Active Ageing is Healthy Aging

Active Aging is extremely important for good health and longevity.

Active Aging is a term used to describe the maintenance of positive subjective well-being, good physical, social and mental health and continued involvement in one’s family, peer group and community throughout the aging process. It is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age.”

Age 60+ is the fastest growing sector of our population, which means we are living longer but not necessarily healthier. In 2016 3.7 million Australians were over 65 years of age and ½ of these had an illness or disability, which is from heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer and mental illness.
How can we maintain a healthy lifestyle and provide for ourselves a well and happy outlook for continued good living throughout life?

“If there is anything close to the fountain of youth, it is exercise. Given its proven benefits and few side effects, if it were a pill, everyone would be taking it.” (Dr Anne Fabiny, Harvard Medical School 2010.)

Evidence shows that regular exercise:

Helps increase levels of HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol.
Can lower high blood pressure.
Helps promote bone density.
Will boost the immune system.
Helps improve body composition by burning fat.
Helps to promote healthy blood sugar levels.
Can even help to improve mood swings and can aid in reducing depression.
Exercising offers benefit to the body and the mind. And research also state exercise can improve your sex life due to the brain producing endorphins that stimulate the release of serotonin (or Happy hormones). These hormones reduce your heart rate, improve digestion and lower cortisol or stress levels and relax the body, which all add up to a happier and healthy life.

I have been in the Fitness Industry 40 years and trained as a dancer from 5 years of age, so movement for me is something I have always done and love. Without movement in my life I actually become depressed and did when in 2008 I was unable to walk due to discovering I had been born with hip dysplasia and my lifestyle of dance, aerobic fitness competitions and teaching had finally taken its  toll on my right hip and then 7 years later my left hip. I needed total hip replacements. Going from denial to depression and then joy that I could move and dance again was to me a total miracle.

Did you know that finding a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity a day can lead to a happier and healthier lifestyle?

Following are some of the positive benefits .

Brain Health
Exercise training can increase brain size and improve memory – reducing the risk of dementia.

Mental Health
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of depression and has a range of benefits for mental health

Social benefits
Organised physical activity creates opportunities for meeting new people and socialising.

Heart and Lung Health
Physical activity strengthens your heart and improves lung function – reducing your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack.

Bone Health
Physical activity increases bone mineral density – important for bone strength; reducing risk of fractures and osteoporosis.

Environmental benefits
Physical activity, as a form of active transport, reduces our carbon foot print.

I am very pro-active and have a positive attitude, I love life and I love the energy I summon daily to continue a life of happiness, wellness and fitness. People say to me my energy is also contagious……..

BUT regardless of that……one of the things I discovered as I have aged, is the invisibility of women that occurs past a certain age. I live in a very youth focused and fit environment in Sydney’s prestigious Northern Beaches. The place of the body beautiful and all things young. The pressure to look fabulous and continue to embrace youthfulness is enormous.

Here is my story on this:

My personal wake up moment about getting older was when I stood at a bar one evening and was completely ignored by the young barman.

It wasn’t until a young woman walked up that suddenly he was ready to pay attention to someone.

I discovered what it’s like to feel invisible for the first time in my life and asked myself, is this what getting old means?

I felt as though my age was deterring the interest, attention and respect of the bartender. In a moment like that, you can’t help feeling as though being ‘old’ doesn’t have too many upsides and it’s difficult to embrace the ageing process after such an experience.

I was brought up in the 1960s when life was changing radically and people accepted ageing as a normal process. My grandparents aged, they looked old as expected and lived and died ‘gracefully’.

This thinking no longer exists, the attitude is to live much longer, healthier lives while retaining your youth for as long as possible.

After my experience at the bar and how low it left me feeling, I knew I needed to change my outlook, not only for myself but for other women in my position.

I’ve worked in the fitness and wellness industry for many years, so have always been aware of keeping in shape. But I realised then that we need to take a different approach that doesn’t just focus on maintaining a youthful appearance.

