Month: August 2024

Originally posted at: Melissa Gorga’s Pink Flower Dress at the Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 Sit Down

I am not a campaigner. I don’t have the right personality. But there is one issue I would love to see others campaign on – the word ‘old’.

No one will say ‘old’ about themselves or their friends. They will say ‘older’ or ‘senior’ or ‘elder’ or any number of other words, but they avoid the word ‘old’ like the plague.

The word frightens people. They immediately think of being frail and unhealthy – indeed, just about to die.

But if we set age 60 or 65 as the beginning of ‘old’, most people are none of these things at that point. They have many years to go.

And there are many people much older than this – in their 80s and 90s who are also very healthy. And active. And doing very well, thank you.

Now, we can carry on tiptoeing around the word ‘old’ and accept this is the natural way of things – or we could set out to reclaim it for ourselves.

Black Is Beautiful

Many of us are old enough to remember when some daring people of Afro-Caribbean descent chose to reclaim the word ‘Black’.

They coined the phrase “Black is beautiful” and encouraged its use. And it brought a real pride into the Black community, as far as I could see.

In my parents’ day, the word was completely derogatory. Indeed, my father said he found it difficult to use the word in the 1960s because it seemed so wrong.

Yet some keen people turned it around.

Black became beautiful and the ‘mot du jour’.

Old Is Beautiful, Too

We old people need to do something similar. We need to feel good about ourselves.

OK, we can’t do a lot of the things we used to do – certainly not with the same style or speed. Our memories let us down more often than we care to mention, and our energy is sometimes not what we would like.

And, certainly, we don’t look like smooth young things.

But does this matter in the least? We have so much to give. So much confidence to share with younger women. So much joy to give to our grandchildren.

Dare I say it, perhaps – just sometimes – old is beautiful.

Indeed, as my husband and I watch one after another young (or artificially ‘young’) newscaster on the television – not a wrinkle in sight, not a hair out of place – we groan.

And then some woman pundit who shows she has lived a bit comes on and he says “mmm…. the older women are so much sexier.”

Keep Politics Out of It

Of course, ‘old’ has been in the news a lot recently, with all the old cliches trundled out for all to see. Old equals frail. Old equals past it. Old equals inability to think.

But this is not the place for politics of any kind, so just forget all that.

I Like Being Old

I am the most outrageous of them all. I actually like being old. I like it so much I have written a whole book about it.

I like the way I feel comfortable with myself. I feel comfortable being myself, which is different from you, you and you. I do it my way, and I know that is fine. Not so easily when I was younger.

I like the confidence. It allows me to write outrageous things. It allows me to talk to strangers and smile at people I don’t know.

And if that isn’t enough, I love being a grandmother. I loved being a mother – of course I did – but there was so much angst involved at the same time. Did I say the right thing? Did I do the right thing? Have I messed them up?

None of that with being a grandmother. Just a lot of love on both sides. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

So, let’s be proud of being old. Let’s shout it from the rooftops.

HOORAY FOR OLD PEOPLE!!!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How do you feel about being old? How do you feel about the word old? Would you like to be proud to be part of a movement to reclaim the word?

I start most of my private clients with 10 minutes of breath awareness. It’s amazing that we breathe automatically. What is not automatic is how our body changes shape to accommodate the pressure and volume change in our torso.

Please watch the video above and follow along with me as I guide you through this process. You’ll discover where you easily change shape in your body when you breathe. Through this work, you’ll see how to optimize your breath for exercise. We’ll also explore how your exhale can help you find your reflexive core.

Core and Leg Work in a Chair

Let’s grab your towel and hold it around your knees. You may use a strap as an alternative. We will practice using our arms to create tension in the towel and sit up just a little taller. Can you bend your elbows as you pull on the towel?

Now do a small hip hinge forward. Then return to upright. Remember that a hip hinge is when your entire torso travels as one piece, forward and down. Your spine will not change shape.

Move Your Legs

Using your hands, you can then guide your legs into various movements. For example, your hands can guide your legs into circular motion which involves both your hips and your ankles. With your hands’ assistance, you can move your legs in and out and side to side.

Leg Extension

Flex your right foot, bringing your toes toward your head. Then gently slide your right heel along the floor to straighten your leg. Can you do this without losing your centered posture with equal weight on each sitting bone?

Now exhale, and envision a marble travelling from your pubic bone to your belly button. Does this help you stabilize your pelvis? You can hold the side of the chair to help keep your pelvis centered.

Now do the same thing on your left side. Repeat this exercise six times on each side.

Lunge on a Chair 

To do a lunge while using a chair for support, tuck your tail a bit in order to help you get your pelvis in neutral. Squeeze your glutes a bit and press down through your feet as if you were going to stand or hover off the chair.

This activation is enough to get your muscles working – you do not need to hover unless you are feeling adventurous today!

You’ll come back to this step and do the left side after you do Activation, and Hip Flexion.

Activation

Can you reach your hands to the sides of your knees without flexing your spine? If not, try a little hip hinge to help you get to that position. Hold your hands on the outside of your knees. Press your hands into your thighs and your thighs into your hands. This is an isometric hold and is a great way to build strength and stability.

Hip Flexion

Try lifting your knee to touch your hand as your hand comes toward your knee. This strengthens your hip flexors. Alternate tapping your hands to each knee or thigh in turn. Repeat 6 to 8 times on each side.

Lunge on the Left Side

Repeat your lunge, on the left side. Then follow with seated hip hinge, five times.

Final Adventure

Let’s hinge forward and use an exhale with the marble travelling up and behind our belly button and see if we can use our bum as an elevator and hover just a bit off the chair. You can steady yourself with your arms on the chair, but ideally you will follow me in the video and hold your arms out in front of you.

Take a moment at the end to move your arms and legs and come back to notice your breathing.

I hope you enjoyed this lower body work from your chair. If you are interested in standing work, you can join my Facebook Community, Osteoporosis Movement Community, or browse my YouTube Channel.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you tried chair movements before? What effect have you noticed on your joints and their range of motion? Have you done any of the exercises in this video? Please share in the comment box below!