Or as I would amend it: staying physically healthy as we
age, and for as long as we can, gives us more opportunities to age well in
other ways.
The four FEBS of good physical health, reinforced in my
endless reading for Book the Second, are:
--Flexibility
--Endurance
--Balance
--Strength
No surprises there, eh? And while a lifetime of walking, biking,
climbing stairs, stretching, and some intermittent attempts at yoga have served
me pretty well, I am—and always have been—an accident waiting to happen. All my
life, I have been clumsy; in fact, my parents used to say that I could walk into an empty room and trip.
Unfortunately, I have lived up to their expectations, not
only tripping and often falling, but getting into bike accidents; knocking stuff
over, usually breakable; and dropping things.
I seem to have survived the worst of it, often with the help
of emergency rooms and doctor visits (the mild concussion and fractured ribs),
but most often with ice packs, heating pads, pain patches, massage, and OTC
anti-inflammatories.
And though I may be clumsy, I ain’t stupid. As my 75th
is due to arrive in a mere six weeks, I’m thinking it might be time to develop
a regular practice of something—anything—that
will improve my own personal FEBS. Especially so that next year, I can happily
greet and celebrate my 76th.
To get started, I’m joining a Tai Chi class this week, a
decision inspired by Jane Brody’s recent article in the New York Times:
No comments:
Post a Comment