As mentioned I live on the very body-aware Northern Beaches of Sydney, where looking youthful often becomes an obsession for women past a certain age. I have so many female friends who feel the pressure to stay looking young and fear being left feeling irrelevant.

That’s why pro-ageing, as opposed to anti-ageing, is my message.

The negative messages such as anti-aging, age fighting, age halting, reverse aging are used in advertising and all media to give the impression that we can stop aging or even reverse it. This is so wrong and if we think pro age we can grow with acceptance and not fight our biological predisposition, but instead make the most of our biological make up and enjoying what we have and what we can do with it to live happily in good health and wellness.

We live in a time like never before. We get and depend on instant knowledge of who, what, where and how. I began to learn about the possibilities of increased longevity when I was in my twenties by taking vitamin supplements for more energy and better overall health. I had my first child at 25, which was considered normal back then.

When my second child was born, I was 37 with my second husband and I thought I was too old. Now 37 seems to be when women begin to consider having a child, which means more than ever women

need to be healthy and energetic, as they might have young kids in their forties and teens in their fifties.

Exercise and retaining your health then becomes so much more than just appearing ‘youthful’. So much so, new research shows 94 per cent of women over 50 take personal measures to take control of how they age.

On the other hand, it also shows almost 80 per cent of Australians over 50 are maintaining a healthy lifestyle, exercising and have active social lives.

We are living longer, healthier lives, travelling more, downsizing and focussing on a proactive, pro-ageing way of looking at life.

The women I know define themselves on looking and feeling fabulous, not just for themselves, but also for others so they can continue to be recognised as vibrant, purposeful women.

Ageing isn’t frightening, it’s empowering.

Growing older shouldn’t mean we have to accept everything that is typically associated with getting ‘old’. We’re choosing proactivity over passiveness when it comes our ageing so we can enjoy the next chapter of their lives, rather than being invisible in the corner.

Due to this I run workshops, teach classes to both adults and children and share the message of equality and not making judgements based on age.

I have a #doitwithme exercise program that can be followed worldwide, where I share poses and videos anywhere in the world to encourage people to remain vibrant and well no matter what age they are or where they are or what they do and particularly if they are in a desk/computer environment.

Writing motivation exercises and positive newsletters and blogs keeps me constantly on the lookout for new, current, ‘on trend’ information that I share with clients and family and friends. I believe keeping an open mind and awareness of what is happening in this world gives anyone a head start in remaining very active and positive.

I find that clients who say they won’t use facebook or never read emails, follow instagram or any other social media seem older and unaware of all the magic that surrounds us daily. I know you could say they can find their own information via newspapers, television and books but again many don’t and miss a lot of what is happening. I know this as I see it with some of my clients who seem lost in this world due to lack of social media, computer skills and often say “I am not going to let everyone know what I am doing.” But in saying this they don’t seem to realise they are missing out due to unwarranted fears. These people are often the ones that I hear about being scammed by a tradesperson or a phone scam where they give their bank details away. It is sad, as they appear to be aging far quicker than the ones who are savvy and ‘on trend.’

There seems to be a point perhaps where some people stop seeing and learning new things.

I and most of the women particularly in my life who are 50 plus are very active and continue to celebrate life daily. Some have stopped working but find the time is now to discover how much more the world has to offer other than a daily going to work.

I feel very privileged that my job is helping people to be fit and well and there is no end in sight as to when I might need to stop…..possibly once I have passed onto the next phase or wherever the spirit goes!

SOME TOOLS FOR LONGEVITY

I teach Yoga Nidra and have done now for 35 or more years to men, women and children.

It is particularly relevant now as depression, anxiety and stress are the number 1 reasons for suicide amongst all ages and research shows that Yoga Nidra will change the perspective, increase dopamine levels and alleviate all symptoms of anxiety etc with a regular practise.

I believe if we can move our bodies and take time out for Yoga Nidra Meditation even if it is just 10 minutes a day we can change the way we think and live.

Yoga Nidra or the more modern name Irest is recognised as the technique that has prevented suicide amongst returned Afghanistan soldiers in the US suffering with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

So, what is Yoga Nidra?

