Author: Bob McMillan

Circulation means movement. Air circulates. Fluid circulates. People circulate. My online dictionary says it means:

• Move through a space, circuit or system, returning to a starting point.
• Cause to be widely known
• Cause to be distributed.

The second and third definitions are what happens when a newspaper is in circulation. We often say that a newspaper or a magazine has a “circulation” of “X” numbers of people. Or the newspaper has a “wide circulation”.

The second is sort of like Social Media. Your message circulates through Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.

It’s the first definition that really relates to the physical body. Our blood circulates throughout our body starting with and returning to the heart. The air circulates through our body, starting out as oxygen and returning as carbon dioxide, carried both ways in the bloodstream and starting as we inhale air into the lungs. The cardio-vascular system is also known colloquially as our “circulatory system”.

As long as blood and air are in motion, we live. When they stop, we die. We cannot live without either. When we exercise, we tend to speed up the circulatory process. Our heart rate increases with exercise; our breathing increases with exercise — both providing fuel to provide energy for the body.

Our digestive system fits the third definition. It’s a method of taking in fuel, distributing it to the body, getting the fuel to the cells through the bloodstream, and then eliminating the leftovers.

Movement of air and water provide a “cleaning” system outside the body, too. When air is moving, it is self-cleaning. I’ve read that a ceiling fan filters air better than the air filter in your home heating and cooling system. Wind helps clean the air in the atmosphere. I have read many different accounts of how fast the air needs to move to clean it, and a slowly rotating ceiling fan or table top fan seem to fulfill the requirement.

Much the same is true of water. Before our municipal water purification systems were developed, water flowing over rocks was considered the best way to clean it. Stagnate water pools and is self-polluting. Moving water acts as its own filter, particularly when moving over rock and stone. This is not an essay on water quality, it’s meant to show how flowing water is self-cleaning (but only up to a point, and depending upon what we dump into our natural water resources).

The point of all this is that circulation cleans and purifies. Circulation is life! Stagnation allows an environment where disease and other problems can originate and fester.

The more you move, the more air and fluids circulate through your body and the less susceptible you are to disease — not disease free, just less susceptible.

I didn’t mention lymph in the above. That’s a topic for a separate article. Nor did I mention that the entire body is a series of different size “tubes” allowing for circulation of different fluids and other substances throughout the body to keep it active and alive.

If you can think of your body as a series of tubes, then you will realize that keeping these tubes clean and clear so fluids, nutrients and waste can circulate and be absorbed by the your cells, or eliminated, then you will understand why plentiful exercise, good breathing patterns, and non-artery clogging food will feed and cleanse your body and keep you healthy.

Thank you for reading.

I wrote the original of this article four years ago and thought it would be good to bring it back when I was reminded recently about the energizing power of other people. It’s updated and edited.

Have you ever noticed how some people radiate positive energy? Others don’t. In fact some seem to dim a room with negative energy. There are people who can fill a space with light and there are people who can drain the light before it has a chance to shine. Who do you prefer being in the room with? You can almost feel the energy in your body change when you’re around these positive people.  Stop for a moment and think. How many people of the former do you know and hang around with. Don’t they also generate positive energy in you?

And when you are around sullen, withdrawn, and negative people, does that tend to rub off a little on you too – and put you in a bit of an attitude of “annoyance” as well? That may be a bit judgmental but that also seems to be the way it is.

Sometimes groups of people can keep you active and energized. According to Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, being part of a harmonious group of like-minded people can contribute to a longer life. He cites as an example, the small intimate groups of Okinawan seniors who get together for conversation and tea. These are simply intimate groups of like-minded people who join together for group activities. They don’t include toxic people in their group. They don’t necessarily discriminate, they just mingle with those they have an affinity with.  Okinawa was one of the areas Buettner cited as having the most people who are over one hundred years old, and he suggests that being a part of small intimate groups is part of the recipe for active longevity.

