Who’s out front, your body or your mind?

Aging gracefully

Calabasas Chiropractic doctor talks about the mental game that goes with aging.

I’m turning 50 next year.

Whaaat? 

I know, it doesn’t seem possible, but there it is. The big 5-0.

According to the “world” I should be super mature by now. Tell my brain that!

Most days I feel 25. Some days I feel as young as 19 and other days I feel as old as 35. But I never feel 50.

What is 50 supposed to feel like, anyway?

Even if I live to be 90 years old, I’m over halfway through this life. Some people slow down as they get older. Physically, the body goes through changes with age, and they’re not all happy ones.

This dichotomy of an aging body and youthful mind fascinates me. Aging is the biggest mental game around, and you determine how old you feel. Here are a few things I do to keep feeling young, even as the years march on:

• I’m silly with my kids. They help keep me young by immersing me in young music, young TV shows, and young attitudes. We all need to be silly more.
• I eat clean. Food is fuel, and my body needs the best fuel it can get. When I slip, I wake up feeling 50, and that is NOT OK.
• I drink a lot of water. Water flushes toxins and toxins make you feel old. They make you look old, too. Water is the elixir of life.
• I push my body just a little harder than it wants. Over the last few years, I lost my “fit” status. We had a lot of personal changes and exercise went away. When I started exercising again, I hurt myself by pushing too hard. Talk about feeling old! Now, I push myself in smaller increments, more frequently. I’m always a little bit sore, but I’m never a lot sore. Right now, that feels perfect!
• I am always learning. The best way to feel young is to realize how much there still is to learn about the world. Everything that I learn I try to apply to life. It has made for some fascinating and wonderful changes in the last few years!

If you also feel way younger than you are, leave me a comment, and share your secrets!