We have all heard that we should strive for balance in our life.  Balance requires adequate sleep, food, movement, play, and acts of self-care.  Most of us are lucky if we get 3 of those in one day.  Lack of daily balance interferes with thinking, makes ideal weight almost impossible, and leads to anxiety, depression, and frustration. Most importantly, it decreases chances to succeed.  Burnout was very recently made an official medical diagnosis, and it’s caused by a lack of daily balance.  It is a proven result with medical consequences from living an out of balanced life.

My cat, Bumbles, proves that balance works every day.  Bumbles was born in my home, so I’ve really seen him put this into action, which has given me far greater appreciation for the balance in my life that I strive for.

1. Breakfast is first. This is Bumbles’ highest priority until it’s done.  He tickles my face with his whiskers if I try to sleep later with the intent of skipping it.  Eating a healthy breakfast prepares me for my day, prevents that afternoon slump, and tends to make my portion sizes smaller during all my daily meals and snacks.

2. Meditation is Bumbles’ favorite in the morning, and a powerful form of self-care. As soon as he hears me pulling out the headphones to listen to Deepak, Bumbles is in position.  He can So Hum it with the best of them.  His present moment awareness has been achieved.  Taking the time to calm my mind, become aware of the present moment, and allowing my brain to take a break from overthinking is a centering force that follows me through the day.  When I’m working throughout the day, the only moment that matters is this one.  It’s proven to be the best way to get things done quickly and easily.  If I’m thinking about what’s next, I’m not paying attention to what I’m supposed to be focusing on now.

3. Then it’s time for work. He reigns over his kingdom, making sure nothing has changed overnight, and is sure to bap a few of his friends over the head along the way.  He is also an aeronautical enthusiast that watches every bird that flies anywhere near the house with absolute fascination.  I start work each day with enthusiasm and expectation and allow items to flow naturally without a sense of intense pressure or overwhelm.

4. He breaks for lunch and a short nap. There are numerous studies that show taking a short 20 to 30-minute nap in the middle of the day if you are tired can be extremely beneficial.  In our work-obsessed world, we often judge ourselves as being lazy or not doing what we are supposed to be doing if we allow ourselves to rest, but appropriate rest is essential to normal body function. Even taking a short walk outside can be the slight break that makes the rest of the day much more beneficial.

5. Exercise… Bumbles loves to play fetch with super balls. He does about 3-5 high intensity chase and retrieves drills.  He then does rope climbs, ramp runs, and several roll over on his back maneuvers.  This is followed by a healthy dinner.  Exercise does not have to be done in a gym.  It’s convenient if that is the location you prefer, but exercise can be done in your living room, hotel room, in the back yard, through your neighborhood.  Exercise can be done anywhere.  If you need ideas, I am here to provide them.

6. Just chilling…  Bumbles watches tv. He has a couch right next to it, and he especially likes it when Ellen dances.  He limits it to about an hour though, because its treat time.  We all need downtime, where we have left the cares of the day behind to be begun again tomorrow.  It can be sitting and watching a beautiful sunset or meeting with friends.  Having quiet time and play time during our day is essential for mental well-being.

7. Bumbles finishes his busy day spending time with friends, little man face scratches, and cuddling time with me. A normal bedtime routine reduces insomnia, promotes better quality sleep, and sets you up for a great morning.  It’s best to strive to go to bed at the same time every night to even further the benefits of regular sleep.

And then it’s on to tomorrow.

Bumbles is happy, calm, at a normal weight, healthy, and just really happy to be King Bumbles.  He’s achieved success at work, at meals, at present moment awareness, at play, at relaxation, and most definitely at rest.  We could all learn a bit from Bumbles.   I, as his human, have achieved the same results by following his plan.  If your life is currently out of balance, and it’s impacting your life, weight, or health, then try starting with just one of the missing components.  Ease it into your life in an enjoyable way until it becomes routine, and then move on to the next.  Lack of balance didn’t happen overnight.  Burnout and lack of balance are usually due to a lifetime of small habits adding up.  Give yourself the time to regain balance. My recommendation…. just start with awareness.

