A REMEDY AGAINST OLD AGE

I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.

Francis Bacon

Does one exist? How can one arrest this crippling storm of minor ailments, frailty, apathy and memory loss?  Can you recapture that cheerful, alert and easygoing attitude you enjoyed when you were twenty despite all the stress, sorrows, and losses?

Well, that level of hormones and those vivid neurophysiologic responses are unlikely to return. On the other hand, do not you, like a lot of people, sometimes feel a surge of energy and optimism like a young boy? Do you not sometimes wonder at a mature woman exiting a car with the ease and elegance of a young girl?

Visible signs of youth

The condition of muscles and joints reflects the condition of the immune system and the hormonal system.

Why do some people feel and look so youthful? What are the signs indicating old age? First of all, we are talking about posture and the mobility of joints. A stooping young man who groans as he ties his shoelaces, limps, and slowly negotiates the stairway will inevitably look much older than his age. At the same time, an elderly person who easily rises from his chair and elegantly puts his coat on would attract excited looks from everyone.  How do we judge? We know nothing about the hormonal level of these persons or their genetic makeup.

Nevertheless, our impressions based only on their mobility seem appropriate, since the condition of muscles and joints reflects the overall condition of the body and the functional level of the nervous, immune and hormonal systems.

Young people enjoy strong muscles and flexible joints that are supported by a high hormone level and good blood circulation.  This distribution of roles, however, changes with age when healthy muscles and flexible joints supply energy to the nervous system, support blood circulation, and sustain intensive metabolism that keeps our withering hormonal system afloat.

Many celebrities never lose their good physical shape with age due to professional training. Maya Plisetskaya continued dancing at the Bolshoi until the age of 65. Charlie Chaplin made his last screen appearance at 78. Mick Jagger, who is 73, and the rest of The Rolling Stones are still captivating huge audiences.  Such people also manage to retain clear thinking, energy, and a capacity for precise reactions. I’m sure you can find similar qualities in those older friends of yours who may not be as famous but who can still move in a relaxed and elegant manner.

 Defeating decrepitude

Jeanne Louise Calment (1875 - 1997) had the longest confirmed human lifespan on record, living to the age of 122 years. At age 85 she took up fencing and continued to ride her bicycle up until her 100th birthday.

How can we fight frailty and helplessness that are besieging us on all fronts? Well, we should first realize that muscle and joint health is not just something you need for shopping going out, or generally moving with ease. It is a universal remedy against old age ambushing and attacking us subtly yet relentlessly from the age of 30 or 40.

Muscles receive nutrition and grow only when they work, in full accordance with Paul the Apostle’s “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

As Paul the Apostle taught, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” This applies perfectly to our body: our muscles receive nutrition and grow only when they work. To move easily and smoothly, joints must be surrounded by strong and elastic muscles, not the passive, undernourished, and oxygen-hungry muscle tissue that burdens the joints and causes their early wear and tear. This is why exercising your muscles improves the flexibility of your joints and makes you feel younger. You may call it the elixir of youth.

Key “obscure” muscles

These observations refer primarily to the muscles few people have even heard of.  These are not the bicepses, tricepses, or gluteal muscles. We are talking of the so-called skeletal or core muscles located around the spine that support our skeletal framework. An elderly man with strong core muscles can easily jump off his chair and stroll around like a youth, while weak core muscles may make a teenage girl look like a sad little old lady. Regular visits to the gym are not enough to support these muscles. Moreover, excessive weight lifting and obsession with long-distance running may even hurt them and cause an early arrival of ailments and old age.

To maintain and strengthen the skeletal muscles that are vital to your body you need special types of exercise and sometimes a special therapy called reflex neuromuscular relaxation.  This amazingly simple and powerful traditional healing method may become a godsend for someone who is serious about thwarting the advent of old age and dares to return to his or her youth.