When I was in my forties I gave up eating meat and started doing yoga. Thiry years later I'm still on a plant based diet and doing yoga and I'm fit and well. I move like a younger person and I put that down to the thirty years of yoga. That's what my Substack newsletter is about. Staying younger for longer.
Thank you, Mat! My one piece of advice to someone just starting on this path? Get to know your body and treat it with respect, nurture it with nourishing food and plenty of movement and it will repay you. You will fall off the wagon sometimes and binge with whatever floats your boat but if your lifestyle is health driven on the whole, you should be repaid.
Well done Tim! As a chiropractor I have, of course, heard all of these lines a million times. It is a very fulfilling part of my job when someone starts making lifestyle changes, especially exercise, and can see the improvement right away, and from there their whole self changes. I applaud you and love that you are helping so many others by spreading your message!
Thank you so much mat. Tim's story is a great reminder to keep making suggestions to patients because the tenth time it may resonate and be the magic message, we never know!
First, your title is the most relatable thing I've ever seen 😂😂😂😂 Everyone is going to click on that one!
I have to agree HANDS DOWN on the yoga tip. I can't even describe how healing it is. I think tons of people thing yoga is a foo-foo activity but I challenge ANYONE who has never done it to try one session. You will be paralyzed lol. When I first started it years ago I couldn't believe how sore such a gentle activity made me. It works muscles you don't even know you have.
Yoga is so good for core strength and balance. And the best part is, you never need to do the most complicated, hard positions to get the benefit. I can’t pretzel myself and I don’t even try.
Kudos to you. I wish I could do yoga but with hypermobility I injure easily. My PT gave me great exercises and I do foam roll. I pack a mini foam roller on trips.
Yes to yoga! I practiced every day for years. Then in 2020 I had some stressful and traumatic stuff happen and stopped practicing. I finally got back to it last year and the difference in my body is night and day! I didn't even realize how terrible I was feeling until I kept consistent and began to feel better. There's magic in all of those down dogs and lunges!
I've always been active but I will say that aging will not allow me to sit folded in two for hours in a bus anymore without some back ache creeping up. But nothing that can't be fixed with some exercise, like you say!
Excellent post, Tim. I found this out the hard way as well. Stretching (with a Yoga fitness app) helped me feel better as well. When I fall off for a few days (weeks) I know the first step is to cut out carbs and sugar and get back on my mat.
It’s quite the cycle, isn’t it? We feel better, so we slack off and forget. And then the stiffness comes back, the symptoms come back, and we remember.
These days I just do the yoga and the meditation every day. I’ve learned that lesson too many times!
I'm with you, Tim in feeling younger than ever. Perhaps as strong and agile as I was when I was wrestling (and I'm eating much better now). I gotta try this morning routine you speak of!
Yes, afternoons and even late in the evening for the strength/resistance/cardio works best for me. But I try to move around for most of the day, so that I'm sitting less than 1% of the time. I actually just started doing some light mobility exercises and calisthenics in the mornings. A lot of the exercises are inspired by yoga. These movements certainly help me stay on task later on in the day.
When I was in my forties I gave up eating meat and started doing yoga. Thiry years later I'm still on a plant based diet and doing yoga and I'm fit and well. I move like a younger person and I put that down to the thirty years of yoga. That's what my Substack newsletter is about. Staying younger for longer.
Sounds like you’re still going strong! That’s great to hear.
Thank you, Tim!
Thank you, Mat! My one piece of advice to someone just starting on this path? Get to know your body and treat it with respect, nurture it with nourishing food and plenty of movement and it will repay you. You will fall off the wagon sometimes and binge with whatever floats your boat but if your lifestyle is health driven on the whole, you should be repaid.
Well done Tim! As a chiropractor I have, of course, heard all of these lines a million times. It is a very fulfilling part of my job when someone starts making lifestyle changes, especially exercise, and can see the improvement right away, and from there their whole self changes. I applaud you and love that you are helping so many others by spreading your message!