Yoga Nidra is described as the waking sleep, as it can take the participant to a state of conscious deep sleep. It is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, emotional and mental relaxation. The practitioner appears to be sleeping but the unconscious mind is functioning at a deeper level. It is sleep with deep awareness. In normal sleep we lose track of our self, but in Yoga Nidra, while consciousness of the world is dim and relaxation is deep, there remains an inward feeling of lucidity and the experience may be absorbed and even recalled after. Since Yoga Nidra involves effortless relaxation it is best practised with an experienced and trusted teacher, who can verbally deliver instructions.

I began to practise Yoga Nidra from the age of 17 at the Satyananda Yoga Centre in Manly, Sydney and Mangrove Mountains, Central Coast of NSW and in that time I was lucky to have been part of a workshop taught by the originator of the Yoga Nidra technique, Swami Satyananda, (now deceased).

More recent research studies by Richard Millar over the past 15 years, calling it IRest, has proven that the reductions in stress symptoms occurs with regular Yoga Nidra practise amongst all ages.

As I began my Fitness, Wellness and Teaching career I made Yoga Nidra part of a regular practise in schools as well as Fitness Classes. This became part of every program I still teach with all ages. I have found over the years as stress levels increase more and more people request Yoga Nidra and even ask for a longer session.

The scientific studies have shown that people who practise Yoga Nidra experience better sleep generally, are more productive and less stressed.

In our cities across the world we live in an over stressed, over stimulated environment and this is not going away.

The result of this is people are feeling chronic exhaustion, adrenal burnout and daily fatigue and the stress of having to cope with this while looking after self and possibly a family, earn an income, provide daily living requirements and get enough ‘me’ time means … total burn out is fast approaching. Yoga Nidra is a simple, practised and researched method that will help address all these issues.

In a classic Yoga Nidra practice, the practitioner lies on a mat/floor on their back with arms away from the body and palms turned upwards. In Yoga terminology, this is called Shavasana or corpse pose.

Feet should be separated to approximately hip width apart, and toes falling outwards. Eyes remain closed throughout and adding a lavender pillow over the eyes will aid the sense of complete relaxation.

It is best if the body is lying symmetrically. A good way to do this is to imagine a centre line running from the souls of the feet to the crown of the head.

This position is said to aid relaxation and influence the consciousness and prepares the mind/body for complete relaxation and letting go. It is also said it will balance the flow of life force or Chi throughout the body.

When I teach Yoga Nidra I include a focus on Intentions, which helps realising a resolve or something you want to achieve in your life I say “See it, Say it to yourself, Feel what it is like and Make it happen”. I invite people to repeat this several times silently before moving into the verbal instruction of relaxation of muscles and body through naming eg feet, legs, torso and so on and then repeat the intention when coming out of deep relaxation. I also focus on breath before and after the deep relaxation.

Your Intention could be as simple as wanting more love in your life or being kinder to yourself, or something very specific like a great new job or giving up alcohol or smoking.

People who practise Yoga Nidra and Intention say by repeating an Intention to themselves have found that by being in this relaxed state helps it take root in the unconscious. This could also be called a post-hypnotic suggestion. People have also told me that they have achieved much after practising the combination of Yoga Nidra, Intention and importantly Mindfulness, by creating the moment they are in and letting go of sounds around them and daily stresses in as little as 10 minutes a day This practise has had profound results.

Sessions can run from as little as 10 minutes to an hour or more.

MORE TOOLS

As well as Yoga Nidra I believe breath will also calm the mind and body and allow you to feel vibrant and youthful.
I practise this daily and with my clients and know that it brings a glow to my skin and the people (often 50 plus doing this with me)
Just taking a few minutes a day to focus on breath will not only calm the Body and the Mind but will also revitalise the spirit.
Following are a few samples. Even if you feel you do not have the time available, try just 3 deep breaths while driving between home and work, shopping, kids and school for example.
Take 3 Deep, Long Inhales and Exhales while at the traffic lights or stop sign and this alone will take the edge off that feeling of NON-STOP!
If possible take some time for these wonderful breathing techniques. Perhaps they could be done with family, partner, children or friends. Think of this as a productive way of calming together.

