Only
a few decades ago, conventional medicine viewed the body as a machine
whose parts would inevitably break down until it could no longer be
repaired. As a medical student, I learned that random chemical reactions
determined everything that happened in the body, the mind and body were
separate and independent from each other, and genes largely determined
our health and lifespan.
Today
scientific research is arriving at a radically different understanding:
While the body appears to be material, it is really a field of energy
and intelligence that is inextricably connected to the mind. We now know
that what used to be considered the “normal” experience of aging – a
progressive descent into physical and mental incapacity – is in large
part a conditioned response. The mind influences every cell in the body
and therefore human aging is fluid and changeable. It can speed up, slow
down, and even reverse itself.
There
are many studies demonstrating the profound influence of the mind and
beliefs on aging. For example, a landmark study by Harvard psychologist
Ellen Langer, Ph.D., showed that the so-called irreversible signs of
aging, including deterioration in hearing, vision, manual dexterity,
muscle strength, and memory, could be reversed through psychological
shifts in awareness and increases in physical and mental activity.
Even
though we all have genetic predispositions, our health and aging aren’t
predetermined. By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we
focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body to
decrease our biological age.
The
seven steps outlined below are practical ways to tap into your inner
reservoir of unlimited energy, creativity, vitality, and love.
1. Change Your Perceptions of Your Body and Aging
Perception
is a selective act of attention and interpretation. What you experience
as “reality,” including your physical body and aging, is shaped by your
habits of perception. While most people are conditioned to see the body
as a static, biological machine, you can begin to view it as a field of
energy, transformation, and intelligence that is constantly renewing
itself.
Begin
to notice both your internal dialogue and how you speak about your body
and aging. If you find yourself saying things like, “I’m hitting the
age where I’ll need reading glasses,” “I’m too old to try yoga (or some
other activity),” “I inherited my dad’s bad back,” or other such
statements, make a conscious choice to shift your perspective and what
you tell yourself about your body and age.
Keep
in mind that your cells are eavesdropping on what you say, so unless
you want to have your father’s bad back or anything else that “runs in
the family,” don’t nurture that seed of intention in your awareness.
A powerful affirmation you can use is Every day in every way, I am increasing my mental and physical capacity.
2. Stress Reduction and Meditation
Meditation
is a simple yet powerful tool that takes us to a state of profound
relaxation that dissolves fatigue and the accumulated stress that
accelerates the aging process. During meditation, our breathing slows,
our blood pressure and heart rate decrease, and stress hormone levels
fall. By its very nature, meditation calms the mind, and when the mind
is in a state of restful awareness, the body relaxes too.
Research
shows that people who meditate regularly develop less hypertension,
heart disease, anxiety, and other stress-related illnesses that speed up
aging. Furthermore, new studies are finding that meditation literally
restores the brain. A recent groundbreaking study conducted by
Massachusetts General Hospital has made headlines by showing that as
little as eight weeks of meditation not only helped people feel calmer
but also produced changes in various areas of the brain, including
growth in the areas associated with memory, empathy, sense of self, and
stress regulation.
This
study adds to the expanding body of research about the brain’s amazing
plasticity and capacity to grow and change at any stage of life. We can
nurture our brain’s power and maintain a youthful mind by developing a
regular meditation practice.
Getting Started with Meditation
I
usually recommend that people learn a traditional meditation practice
from a qualified instructor. That way, you know exactly what to do at
any point in meditation and with any experience that comes along. Often
when people try to learn on their own or from a book, they learn
incorrectly and soon give up in frustration because they aren’t
experiencing the expected benefits. For those who are interested, the
Chopra Center offers instruction in Primordial Sound Meditation, a natural, easy practice that dates back thousands of years to India’s Vedic tradition. You can look for a certified teacher in your area here. Another way to get started with meditation is by participating in the Center’s 21-Day Meditation Challenge.
3. Restful Sleep
Getting
regular restful sleep is an essential key to staying healthy and vital,
yet it is so often neglected or under emphasized. There is even a
tendency for people to boast about how little sleep they can get by on.
In reality, a lack of restful sleep disrupts the body’s innate balance,
weakens our immune system, and speeds up the aging process.
Human
beings generally need between six and eight hours of restful sleep each
night. Restful sleep means that you’re not using pharmaceuticals or
alcohol to get to sleep but that you’re drifting off easily once you
turn off the light and are sleeping soundly through the night. If you
feel energetic and vibrant when you wake up, you had a night of restful
sleep. If you feel tired and unenthusiastic, you haven’t had restful
sleep.
You
can get the highest quality sleep by keeping your sleep cycles in tune
with the rhythms of the universe, known as circadian rhythms. This means
going to bed by about 10 p.m. and waking at 6 a.m.
Ideally,
eat only a light meal in the evening, before 7:30 if possible, so that
your sleep isn’t hampered by the digestive processes. You can go for a
leisurely walk after dinner and then be in bed by 10 p.m.
It’s
also very helpful to download your thoughts from the day in a journal
before going to bed so that your mind doesn’t keep you awake.
4. Nurture Your Body with Healthy Food
There
are “dead” foods that accelerate aging and entropy and others that
renew and revitalize the body. Foods to eliminate or minimize include
items that are canned, frozen, microwaved, or highly processed. Focus on
eating a variety of fresh and freshly prepared food.
