From birth we begin to age, but at a certain point in our lives we often tell ourselves and others that we “feel” this thing called age a bit more.  

There are 5 types of aging:

1. Chronological

2. Functional -ADL’s (Activities of daily living)

3. Biological

4. Psychological

5. Social 

Today we will speak to Chronological aging.  

Of course we all know what this means, each year we are reminded of our age as we celebrate our birthdays.  I do believe in the importance of celebrating each year!  Why not!  We’ve accomplished and learned so much in the past year, and it is so important to be grateful for each day we experienced between the ages.  

I can say with certainty that as I come closer to 60, I don’t “feel” older, but I feel like I’m chasing the time that I can travel and do crazy things that I can do today.  For example at 65 or 70 can I hike Croagh Patrick again? Can I ride my bike up crazy hills? As I ascend to this age, I am more convinced that chronological age has nothing to do with how fit we are, how balanced we are, or how fluid our joints are. I believe we can practice for the experiences we want to have.

When I was training for the Marathon 24 years ago, my body ached every day.  I ran, and ran, and forgot to strengthen and stretch, and mobilize my joints in different ways.  A few knee surgeries and herniated discs later, I found ways that my body really prefers to move. Just because I was 35 and much younger, maybe you, at 70, are able to still run or lift heavy weights. We can’t ever count ourselves out of the experiences we want to have just because we are “older.” 

A teacher I’ve done some yoga training with has a 79 year old client deadlifting over 100 pounds - practice 

My father was 60 years old when he climbed Mt. Renier - practice

My “oldest” pilates reformer client is 82 years old - practice

The joy of chronological age is that we learn from our mistakes, we learn from our accomplishments and we become wiser in our thoughts and experiences.