UPON RISING

Successful aging is all about consciousness. If you make smart choices, you can improve most of the conditions that affect us as we get older. You can reduce pain and stiffness, increase strength and agility, improve balance, prevent falls and in general improve your quality of life. An inherent feature of those choices is becoming more aware of yourself, mind and body, and doing what is sensible to enhance well being.

Here is one of those sensible choices for those older:
Do some simple warm ups every morning and
each time you get up off the sofa.

Standing up (whether getting out of bed in the AM or when standing after sitting for a while) seems to bring out the issues of aging more than anything else. Among other things, the achiness and deterioration that presents itself as we get up makes us feel downright old. Here is just a sampling of problems I have heard of in recent years that manifest as you stand up:
  • It took one student with bone on bone arthritis of the knee 40 seconds of excruciating pain to straighten her knee each morning. After learning the knee warmup described below she was able to straighten it without pain. 
  • Another student woke up in the middle of the night and was so dizzy upon sitting up that she fell out of bed as she reached over to turn her bed stand light on. Her error was to move right away after sitting up. If you get dizzy changing positions, be still for a few moments to let the lightheadedness pass.
  • It takes my friend a long time to stand up after sitting for an extended period because his lower back stiffens and it hurts to move. ​He sat too long. If he moved around in his chair, if he did the hip warmup described below, then he could stand up effortlessly and without pain.
  • One friend fell getting out of her chair because her foot fell asleep. Never attempt to stand on your foot if it is asleep. Warm your foot using massage and foot exercise before trying to get up.
  • Each morning we get out of bed and stagger to the bathroom. Warm up before standing. Place an image in your mind of moving smoothly and gracefully as you stand and walk.

As we get older, stiffness (aka tension) replaces the fluidity of youth. With it comes inflammation unless you do something about it. Successful aging really comes down to resolving the stiffness. These simple steps really help:

  • Exercise your feet every morning.
  • If you have been sitting for a while, warm your hips up before standing up.
  • Imagine how you want your body to move before moving it.
  • Do not stand up if your foot is asleep.
  • If you get light headed after standing or sitting up, stay still till the feeling passes. 

Warm your feet up every morning: Our body has been asleep for a number of hours. During sleep, muscles and joints stiffen. When we go to put our weight on our feet it is overwhelming for the body.

Every step we take places 1.5 times our weight onto each foot. The foot itself is a delicate structure consisting of 26 bones and 33 joints. When we get up out of bed without warming up we put our muscles and especially our joints through unnecessary and severe stress. There are 2 foot exercises you should do every morning before getting up (or as soon after getting up as possible) that really help. Sit on the edge of your bed or in a nearby sturdy chair and do the ankle warm ups described below. 

Warm your hips and knees before standing when you have been sitting for a long time:

For many standing up after sitting for a while takes some time as you slowly unbend your leg and hip joints. If you have lower back trouble, this can be a painful process.
  • The real message here is that when you feel stiff getting up, it is not because you are getting older or that your back is in worse shape, it's because you sat too long.
  • Don't let yourself get that stiff to begin with. Move for at least 5 minutes out of every hour sitting. 
  • Do the hip and knee warm ups described below before standing.

What concerns me as I watch others is that when your body is not warmed up, movement becomes jerky, sudden and very stressful for joints already compromised for other reasons. The trauma of using cold joints ends up slowing recuperation and exacerbating injuries. Basically, you injure yourself by using your body cold. Dancers learn all about this and often the hard way. It really pays off to take a few moments and gently move the body before putting it under so much stress. Often it's hard to remember to do, but the benefit is well worth making that change in your behavior.

The mind works wonders with regard to our own self image.
Cultivate an image of effortless grace gliding.

As a dancer, several years ago it shocked me how ungainly I moved upon awakening. It was perhaps the first indication I had that I was getting older. So I decided to put myself on a project. Before rising, I placed an image in my mind of how I wanted to move after standing: With grace, good posture and effortless fluid motion. Guess what? It works! The mental image we have of ourselves is as powerful as any physical action. 

Nighttime warmups work too. Warming your joints and muscles before sleep and then going to sleep with an image of your body in elegant repose also affects how you rise the next morning. This is related to why it is so helpful to our own body to watch others move gracefully. The mind controls the nervous system and can instill confidence and poise in its interactions based upon what it imagines. This technique can used many ways. For instance, before retiring put an image of gratitude in your mind. Or world peace. Or deep relaxation on the beach. Another instance of how visualization is a potentially powerful process to be explored.

If your foot falls asleep, standing up is dangerous and risky.

  • Don't try to stand up when your foot is asleep.
  • Increase circulation to the foot before standing: massage the leg and foot, wiggle the toes, tap the foot on the floor like you are keeping time to music, march in place.
  • Flex and point the foot and circle the ankle as described in the Ankle Warm Up below.
  • Pay attention to your knee and hip too.

If you get dizzy:

There are many myths about aging. Most of them have to do with becoming more inactive than with getting older. But there is one thing that definitely changes with age. We get dizzier for a host of different reasons.
  • Postural hypotension (or orthostatic hypotension) is a sudden drop in blood pressure upon standing or sitting up. This is why some feel dizzy for a few moments when changing body position. It is important to stay still in the new position before moving to allow the blood pressure to return to normal and the dizziness subside. This is a common experience for those older upon rising. Do not move while you feel light headed. Be still till the feeling passes.
  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), another notable cause of dizziness, occurs when excess particles float in the inner ear canal. If you get dizzy turning your head this may be the cause. Be safe by making sure to hold onto something when you need to turn.
  • Looking up also often causes sudden dizziness. If you are older you should always also hold onto something when looking up, particularly while in your closet.

If you tend to get dizzy a lot, watch how much you move your head. One rule: do not move your head at the same time as your body. For instance, when walking, do not turn your head to look to the side (or to look at the person you are walking with).

The Fundamental Exercises:

Ankle Warm Ups: 
  • Ankle Circles: Circle your ankles 4 times in each direction. Don't let your leg move. Only the foot moves.
  • Flex and Point: Flex and point each foot 4 times. Keep your knee bent.
Knee Warm Up:
  • Seated lower leg circles: Sitting in the middle of your chair, clasp your hands under your knee and relax your lower leg. Let your lower leg swing freely as if it is a rag doll arm. Then let your lower leg gently circle 4 times in each direction. It is not the foot that is circling. It is the entire lower leg. Do the same thing on the other side.
 Hip Warm Ups:
  • Lower Back Release: Sit toward the front of your chair. Separate your legs with your knees over your ankles. Rest with your elbows on your knees. Do not drop your head. Line up the back of your head with your entire spine. Let your lower back completely relax as you keep your spine straight.
  • Torso Circles: Sitting upright, circle your torso as if it is a plank attached to the center of the chair. Focus your eyes on a fixed object to avoid dizziness. Circle in both directions.

Consciousness becomes more and more important as we age.
Becoming aware of our surroundings to avoid falls.
Using our body mindfully to avoid injury.

Helpful Links:
How to Age Well
Advice About Walking
Getting Suddenly Dizzy
Finding Structure At Home
Secrets to Successful Fitness
Heal Yourself Through Exercise
Customized Exercise Lists
Published May 10, 2020