Reprinted with permission from Heather Clawson, MD.

Dr. Heather Clawson is a nonclinical physician with a strong background in fitness, both before and after her medical training.  She has the unique ability to take medical issues, convert them into fitness terms, and then deliver that information in an easy to understand way for the person in front of her. She’s been involved in fitness for almost her entire life, and she has extensive ICU experience, but she has chosen to use her medical knowledge on the other side of medicine — before a person becomes a chart, labs, and a room number. Visit her blog, heatherclawsonmdblog.com

I am not referring to the still life of the 17^th century, a tradition that originated with Dutch painters and spread throughout Europe, where often there was a religious dimension.^[1] I am also not referring to still in the sense that Don Henley encapsulates in his 1994 song, “Learn to Be Still.”  Nor am I insinuating an exploration of the archaic use of still that suggests sedentariness. Quite the opposite, although closely connected to the latter.

It’s 5 a.m. I am seated in a plush black leather chair situated in the corner of a soft-red lighted area of our home designed as a small bistro. The Baja-blue ceramic tea pot is on the stove and I am reading the New York Times. A headline captures my immediate attention: “Lifeguards for Life (Or as Long as Possible).”^[2] In a 1,122 word story covering lifeguards who are greater than 60 years of age, the word “still” was used 5 times. That is, every 224^th word of the story is “still.” My feelings of calm and delight suddenly mix with this internal emblazoned visceral change that underwent chemical synthesis and became a substance fueling the writing this article. I am perplexed at the use of the word still when describing people who are greater than 60 and the daily activities in which they may be involved.

Although well intentioned, selection of the word still is a curious linguistic choice.  This particular article did a beautiful representation of using two-polar opposite definitions of this word: one suggesting change and the other stagnation. On the one hand “still” suggests the possibility of change. A growing or morphing into a larger state than at present. For example, there was reference in the article to the late 1950s when “surfing was still in its infancy on the East Coast.” Now, in 2017, from Kennsington Cove off the coast of Nova Scotia to South Beach, Florida, one can surf up and down the East coast and find plenty of other surfers amidst the waves. Thus, in this case, still implies growth.

Then there’s another use of still when referring to an unchanging situation. The vernacular appeal of using still as a compliment is readily apparent. As in describing Mr. Labert, “One of the oldest active lifeguards – the kind who still dash into the surf to rescue swimmers.” However, his livelihood or successes, as he ages, are redefined in terms of stagnation. Continuing to do the same activities. Use of still in this sense implies accomplishment sans change. Other elderly lifeguards are “still ocean-certified” and “still kept watch.” Still can be likened to a lexiconic hologram: it appears one way from one direction, change your position (or age) and your perspective changes, or the image changes. Faced with a continuum of age from congratulations to offense to oppressive to objectification, our language lends itself to prescribing a limiting condition: “the tyranny of still.”^[3]

Some of us will reach, or have reached, an age where marks of success shift from change to stagnation. We could call this the still life. I still live alone. I still drive. I still eat by myself. I still bathroom by myself. While these are not necessarily accomplishments or accolades to be proclaimed at achieving in one’s thirties or forties or fifties, there is that pivotal age when some of the smallest tasks become trophy winning moments. These triumphs are often treated as moments to be captured on camera and lived and relived, with bystanders singing praises such as, “Yay. You are still using a fork.” A comment actually made to a hundred-year-old woman, to which she responded, “Dignity doesn’t age.”

Embedded in these still comments, intended to be compliments, are platitudes served on silver platters. Sure, they appear nice and clean and friendly, yet under the shiny shellacked surface is a sharp jab. What are we saying when we say someone is still capable of completing activities of daily living? Perhaps a round of applause that they are seemingly independent. Why then is inter dependence not congratulated?  As a species is there truly anyone who is fully independent? We all rely on someone to some extent. Taking a look across the life span, we can see a continual push to be independent. If we say, “She’s 47 and she still lives alone,” then this begs questions of “What’s wrong with her?” or simply, “Why?” However, the script and responses are very different if we say, “She’s 97 and she still lives alone.” Often, the question then becomes, “Oh, what is she doing right?” With an implied, “If I take similar measures then I too will live to be that age and be active.”