I’m glad to have a chiropractor weigh in on this. Thanks for the support!
Thank you so much mat. Tim's story is a great reminder to keep making suggestions to patients because the tenth time it may resonate and be the magic message, we never know!
First, your title is the most relatable thing I've ever seen 😂😂😂😂 Everyone is going to click on that one!
I have to agree HANDS DOWN on the yoga tip. I can't even describe how healing it is. I think tons of people thing yoga is a foo-foo activity but I challenge ANYONE who has never done it to try one session. You will be paralyzed lol. When I first started it years ago I couldn't believe how sore such a gentle activity made me. It works muscles you don't even know you have.
Yoga is so good for core strength and balance. And the best part is, you never need to do the most complicated, hard positions to get the benefit. I can’t pretzel myself and I don’t even try.
Yup and it's pretty good for the soul too 😊
Kudos to you. I wish I could do yoga but with hypermobility I injure easily. My PT gave me great exercises and I do foam roll. I pack a mini foam roller on trips.
Yes, everyone needs to honor their limitations. Foam rolling is a good tool though, and it does require moving around a lot!
Thx. It took me years to figure it out. It wasn’t even a doctor who diagnosed me it was gym trainer.
Do you do the shoulder stand? That was the pose I liked the best when I did yoga, thanks for the inspiration to get back into it!
I haven’t done that one in a while. But now that you brought it up, it’s happening tomorrow morning!
If you do get back into it, your body will thank you.
That’s very interesting. I’ve never thought that repetitive activities, even workout, can cause problems!
“I wanted to be a victim.
Poor me. My body hurts. Fix me. “
It’s easier to be a victim and take painkillers than to put in a bit of effort and try.
That’s for sure! But it doesn’t get you better
I just use my Hot Tub Time Machine and a rub down from @Smillew
I’ve heard stories about those rub downs
“Middle aged sack of crap.”
Had to laugh at that!
Yes to yoga! I practiced every day for years. Then in 2020 I had some stressful and traumatic stuff happen and stopped practicing. I finally got back to it last year and the difference in my body is night and day! I didn't even realize how terrible I was feeling until I kept consistent and began to feel better. There's magic in all of those down dogs and lunges!
Thanks for the comment! Yoga really does make a difference. I’m glad you got back to it.
I've always been active but I will say that aging will not allow me to sit folded in two for hours in a bus anymore without some back ache creeping up. But nothing that can't be fixed with some exercise, like you say!
Yes, the relentless damage of sitting. But I find that a daily yoga practice makes it more tolerable for the body
Thank you for writing this!!!
Excellent post, Tim. I found this out the hard way as well. Stretching (with a Yoga fitness app) helped me feel better as well. When I fall off for a few days (weeks) I know the first step is to cut out carbs and sugar and get back on my mat.
It’s quite the cycle, isn’t it? We feel better, so we slack off and forget. And then the stiffness comes back, the symptoms come back, and we remember.
These days I just do the yoga and the meditation every day. I’ve learned that lesson too many times!
Same. 😎
I'm Indian, my dad has done yoga followed by a morning walk every day for the past thirty years. 75 and he's still in pretty good shape!
That’s great to hear! We should all follow in his footsteps
Excellent title, totally got me reading!
I’m glad you liked it. I was nervous about that one for some reason
I'm with you, Tim in feeling younger than ever. Perhaps as strong and agile as I was when I was wrestling (and I'm eating much better now). I gotta try this morning routine you speak of!
Adam, yoga works a lot better for me in the morning than a hard workout. I seem to recall that you prefer the strenuous stuff for the afternoon too
Yes, afternoons and even late in the evening for the strength/resistance/cardio works best for me. But I try to move around for most of the day, so that I'm sitting less than 1% of the time. I actually just started doing some light mobility exercises and calisthenics in the mornings. A lot of the exercises are inspired by yoga. These movements certainly help me stay on task later on in the day.