

What are you choosing for this chapter of your life so that you can live healthy?

 

Your choices matter.