Perhaps there are more connections between the still life of the 17^th century and use of the word still as we age, than is apparent on the surface. Just as with some Dutch painters in the 1600s conveying religious messages, some research suggests we become more religious as we age. Perhaps the use of still is a way of separating the worlds, between the doers and not-doings. If we are still doing something, then we are not dead. If we are still doing, then we are relevant. A good many people desire to be relevant and alive. And one can be both, without adding still into the game. Still relevant and still alive. No. Relevant and alive.

Adrienne Ione is a cognitive behavioral therapist and personal trainer who integrates these fields in support of people thriving across the lifespan. As a pro-aging advocate, she specializes in the self-compassion of dementia.

Website: yes2aging.com
Guided Meditations: insighttimer.com/adrienneIone
Facebook: silverliningsintegrativehealth

References

[1] Vincent Pomarède and Erich Lessing (Nov. 2011) The Louvre: All the Paintings.

[2] Corey Kilgannon. (July 16, 2017). “Lifeguards for Life (Or as Long as Possible).” New York Times.

[3] Bill Thomas (2015). Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life.

Technology really has changed our lives for the better – and for the worse. The implications of our emerging and overwhelmingly sedentary lifestyle are now only beginning to become apparent to us as we see the obesity crisis emerging as the first “real” medical and health emergency of our time. The long term consequences of this evolving – and expanding – process will be a challenge that we will ALL be affected by on some level in the years ahead. Diminished life expectancy and quality of life, the increasing numbers of people who will suffer from a wide variety of preventable chronic diseases, and finally, the premature loss of life WILL be significant if we can’t find a “way out” of this complex predicament.

Being physically active was always a part of our societal makeup in the first two hundred years of our history due to the nature of work and the lives we had to lead just trying to survive in a world without conveniences and support networks that eventually came into being in the second half of the 20^th century. In the last twenty years of my lifetime, the world has turned into the “sitting of America”. What are the underlying problems we will be facing and how can we address them in order to effectively solve them? That is the question, isn’t it? The answers will emerge over time in the “dialogue” that WILL eventually occur among the parties that CAN help bring about permanent and positive change to people’s lives. Part of the answer lies with each of us in the fitness profession. We MUST define for ourselves how to “translate” what we love into “doable” solutions for those we train and teach. We have to become the change “we wish to see in the world” – one person at a time.

Discussion

The world is complicated by different and opposing points of view. The “post Bush years” have shown us conflict and anger on levels never before seen in our political discourse. We now call it “gridlock” and throw up our hands at the very mention of healthcare and reform. The truth is that approximately 80 million people born into the “baby boomer” generation will be reaching 60 years of age (including my daughter who was born in 1971) in the two decades ahead.

I see the need to have community based “conversations” about the delivery of healthcare to people and how to make it affordable and accessible – and most importantly – understandable. I became a personal trainer in 1990 with my first client and during the period of 1988 to 2011 I did NOT have health insurance because I couldn’t afford it due to the nature of my uncertain and fluctuating income – AND the cost for coverage for those over forty.

I never made a “comfortable” living as a trainer because I was always struggling to build my client base, which as we all know, tends to expand and shrink depending upon a wide range of variables including the state of the economy (and jobs), people’s motivation to hire a trainer, personal finances, and other related challenges. I was in my mid forties by the time I transitioned to the fitness profession and was already “old” and a part of the higher risk age groups that tend to pay significant percentages of their income to cover their health insurance costs. I am NOT informed – even today – as to what I will do in the future regarding this issue even though I now have Medicare and a companion program through Blue Shield to help cover me in the event something unexpected happens to me.  I am now covered by health insurance and relatively well informed on health and fitness issues and that still DOES NOT qualify me to be a primary resource for solving this problem. However, I WILL make it my business to be a “part of the solution” and this time I am counting on the fitness profession to NOT be an “afterthought” in the discussion! How does that sound to you? It will take, as Hilary Clinton said a while ago in one of her books, “a village” to tackle this massive challenge.

