NOW I KNOW WHY WE DON'T
Several unique factors work together to project misunderstandings about health and movement.
- I remember once speaking with a friend a number of years ago about how if you practice yoga, structured meditation and ate properly that you would lead a happy life. My friend was not impressed. Unfortunately he has in recent years needed several joint replacements. He has lost height noticeably too.
- Every time I visit a senior residence I see lots of older people who obviously need exercise judging by the difficulty they have getting around. Yet most refuse to take part in the wonderful classes that are often available to them right in their own home.
- According to statistics, 80% of US adults and children do not get enough exercise for optimal health. In my personal experience I would say that about 90% of elders are inactive.
- The fear of falling is now a recognized medical diagnosis. Falls are easy to prevent. The reasons they aren't prevented are numerous, but the biggest reason is probably that an inactive lifestyle increases fall risk substantially. If people are so afraid of falling why is it that they don't do the one thing that can significantly help them?
- Almost all of the conditions we face as we age are immensely helped with exercise. Our lives would be so much better if we would. Pain would be greatly reduced, chronic illnesses limited or eliminated, depression lifted. Yet we don't take the advice to exercise regularly even though is recommended by so many experts and verified by so much research.
Delayed reactions cause us to misinterpret being inactive.
Feeling the harm of being inactive is delayed.
Feeling the benefit of exercising is also delayed.
- The effects of inactivity are extremely bad for physical and mental health and wellbeing. Sitting on the sofa for an hour watching TV without moving is really harmful for the body.
- YET, sitting on the sofa for an hour watching TV without moving feels just fine at the time. In fact, it often feels great! After a while I feel like a slug and have less and less energy to do anything, but for the most part it feels like being on vacation.
- We don't realize that it is bad for us till we go to stand up. Then it is often hard and maybe even painful to straighten our spine, legs and hips. We are stiff.
- BUT we ascribe our stiffness to getting old instead of blaming what caused it, sitting too long.
- We misinterpret the dangerous activity (immobility) as instead a pleasant experience (resting) and of course we don't want to change, even though we may know it is best for us if we do.
- Add to this that exercise requires effort, can feel unpleasant at times and that our natural inclination is to procrastinate even when we know we shouldn't. It doesn't feel right to exercise. And it frequently does not feel right until we have gone through the effort of establishing and practicing a consistent routine.
- This delay of the consequences of inaction as well as the delay in experiencing the benefits of exercise make it even more necessary for us to use mind over matter.
Expect that you will not want to.
Do it regardless, especially if you do not want to.
In my experience it takes 3 weeks for the body to get used to something new. Until then it may not feel great. But once you are in the rhythm of activity, it becomes one of the most enjoyable experiences in life. Persevere till you get to that point.
Time spent exercising does not really matter. A 10 minute routine that you do 3 times a day is as wonderful as 30 minutes every day. In some ways it is actually better.
We can take small steps to improve in many different ways. We can improve strength, flexibility and balance. It all comes up to what choices we make. We choose our own path. Choose to put improved health through exercise on yours.
The Building Better Balance system was developed to help you navigate through the aging process. Learning about the things we have to deal with gives us an extra layer of understanding which in turn improves the effectiveness of exercise so significantly.