Age in Motion No 6

29 May 2015

 

Apart from still adapting to the load shedding here in South Africa, and seriously creating new lifestyle habits, I have come across another little ‘jewel’ about Age in Motion and doing it wonderfully!

I re-discovered some information about Constantin Stanislavski in the early 1900’s. Fascinating. It holds value for us who want to AGE in MOTION and keep our bodies healthy and mobile! Stanislavski was an early 20^th Century Russian Actor, Director and TEACHER of actors. Apart from belonging to the prestigious Moscow Arts Theatre during the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, He was a superb actor himself – but his legacy came from his creation of a system of acting, referred to as Method Acting. Stanislavski was years ahead of his time of understanding of the mind-and-body connection, yet he explored on the value of teaching actors to feel what they act. He taught his students to evoke believable emotions when they act, to such a degree that their bodies actually experience that they act! A ‘villain’ will for example really feel vile and villainous, and a ‘hero’ will completely feel every emotion of heart-warming power.

What can we learn from this? Clearly and simply that the body ‘takes’ the thoughts and feelings as REAL and it manifests these by the way it ACTS.

So, how about acting younger than your years?  How about acting as if you are amazing? You can add to these lines and say to yourself, ‘What about…!?’

During my years of studying longevity and wellness I came across hundreds and hundreds of life-changing studies. My study on passion relates well to what I have mentioned about Stanislavski. There IS certainly magic in passion! So what is passion?

It is scientifically accurate that your brain’s natural opiates are set off by stimuli as diverse as pain, exercise, music, meditation, dancing and dinner – and a host of emotional and mental experiences. What’s in your head can at times be 20 to 50 times stronger than drugs, such as morphine. Believe me, it’s enough to take your breath away!

We have receptor sites for opium in the brain cell. Doesn’t it make you ‘stand still’ and breathe this astonishing truth in to your very being, as you are reading this!?

Yes, some serious brain chemistry happen between our ears. It is our responsibility to use this chemistry to our own advancement and also to the advancement of others in our life.

In a nutshell, passion is a combination of energy and enthusiasm, mixed with delight and wholehearted participation in whatever you are doing, or choose to do! There is a sense of purpose in what you’re doing and a super-strong vibe coming from your inner being, making you feel alive and alert. The drive that you get from experiencing passion, also provides you with courage and confidence.

Let’s do anything we feel like today with passion and see how it adds motion and FEEL-good substances to our bodies and soul!

www.anniecoetzee.co.za/annies-blog
 

Age in Motion No 5

20 May 2015

I am beginning to enjoy my blogging about Age in Motion more and more. I hope you enjoy it too. I even get ideas and sentences in my head when I’m busy with mundane tasks, such as grocery shopping, or cleaning my kitchen!

While I was writing the 1^st edition of my book, ‘I THINK, I FEEL – I AM’ I spent a lot of time with Neuro Surgeons, as well as Heart Surgeons. I attended open-brain and open heart surgeries to learn more about the physical ‘look’ of these organs, while quietly listening to the surgeons, when they were telling and showing me something.

Since then, I know I will always be fascinated with the BRAIN and the HEART as two of our most important parts of our body. Trust me, functioning in the field of Total Wellness, I have and will continue to study our others organs as well, but what I do know for sure, is that our brain and heart – what we think and what we feel, play un-describable roles in the way we age! How we think about the process of aging and how we feel about it, can add or detract youthfulness and beauty in words I cannot describe at the moment!

Bit by bit I will share even more of the technical information I know about the brain and the heart, and why the Mind-Heart-and BODY Connection is becoming one of the ‘biggest concepts in the Health and Wellness World!'

What I have to tell today, is that every thought we think, is definitely a form of energy. It is electro-magnetic-energy, and is the same as MOVEMENT, and movement is always looking for manifestation in the REAL world! And I’m now talking about our body! So – what are you thinking about your body, your legs, your stomach, your face…  ALL your other parts! This simple (yet scientifically and medically accurate) fact is a life-changer. You might also want to take a moment and think about this and start talking nicely to yourself.

I want you to feel worthy of good thoughts about your ageing journey.  I desire for you to THINK of yourself and your body, as a magnificent ‘vehicle’ taking you through all life’s journeys, with strength and power!

Think new good thoughts about your health, your relationships, your life style and many other facets! Let that body do some NEW talking!

Enjoy MOTION. Enjoy not getting stiff and tight. Make stretching and a fabulous posture part of your everyday YOU!

www.anniecoetzee.co.za

Age in Motion No 4

15 May 2015                                                     

I write from my heart, and every time I write, I have at least five different books or articles on ‘ageing well’ around me. I’m sure I was born to be a researcher! Some of the authors on ageing well, believe that the art of living was to survive for as many years as possible. I don’t agree with that. It sounds too much like a struggle. I would like to find the peace factor in growing older.