A
simple way to make sure that you are getting a balanced diet is to
include the six tastes (sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and
astringent) in each meal. The typical American diet tends to be
dominated by the sweet, sour, and salty tastes (the main flavors of a
hamburger). We do need these tastes, but they can lower metabolism,
especially if eaten in excess.
The
pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes, on the other hand, are
anti-inflammatory and increase metabolism. These tastes are found in
food such as radishes, ginger, mustard, peppers, spinach, mushrooms,
tea, lentils, lettuce, and so on.
Along
with the six tastes, filling your plate with the colors of the
rainbow promotes a long and healthy life. We can literally ingest the
information of the universe into our biology. Foods that are deep blue,
purple, red, green, or orange are leaders in antioxidants and contain
many nutrients that boost immunity and enhance health.
Examples of foods of the rainbow:
•
Red: Red tomatoes (particularly cooked), red peppers, red/pink
grapefruit, watermelon, red grapes, beets, red cabbage, apples,
strawberries, cherries, raspberries, cranberries
• Orange/yellow: Squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkin, cantaloupe, mangoes, oranges, papaya, nectarines
• Green: Broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage, peas, avocado, collard greens
• Deep blue/purple: Plums, blueberries, black raspberries, blackberries, purple grapes, eggplant (with skin)
5. Exercise
One
of the most important ways to grow younger and live longer is regular
exercise. Drs. William Evans and Irwin Rosenberg from Tufts University
have documented the powerful effect of exercise on many of the
biomarkers of aging, including muscle mass, strength, aerobic capacity,
bone density, and cholesterol. Not only does exercise keep the body
young, but it also keeps the mind vital and promotes emotional
well-being. In his recent book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain,
Harvard University professor John Ratey, M.D. describes research
showing how “physical activity sparks biological changes that encourage
brain cells to bind to one another.” This spark, as he calls it,
increases the brain’s ability to learn, adapt, and perform other
cognitive tasks.
A
complete fitness program includes exercises to develop flexibility,
cardiovascular conditioning, and strength training. Find an aerobic
activity that you can do regularly – three to four sessions each week
for twenty to thirty minutes is usually enough to give you substantial
benefits. After your body is warmed up, spend five to ten minutes
stretching. You will also want to include strength training in your
program to systematically exercise the major muscle groups of your body.
The
important thing is to start off slowly, find physical activities you
enjoy, and do them regularly. If the most you can do right now is walk
around the block, do that, and you will be surprised how quickly you
increase your endurance and enthusiasm for moving and breathing.
6. Love and Friendship
Isolation
and loneliness create the conditions for rapid aging. Heart attack and
death rates are known to increase among the recently widowed and among
men who have been suddenly terminated from their jobs without warning
and against their will. The emotional value of social bonding is
immense, yet in some countries, including the U.S., we have moved in the
opposite direction for decades. With high divorce rates, single-parent
families, and a population constantly on the move, social bonding keeps
declining. The trend will be exacerbated as the fastest-growing
population, those eighty and over, move into retirement homes. It’s
becoming increasingly rare for older people to be cared for at home, and
there is still a stigma about seniors being a burden to the young and a
drag on society.
The
key here is to stay connected and open to new relationships throughout
your life. Resist the impulse to go quietly into semi-isolation because
you assume that society expects that of you. Losing friends and spouses
is an inevitable part of aging, and many people can’t find replacements
or lack the motivation to. By “replacement,” I don't mean a new spouse
and family (though that is certainly a possibility), but emotional bonds
that mean something to you and offer continued meaning to your
existence. No amount of reading and television substitutes for human
contact that nourishes on the level of love and caring. One of the most
effective steps is for older people to become involved with mentoring
programs, education, and youth programs.
7. Maintain a Youthful Mind
An
ancient Vedic aphorism says, “Infinite flexibility is the secret to
immortality.” When we cultivate flexibility in or consciousness, we
renew ourselves in every moment and reverse the aging process. Children
offer the finest expressions of openness and flexibility. They play and
laugh freely, and find wonder in the smallest things. They are
infinitely creative because they haven’t yet built up the layers of
conditioning that create limitations and restrictions.
To
maintain a youthful mind, write down two or three things you can do
that are totally childlike. Think of something that evokes childhood for
you – eating an ice cream cone, going to a playground to swing,
coloring a picture, jumping rope, building a sand castle. Find something
that brings back the sense of fun you had as a child, even if you think
you’ve outgrown it, and choose one of these activities to do today.
As
you carry out your childlike activity, let yourself embody the
archetypal carefree and innocent child. The feeling you’re aiming for
isn’t a return to childhood, but something more profound, as expressed
by the brilliant therapist A.H. Almaas: “When we look at a child, we see
that the sense of fullness, of intrinsic aliveness, of joy in being, is
not the result of something else. There is value in just being oneself;
it is not because of something one does or doesn’t do. It is there in
the beginning, when we were children but slowly it gets lost.” By
re-experiencing our childlike nature, we not only cultivate a youthful
mind, but we also connect to the part of us that is never born and never
dies – our eternal spiritual essence.
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