And here we go AGAIN
Hi Everyone – I am about to start a new adventure. Well, it is really an old one, clothed in new apparel. Since I have come to the end of my second book, which is now in the final stages of completion for publishing, I feel that it is a good time to start a new writing direction, a tangent to writing about parenting and observations of the world around me. I am going to write about my own journey, and right now I am not sure where it will take me or you, my reader.
A while ago, I wrote about starting to physically train when I was age 58 or so. From then until I was about 68, I seriously trained while I lived in Qatar, South Africa, United States and Rwanda. I had the privilege of working with some amazing trainers and each, while unique in their methods, managed to help me mold myself into a strong, healthy individual.
When I returned to the United States in 2014, I pretty much slacked off and became unenthusiastic about physical exercise. I did maintain an interest in yoga, and this helped me maintain some level of physical fitness. However, over the years I noted a gradual (or not so gradual) decline in my fitness level and strength, resulting in neuropathy in legs and hands, decreased strength in my body, and increased difficulty with balance and in physically keeping pace, walking and moving. At age 79, I am not tied to having a physically beautiful body, but I am committed to freely moving and to being able to care for myself.
The recent visit with my son made me highly aware of how far my physical fitness has slipped. But most importantly, his visit made me care again about what happened to this physical body. I believe the body is a sacred gift, given to us as a loving expression, through which we can explore and experience this world. It is a physical expression of the infinite energy we are, and it is meant to allow full sensory experience while we are in this linear timeline. These are my ideas and you are most welcome to develop your own – and you should definitely do that, as mine are unique to me and I like to keep them this way. I have spent many years reading, writing, thinking, and contemplating, and I feel great where I have arrived. It is what I wish for you. Most likely, I will write more about these beliefs as I go, but for now, I will return to relating my new journey.
I have also discovered I have an extremely strong constitution and, as my doctor likes to remind me, it has come to a question of quality of life. While I have quantity of years, I want high quality, so I have decided it is time to work with the developing physical issues and to begin to reverse them. So I have started physical therapy, fitness training, seeing a chiropractor, and working with a functional medicine doctor to reverse the effects of 35 years of diagnosed Type 2 diabetes. Due to intense physical training during many of my prior years, my circulation is excellent, which has kept side effects to a minimum.
About 3 years ago, I had once again gained a significant amount of weight and was tipping the scales at 260 lbs. I had wonderful means of ignoring this weight gain. What proved to be a reality check and then a “ WTF” moment were those individuals who found it necessary to explain to me how much weight I had gained. These were “kind and caring” friends who felt it necessary to explain to me how much better I had looked when I was thinner. As I remember my wonderful elder sister saying, “Do they think I don’t see myself? No one sees weight gain like a ‘fat’ person.”
I decided to alter the course of my existence. I found a wonderful interactive medicine doctor, Dr. Ed Pomicter, who helped put me back together using supplements and a ketogenic diet. I lost about 95 lbs. and went down to 165 lbs….Yeahhhh, Dr. Ed! I have regained 15 lbs., but I am not obsessing over it, as it will soon go back down. Dr. Ed tried, and tried hard, to convince me of the value of returning to exercise, but this was met with varying degrees of success until recently.
Enter my son, whom I listen to and hear in a way I do not listen to or hear others. He managed to kindly speak to me about the importance of valuing my life and the quality of life within this reality. Spending 5 weeks with him made me re-evaluate and re-appreciate the blessing that is my life. It started with skydiving, which I have previously written about, and it continued after he left, with me deciding to return to physical conditioning.
I love pushing my body hard. I love pushing hard weights, and I love boxing. So, with my son’s encouragement, I decided to return to these activities. I started with physical therapy and found myself quickly regaining leg strength, helping my overall body move more confidently and securely. The same thing happened with the neuropathy treatments for balance – enter my chiropractor.
My trainer Astrid and I were joking around about doing a TikTok or social media series of my progress and I thought, “Why not”? We thought maybe my journey would inspire others to realize that we do not have to give up and just grow old. I have recently heard about how I seem to be redefining what it means to be “elderly.” If so, I love it.
We decided to share my journey, and it will soon be announced on TikTok — stay tuned for the connections.
I agree with your insights about self-image and health as a life long practice. This benefits everyone we know and those we don't as a way to practice compassion and loving kindness (metra). I know your son, Olivier believes this.
You go girl!!!