My wife just returned from an annual trip where a group of her college roommates and friends, five or six of them spent a week swapping stories and going shopping and generally having a great time in one another’s company.  Some of them are in their mid-seventies and some are younger.  They have been getting together for years in different locations, just for the sake of getting together, and will probably continue until there are none left.  They all energize one another and feed off each other’s vitality.

Can you change other people from negative and toxic to happy, positive and enthusiastic about life. That’s not a topic for this post, but it is something to think about.

Positive people aren’t always happy, and negative people can become happy. We are all different as individuals, and as individuals, we can be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, changing back and forth between the two at different times. But this generally passes, and our individual personalities show through most of the time.

Can people can change themselves through individual lifestyle changes? Studies have shown that when a person develops habits of exercise, good food and the other attributes of good health, they tend to happier and enjoy life more. Is that true in all cases? Of course not.  That should be reason enough on its own to exercise and stay away from eating junk.

So, what’s the takeaway here? Chances are, if the evidence is correct, that you’ll live a happier and longer life when you associate with like-minded people who energize you and avoid the negative and toxic people who drain the energy from you.  Obviously, you can’t totally stay away from the grouches, but studies seem to show you’ll be happier and live longer when you do.

Thank you for reading.

Control of your legs is critical to your movement, balance and stability as you get older. Since your legs are often the “first to go”, you must strengthen them and  learn to CONTROL their movement.

Why? Both leg strength and agility are necessary to stay upright without support as we get older, and to be able to avert serious injury in the event of a fall.

As we get older our leg strength declines, we slow down, and we don’t move as nimbly as we once could. So, we have to compensate by rebuilding our leg strength and doing some simple “footwork” movements to keep us agile.

 My dictionary defines Agility as quickness and ease of movement; nimble; spry, implying rapidity and lightness of movement. “Quickness implies rapidity and promptness. Spry suggests nimble or alacrity, especially as displayed by vigorous elderly people.” Hmm.

The NASM Personal Training Manual says, “Agility is the ability to start, stop and change direction quickly, while attaining proper posture.” It goes on to say that “agility training can also help to prevent injury by ‘enhancing the body’s ability to effectively control eccentric forces in all planes of motion as well as by improving the structural integrity of the connective tissue.’ ” Got that?

In less technical terms, that means to help catch yourself with your legs if you start to fall, no matter in which direction.

How do you, as an older person, become agile and quick? How do you increase strength and control to your legs?

For leg strength, simple squatting exercises are best, either with or without weights. I’ve written about that several times recently and won’t repeat it here.

For leg control, I suggest things like simple Jumping Jacks and “skipping”. Jumping Jacks? Skipping? You’re kidding, right.

Not really. Most seniors not used to physical movement may find it difficult to do the Jumping Jacks at first, yet after a few tries, they become easier. But Jumping Jacks are one of the best single movement patterns you can do to keep springiness and resiliency in your legs. Your arms, legs and the entire body, including the lungs, blood, and lymph systems respond to the simple up and down bouncing movements of that exercise.

The good thing is that they can be done with nearly straight legs (slight flex) and minimal “bouncing”, and if you do the movement gently, will have minimal impact on your knees. And if you want, you can do them with your arms by your sides with much the same benefit for your legs.

And did I really suggest skipping? Yes, really. One of the original boot camp style fitness programs in the country started here in the Washington, DC area. When I first got into fitness as a sideline in my early sixties, I did some work for the company and participated as well. And yes, one of  the exercises was skipping. There we were, fifteen or twenty men and women, skipping and bouncing down one of the most affluent streets in the DC suburbs at six AM every weekday morning, waking the neighbors with military style cadence calls. Skipping teaches you leg control, agility and balance.

A friend of mine is an avid skier in his early seventies. He can be found skipping down the passageways of the gym in the mornings to help him keep his legs strong and agile for his skiing trips. You don’t need long corridors, you can skip in place in your bedroom and nobody will see you.

The goal of doing squats, Jumping Jacks and skipping is to develop agility through strength, spring, resilience and elastic recoil energy in your legs. They provide you with another tool to help stop a fall and prevent injury. They will also help you move more quickly and easier and may be a longevity factor as well.

Thank you for reading.