Conclusion

In my book, I describe (what I BELIEVE will work) a concept whereby we bring the “major players” to the table in order to “seize the moment” and save lives in the process. First, we ALL have to agree that it is NOT OK to just “let people die” because they lack health insurance. Second, we have to agree that prevention means MORE than “testing” for diseases and that learning to make better choices (and establishing new priorities) in our daily lives, becoming conscious of our challenges, and FINALLY taking responsibility for all of them is CRITICAL. Third, we have to understand the MAIN ISSUE to be handled WILL be about MONEY (and how to pay for medical services) and we will have to always remember that lives will be at stake with whatever we decide. Fourth, it will take a “cooperative effort” on all our parts – and compromise – among the major “players” (the insurance industry, medical profession, government at ALL levels, the pharmaceutical industry, business and corporate America, health related non-profit agencies, and finally, each of us in our own communities) to decide what it is we are going to do “to fix the system” so that it works for ALL of us – not just a few of us.

My health insurance program over the past 45 years has been my exercise, fitness, and running program – even when I was covered at work during my corporate years. In the intervening years from college to the present time, I have NEVER been in the “system” because I stayed healthy. I am the EXCEPTION – not the rule. What do we DO with all the aging people who aren’t like us – or me – when the time comes to treat them for “whatever ails them”? This is the BIG question we will be facing in the years ahead as we age and I AM betting on my approach with HEALTHY AGING as being one of the KEY components of the solution! Will YOU commit yourself to this journey with me today? NOW is the time and THIS is the place! We ARE the ones who truly CAN make a difference – and save lives in the process!

Reprinted with permission from Nicholas Prukop.

Nicholas Prukop is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer & a Health Coach and fitness professional with over 25 years of experience. His passion for health and fitness comes from his boyhood in Hawaii, where he grew up a swimmer on Maui. He found his calling in writing his first book “Healthy Aging & You: Your Journey to Becoming Happy, Healthy & Fit” and since then he has dedicated himself to empowering, inspiring and enabling people of all ages to reach for the best that is within them and become who they are meant to be – happy, healthy and fit – and be a part of a world where each person can contribute their own unique gifts to life.

Did you ever think after your vacation you’d come back a transformed person?

When my husband and I returned home from our vacation last month, I noticed, other than the obvious feelings of content and relaxation, my clothes felt looser and I felt recharged. No challenge was too big. A bit grandiose, I know.  However, it was short-lived, except I kept the weight off, and refrained from consuming caffeine and sugar. Around the time I had finished three loads of wash, I felt practically back to normal. Time fades. I still felt reinvigorated, but the shift towards normalcy was advancing.

Vacations are supposed to be about creating balance in our lives. Who am I, what is my purpose and why do I do what I do? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but at 61, I have more than I did at 16. I know that a timeout and real rest is healthy for the soul. It is not so important whether you take a trip or not, as long as there is some form of escape.

In the meantime, I plan to seek some form of meditation I can stay committed to (no luck so far). I have returned to work, continue to read my business journals, and create fun and educational videos for my friends and clients. I am doing the best job I can.  So for now, since none of my favorite TV shows are on, I may even pick up another novel to read.

Prepare yourself for the things that matter and have fun when you can.

Reprinted with permission from Lori Michiel. Read more from Lori at her website, lorimichielfitness.com

Lori Michiel NASM-CPT is the owner of Lori Michiel Fitness. She is a trainer, teacher and passionate advocate for fitness. I specialize in helping active adults and seniors fulfill their physical potential and experience the joy of being healthier and more active in their lives.