I wrote this brief and to the point article as a guest blog for the Rise Well Being Center in the Washington, DC suburbs, where I had done a mini-workshop a while ago. If you’re in the DC area, living or visiting, check them out. I’m re-issuing the article (with permission) below:
“To restore life to your life, to defeat aging, to regain the youth you still possess, get your body in motion”
— from Act Your Age, an essay by George Sheehan.
The author of that quote is right of course. If you don’t move your body the way nature intended it to move, your muscles will shrink and lose their strength, your bones will get brittle and become easy to break, and your blood will pool like a a stagnate pond. Your joints will get rusty and squeak like ancient hinges and your breathing will become shallow and weak as your lungs lose their elasticity.
But when you do move your body, and take care of yourself like nature intended, your muscles will fill out and gain strength, your bones will get stronger, and you will move with the power, fluidity and grace of a well maintained race car . . . A jungle cat on the prowl . . . A thoroughbred playing in a “horse country” pasture.
That’s what you need to come alive, feel alive and stay alive. That’s what Health, Fitness and Personal Energy is all about. That’s how you stave off chronic illness and stay independent as you get older. That’s how you awaken the Fountain of Youth within you and energize the Flow of Life.
So, whether it’s yoga, dance, pilates, weights, running, walking, or whatever your choice of movement may be, you must get your body in motion.
Your well-being depends on it.
Thank you for reading.
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Bob McMillan is a Senior Fitness Specialist (NASD), blogger and workshop leader. He is a strong voice for Seniors in the area of Health, Fitness and Personal Energy.