Examples of Breathing Techniques for Calming and Cooling the Body and the Mind

1. Equal Breathing – (or Sama Vritti Pranayama)

Calms and re-energises the body and focuses the mind.

1. Sit in a comfortable, cross-legged position on the floor or a chair or up against a wall.
2. Close your eyes and begin to notice your natural breath, not changing anything at first.
3. Begin a slow count to four as you inhale. Then also count to four as you exhale. The exercise is to match the length of your inhale and exhale.
4. You could experiment with changing the number you count to, but make sure your inhale and exhale stay the same length.
5. Continue breathing this way for several minutes.
6. 2. Alternate Nostril Breathing – (or Nadi Sodhana ) This is one of the favourites with the kids in my school classes

This breath is balancing, relaxing, and calming.

1. Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position.
2. Using your right hand, fold your index and middle fingers into your palm, leaving your thumb, ring finger, and little finger sticking up.
3. Bring your thumb to the right side of your nose and your ring finger to the left side.
4. Close off your right nostril with your thumb.
5. Inhale through your left nostril.
6. Close off your left nostril with your ring finger.
7. Open and exhale through your right nostril.
8. Inhale through your right nostril.
9. Close off your right nostril with your thumb.
10. Open and exhale through your left nostril.
11. Inhale through your left nostril.
12. Continue alternating 5 to 10 times. This can be counted by placing your thumb on each finger 1 or 2 times round.
13. Cooling Breath (or Shitali Pranayama)

 

Tongue Roll

This breath cools the body so it is best done in hot weather or if you are doing intense exercise workouts

1. Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position on the floor if possible or on a chair.
2. Take two or three deep inhales and exhales through the nose to prepare.
3. Roll the tongue, curling the sides in towards the centre to form a tube. Stick the end of the tongue out between your pursed lips. If you can’t roll your tongue, just hold the lips making a small “o” shape with the mouth.
4. Inhale through the tube of the tongue.
5. Exhale through the nose.
6. Repeat 5-10 times as you feel the cooling effect

 

4. Ocean Breath – (or Ujjayi Pranayama)

Or Hissing Breath, Victorious Breath

This breathing technique concentrates and directs the breath, giving particularly Yoga and Pilates practice extra power and focus.

If you have studied Yoga you will find this is most often used in association with the practice of Vinyasa style Yoga. Vinyasa yoga is breath-synchronized movement, and the breath used is Ujjayi breath. This best to learn while seated in a comfortable cross-legged position. When you feel confident, begin to use it during an exercise practice.

1. Inhale and exhale deeply through the mouth.
2. On the exhales, begin to tone the back of the throat, slightly constricting the passage of air. Imagine that you are fogging up a pair of glasses.
3. Once you are comfortable with the exhale, begin to apply the same toning of the throat to the inhales. This is where the name of the breath comes from: it sounds like the ocean.
4. When you are able to control the throat on both the inhale and the exhale, close the mouth and begin breathing through the nose. Continue applying the same toning to the throat that you did when the mouth was open. The breath will still make a loud noise coming in and out of the nose. This is Ujjayi breath.
5. If used during Yoga exercise practice the inhale and exhale through your poses will give you an extra focus. The air that comes in through your constricted throat is a powerful, directed breath that you can send into different parts of your body as you need it.

I teach a variety of people from school children to older adults and I am often asked if I can do longer sessions of just breathing techniques, as no matter what age we are we live very full lives if we live in a city and the calmer we can be the more we can focus and be balanced in our daily lives.

I love to include as much as possible to help my family, friends, clients and myself to feel and look fabulous, so here is the amazing Facial Exercises to help avoid needles and fillers that we are becoming more and more pressured into doing.

I will never say never, as one day if I think I need it I will see what technique is working well for people, but meanwhile the facial exercises do aid holding off or even decreasing wrinkles if the mind/body is also in balance. It is all very much attitude and as I mentioned not having to feel pressured but there are techniques that are helpful to make anyone feel better. It is health, welnness and fitness that is the key …..but adding a few tweeks is not so bad either. As long as it makes you feel good, productive and that life is worth living.