As a child, I can remember, both my grandmothers always wore black. They were not very talkative and my dad’s mom especially, was very somber. Times have changed. Knowledge has become our tools for better ageing and studies on longevity show us there are more effective ways to grow older. To tell you the truth, I have come across studies where people many years older than myself, are actively busy with something they enjoy – AND they don’t look as if they are doing this to prove something! They are simply living a good life! They have friends and they have hobbies – and the best is, they have created this life for themselves!

Hope you read that line again! They didn’t wait for the children or grandchildren to do this for them! They thought, they pondered, and they made it happen!

Most of us want the same thing: To enjoy our lives at our peak performance day by day. This can mean something different for each of us. Some search for true happiness, some strive for physical beautiful faces and bodies, while others may be working hard toward athletic prowess or business success. Whatever the case, most of what I see in people, can be summed up in one word: Youthfulness.

We can reason around it as much as we like, but a ‘younger you’ is more powerful, quicker, healthier, and definitely more achievable.  Bit by bit, I intend to leave short suggestions that are do-able. With this, I also want to mention that I have tried and am trying the same suggestions, so that I can also feel part of all my writing!

Today I would like to answer a self-regulated question:  ‘IS there something that can delay the LOOK of old?’ You know what I mean! That LOOK that says, I don’t look so young anymore!

‘Is there perhaps something that can just ‘take off’ a few years on the outside?’  Some bodies and faces DO age better and there has to be something apart from expensive treatments and creams to look better! 
So, I have embraced a new life style of regular and MINDFUL stretching. When I say ‘mindful’ I refer to totally being in my own presence and deep breathing, while visualizing health and goodness flowing through my body. Obviously, I do this in my own home and office, and at times that I know I can. I still need the guidance of a dvd, you tubes and and even pictures of some stretches, but I’m getting so good that I even do some of these when I am in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to boil! While stretching I see goodness (sometimes this goodness has colour!) flowing through my veins and in my head I say good things to myself!

When you relax all your muscles in your body AND face, and yes, I do follow a ‘procedure’ of relaxation from head to toes, it is more effective for brain messages to flow freely. So, you can create your own messages of feeling good and pretty, healthy and fit, strong and wonderful. The response from your body is much better when you are relaxed!

So, let’s forget our age and accept that growing older is part of living. Let’s choose to think younger than our birth years, and embrace moments of bliss when we quietly and mindfully breathe and stretch. Your body will do the talking, with less frowns, less loose skin and less worry-lines!

Picture of Rose Botha at her 80^th birthday – and what a celebration it was!  Rose believed that she will live and work until the day she died. And so it was. Rose died 15 months ago, early one night, peacefully in her sleep.
(www.anniecoetzee.co.za) 

Age in Motion No3

12 May 2015

I hope you have enjoyed the exploration of ‘Age in Motion’ thus far! I find it a delight to talk to you about this evergreen topic and trust that you will benefit by the snippets of information.

I mentioned the workshop in Minnesota where Dr Dale talked about ‘Never act your age’ and would like to continue on that trend. One of the most surprising parts of his workshop was a friendly, yet serious suggestion that we must forget our age! I thought about the impact of this, yet until the day I applied this, nothing changed for the better! So I started to think and see myself as someone 15 years younger than my birth age. The changes were almost immediately! I walked differently, talked differently and even responded to life in a younger way. I noticed changes in my flexibility, my body strength, my eye-sight, my brain power and much more!

Do not get me wrong. It is not just a mind game!

It may begin as one, but eventually this way of life becomes more real, and you will feel the difference when you participate in new and challenging tasks. (Example, a walking club, Pilatus class, attending a book club, or simply starting a new social club).

The other suggestions in his teaching include healthy thinking patterns, the role of nutrients, emotions and attitudes, and especially how we should bring more humour into our lives.

As I am a woman who exercise regularly and eat healthy foods, I decided to add something else and something more specific to my own growing older journey. I have passionately added mindful stretching and definite quiet moments of ‘being in my own company’ into my life. This may sound very ordinary but it’s not. People know about it but they don’t do it. They go to the gym and read about meditation, but somehow only a few truly succeed in making this a part of their life style.

I believe that fighting ageing is making you older, faster than flowing with the years and embracing a more peaceful and relaxed way of life.

Many people in our environment experience challenging conditions such as poor relationships with far-away family members, or making new friends, as well as how to fill the day with activities and tasks that make life worth living. For many, the future is uncertain and for many others, the concern of ‘what will my life be like when I reach the ripe old age of ninety’ slowly whittle away their self-esteem, coping levels and ability to control their emotions. The result? We fall ill and the worry of our life begins to show in the face and in the body. We are also more prone to personal problems generally. Combined with the pressures of our particular political climate, crime and lawlessness, stress and worry are reaching epidemic proportions – and it shows in our faces, as well as our bodies.

 

There are ways to age better! Today my most important suggestion to us all personally, is to stop worrying about growing older.  Let’s try this way and simply embrace each day as another opportunity to discover more about LIFE and living!    
(www.anniecoetzee.co.za)                                                                                                    

Age in Motion No 2

11 May 2015

It is truly not misplaced to mourn the loss of youth and beauty. But there are tricks to anticipate and accept the changes, and then creatively find meaningful activities that will keep us ‘alive’ and well – inside and outside!

In the late nineties I studied every piece of information I could about the Nuns of Minnesota. The study was fascinating. They lived to be a healthy and sane 89+ and the following activities were part of their weekly program:

Brain exercises, daily physical exercises such as gardening, dancing and stretching, journal writing (including letters to members of the US Congress and Statesmen), attending seminars on current events and development, taking part in radio talks and events in the area, commenting on issues raised on air and staying ‘alive’ spiritually.

I will write more about these nuns in future blogs, but the most important information to remember for today, is the fact that they were encouraged to rotate their duties and never get into stagnation. One of their favourite quotations was: ‘An idle mind is the devil’s plaything’.

Many articles today, although they promote PRO-Ageing, still mention words like sagging, turkey neck, and crow’s feet – and often those are the words that the brain remembers! We see new Retirement Villages being built with huge billboards next to the site, saying ‘Frail Care and Alzheimer facilities included’.  And I wonder: ‘Are we really able to get away from all the negative images and messages being exposed to us in our growing older journey?’

In July 2005 I attended a Creativity Conference in Minnesota, USA. The choices of the daily break-away sessions were vast, but I decided to attend and participate in Dr Dale Anderson’s workshop, titled: ‘Never act your age’. The impact of the workshop and the content left me fascinated and inspired to read and learn more about ‘growing older’.

On my return, I started to communicate with him and also read and studied more about his philosophy on growing older. The growing older journey is a part of all our lives, and studying about it can only benefit me. I started to notice so many things, strange and different things about senior people and it made me wonder: ‘Why do some older people age better and stay more youthful than others? Is there perhaps something we need to know in order to age better?’

So the researcher in me got a fresh wake-up call and I invited a few senior persons over 80 to apply a number of Dr Dale’s suggestions, and I tried some myself!

My observation skills also got a kick in the butt and I observed older people wherever I went – even the dear ones where my mother stayed were ‘watched’ with alertness and a sharper focus! I didn’t feel guilty about this ‘silent mission’ I was in because I have a sincere love and compassion for old people, especially those who are lonely and in pain.

I came to a serious conclusion: ‘There has to be a way of more effective ageing – and perhaps it is not the right thing to tell this to the ones who are already in their eighties. Perhaps the ones in their 40’s and 50’s are the ones who need to know this!’

One things stands: We are all getting older every day.

How we think about ageing is a very serious matter.

Picture above taken when I took Lily and Claudi for a morning in the Country Side (HartebeesPoort Dam Cable Ride) two years ago.
(www.anniecoetzee.co.za)

Age in Motion No 1

7 May 2015

It has been said before: ‘Age is a number, youthfulness is a choice’. Yet, living in a youth-driven society, it is a challenge (and I believe it is a delightful one) to embrace ageing.  All around us is the vitality of youth and none of us can say we don’t feel their optimism, or witness its capacity to shake down life for all it is worth! The messages in most advertising campaigns shout, “Grab your youth! Explore all your possibilities! Make your mark! The world belongs to you!”

My aim with this blog is to find others who can help me to raise the bar on our thinking about ageing. Ageing should be, or at least I hope it can be, pleasant and happy. Or am I dreaming?  Due to the fact that nobody can really ‘grow younger’ (as many articles indicate) or ‘eat right for thicker hair’ (which is not really true), as well as other ‘truths’ being told to us by experts about ‘living longer and looking younger’ I have only met a few people who could honestly say (and mean it), that they like growing older.

I remember about ten years ago when Cher was on a Talk Show in LA, she openly admitted: ‘I HATE ageing.’ It made me ‘sit up straight’ and re-think the whole issue of growing older. I started to ask myself serious questions: “Why do people hate it? What about growing older is bad, what is the worst?” How will I really know when something in my body changes?”  I asked many questions and read loads of articles about ageing and the subject slowly but surely, especially in my subconscious, began to take shape.

In the past twenty years – and I have to be honest – this was so even when I was a child: much has been written about ‘Ageing Gracefully’.  I want to go deeper and beyond gracefully and include aspects, such as health, vitality, youthfulness, humour, vision, optimism and many more. The time is right for me! I have five grandchildren now and it feels kind of right to continue my study with more vigour and creative enquiries. (One of the pictures in my mind is to go ‘skinny-dipping’ with my grand-daughter! The picture is set on some beautiful Island and while the sun is going down).

So I have decided (at LAST) to blog regularly about ageing well, youthfully and wonderfully. My writing will be motivational. I will do research, participate in conversations and even initiate focus groups. My vision is to ‘run with this subject’, from head to toes and write about all the dimensions in our life, that I believe, are vital for healthy ageing.

You are SO welcome to join in! I will eventually and hopefully soon, start a Network, so that we can share more specifically! 

Before I say ‘cheers’ today, think about this: “What are you doing with your LIFE’s energy?”

 

Picture above taken just before my daughter and her family moved to England, five years ago. With me are Roxanne (the oldest and only grand-daughter), Seth right next to me and Erin.