Facial Rejuvenation for a Healthy, Youthful Glow without Needles or Fillers

 We spend much time exercising our bodies to retain a youthful and fit body. The gyms and Yoga/Pilates Centres are full of people looking for the answer to feeling fabulous and retaining the look of youth. The plastic surgeons are in constant work with the amount of males as well as females seeking the face of youth, wrinkle free and lifted.

We have muscles of the face as we have muscles throughout the body. The difference with facial muscles though is that they are not attached to bone, so as the skin drops so do the muscles, so we need to exercise those muscles in order to keep them holding up the skin. If the muscles of the face are not worked consistently they drop and become longer and longer thus casing the face to look droopy and jowlled.

These are some of the muscles that we look at to form the basis of the exercise routine; Note; When they contract they move the skin not the joint

 

1. Frontalis which pulls the eyebrows up.
2. Corrugator supercilli draws eyebrow down as in frowning.
3. Levator palpebrae elevates upper eyelid
4. Ligmentum palebrale a small muscle that moves the corner of the eye.
5. Orbicularis oculi which closes and squints the eye.
6. Quadratus labii superioris which is a muscle in the medial cheek and nose and has multiple strands such as Levator labii superioris alaque nasi which wrinkles the nose.
7. Zygomatic Major and Minor retracts and pulls the lips drawing them upwards and outwards when smiling and laughing.
8. Nasalis compresses the nostrils.
9. Buccinator compresses cheek as in blowing air out of mouth and causes cheeks to cave in, produces the action of sucking.

1. (10)Orbicularis oris, closes the lips, compresses lips against teeth, protrudes lips and shapes lips during speech.
2. (11)Levator labii elevates upper lip.

10. (12)Depressor labii depresses or lowers lower lip.
11. (13)Mentalis elevates and protrudes lower lip and pulls skin of chin as in pouting.
12. (14)Platysma draws outer part of lower lip downward and backwards as in
    1. pouting and depresses mandible.
    2. (15)Risorius draws angle of mouth laterally as in tenseness.

• Rub hands together and place over closed eyes to spread warmth and energy to your face.
• Alternate Nostril Breathing to create a sense of balance, mental alertness and calmness.

(as in previous breathing tips)

• Hand Massage at temples with a circular motion away from each other.
• Massage with small circular motion all over the head.
• Stroke forehead with full hand from one side to the other and change hands.
• Fingertip tapping around eye contours, cheeks, lips, chin and down neck to stimulate the entire face.
• Exaggerated smile and release 3 times.
• Deep breathe in slowly and release with aah 3 times.
• Lions Pose in Yoga. This exercise stretches and stimulates every muscle of the face.
• Frown as much as possible and try to bring your eyebrows over your eyes while pulling the eyebrows towards one another then lift your eyebrows as far as possible while opening your eyes as wide as possible.
• Forehead
• Place the index fingers on the inner end of your eyebrow, pull outward and hold and then try to bring the eyebrows towards one another. Repeat 5 times and hold for 5 seconds each.
• Place fingers at hairline on the forehead and pull the hairline backwards, then try to bring the eyebrows down towards the eyes. Close eyes and hold for 5 counts.
• Sitting upright bring your eyebrows down over your eyes, wrinkle your nose as far up as possible while flaring your nostrils. Hold for 10 counts and repeat 5 times.
• Eyes
• Gently tone the muscles of the eyes by pressing 2 fingers on either side of your head, at the temples, while opening and closing your eyes rapidly. Repeat 5 times.
• Sit upright with eyes closed and relaxed. While keeping your eyes closed, look down and then look up as far as possible. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
• Sit upright with eyes closed, while remaining closed lift your eyebrows up as far as possible and stretching your eyelids down as far as possible.
• Sit upright looking straight ahead with eyes open. Look up then down, look left, look right and then cross the eyes without turning the head. Repeat 10 times
• Place 2 fingers just below the eyes on cheek bones. Contract the lower lids by pulling the lower lashes up towards the upper lashes. Keep the rest of the face relaxed. Hold for the count of 5 and repeat 3 times.
• Cheeks
• Smile while clenching your teeth together as wide as you can. Hold and repeat 3 times and then smile with the teeth separated.
• Make a snarling movement by lifting the cheeks under the eyes.
• Have a relaxed smile with your lips closed and then suck in your cheeks towards and on your teeth. Hold for 10 counts then relax and repeat 5 times.
• (You will need to look in a mirror) Pout your top lip, turning the corners of your lips upwards and move your cheek muscles to your eyes. Then try to get your top lip touching your nose hold for 10 counts relax and repeat 5 times.
• (You will need a mirror) Smile as wide as possible while keeping your lips closed and your mouth corners turned up. Try to make your mouth corners touch your ears, then wrinkle your nose and watch your cheek muscle move upwards and feel these muscles working. Keep for 5 counts then repeat 5 times.
• Make an ‘O’ shape with lips for 3 counts then pull lips against the teeth and smile for 5 counts. Repeat 5 times.
• Keeping your teeth and lips closed blow air under your top lip and keep it there for 10 counts, then move it to your left cheek hold for 10 counts, move to your lower lip hold for 10 and then to your right holding for 10. Repeat 5 times
• Lips
• Open moth wide and say ‘aarr’, then purse lips and say ‘oooo’. Alternate quickly with power up to 10 times.
• Place finger in mouth and press lips against finger, slowly remove finger while all the time pressing the lips. Hold for 5 counts and repeat 3 times.
• Say ‘Q’ and ‘X’ slowly, alternating the two with power.
• Sit upright, face forward and keep your lips closed and teeth together, smile as broadly as possible, without opening your lips, hold for 5 counts and when relaxing start puckering the lips to a pointed kiss and hold for 5 counts repeat 5 to 10 times.
• Jaw and Chin
• Jut the chin forward and then place the bottom lip over the top lip as far as possible. Press the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth and hold for 5 counts. Repeat 5 times.
• Place bottom lip over top lip, grip with teeth and then tilt the head back and smile. Hold for 5 counts and repeat 3 times.
• Tilt your head back looking at the ceiling, while keeping your lips closed begin to chew, then open your mouth and continue chewing movement with bigger movements. Repeat 10 times.
• Head facing forward continue chewing from side to side and repeat 5 times
• Neck
• Drop shoulders elongate neck. Place the bottom lip over the top lip, gripping with your teeth. Tilt the head, push the chin forward and smile. Hold for 5 counts and repeat 3 times.
• Open mouth place your hand on your chest and pull down stretching the mouth and neck further. Hold for 5 counts and repeat 3 times.
• Lift chin slightly forward and place the flat point of the first 2 fingers in the hollow of your neck. Press your back teeth together and the tip of your tongue against the inside of the lower front teeth. Increase pressure with the tip of your tongue gradually for 10 counts. Hold last position for 6 counts release and repeat 3 times.
• Drop shoulders and elongate neck tilting head back brush neck with upward motion. This is excellent to do with facial cream.
• Yoga Lions Pose is also an excellent exercise as stated before for all facial muscles to complete your facial muscle exercise routine.
• Relaxation through the beautiful Yoga Nidra again (minimum 5 minutes)

 

These are some samples how to have it all 50 and beyond and if your past 50 or more years has brought with it a mix of what life is all about, that includes all emotions from happiness, to complete sadness and grief as well as joy, beauty, family and friends and much love, some you have and some and may have lost then you are a lucky human being and life is for living and loving deeply seeing the beauty, the sadness, the joy, remaining positive and pro-active in your body and your mind.

Spoil yourself because you are really worth it.

Tell yourself “I am Fabulous” daily, see your intentions and say them, feel them and make them happen because much of what you want in life is based on mindset and intentions. Look at what you would like to happen for you, family, friends, the Universe and you can make it happen.

Enjoy your beautiful lives.

Jill Healy-Quintard