First I would like to remove a myth about aging. So far there is NO natural or manufactured products in the market that can reverse aging. Some hormone supplements seem to work in slowing down the aging but we are unsure of their side effects in the long run. So the best bet is to accept the notion of aging and age gracefully as oppose to fighting it.

Aging Gracefully and Looking Younger
To age gracefully, we must keep in mind that aging has physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual components. All these components are inter-twined and together they make us a “whole” person. As part of aging gracefully, what we loose in physical is made up by gaining experience, wisdom, and peace in mental, intellectual, and spiritual. To focus only on the physical and try to stop or reverse the aging would be going against nature.

Earth, stars, universe, everything around us is aging. It is a law of nature. So you as a part of this nature, if try to go against this natural law, you would only create aggravation and unstable mind. Try to understand this concept from your mature spiritual side; a humble acceptance will replace the aggravation in unstable mind. If you don’t, agitated and stressful mind would only speed up the aging process.

Once we embrace the aging as natural part of us with healthy mental attitude, we can focus on the physical. The basic idea is to slow down the rate of physical decline as we approach the later years of our life. However, preparation to achieve this begins in 30’s and 40’s by eating right foods and having right life style with exercises (or activities).

Physical:
Imagine our body as a building where each cell is a “brick” in this building. And if the walls of a building have bricks missing here and there, the strength, integrity, and shape of the building is compromised. Our goal is to continue building healthy new cells to replace the old dying cell for as long as possible. If the old cells are not replaced with new cells, skin becomes wrinkled and body looses its strength and shape.

Techniques for Aging Gracefully and Looking Younger
• Form a diet plan with foods based on your mind-body constitution that can help you usher in growth of new cells while creating least amount of toxins in the body. This diet is anti-inflammatory and can be further supported by use of turmeric and ginger to reduce internal inflammation and cleanse (detoxify) the body.
• Include the right vitamins and herbal supplements- NOT to supplement good foods but only to cover the gaps.
• Detoxify your body regularly- a weekly fast, a monthly fast, or a quarterly cleanse based on your life style.
• As we age, natural tendency of the body is to loose its muscle mass and to replace it with fat mass. Our goal is to slow down the rate of muscle mass conversion to fat mass and retain as much muscle mass for as long as possible.
• No matter what age, we must stay active. Follow a routine of age appropriate exercises and activities that can help retain the muscle mass, reduce fat buildup, and keeps us flexible.

Mental:
Besides foods, we need to be aware of the stressful thoughts and emotions we take in from outside or cultivate within. We must figure a way to “metabolize” stress out of our system to remove “mental inflammation.” This can be a cause for many nerves related and other diseases.

Techniques for Aging Gracefully and Looking Younger
• Utilize our life experiences and spiritual knowledge to shift our mental attitudes to neutralize emotions or thoughts that are source of stress.
• Do breathing exercises in yoga and meditation can also help release the stress and eliminate mental inflammation.
• Keep the mind occupied by continuously learning new interesting and challenging things.
• Get good rest at night by sleeping at least 7 hours

Spiritual:
Spiritual component supports the both mental and physical. Studies have shown people with strong spiritual connections heal faster and have better immunity. I regard spiritual awareness as the cement holding the bricks together in the building. While the physical and mental components change with age, it is the spiritual component that remains unchanged and is a pillar of support in our aging gracefully.

Techniques for Aging Gracefully and Looking Younger
• Let your conscious be your guide
• Live in harmony with nature within and without (personal and social conduct according to laws of Nature)
• Find out your “gift” and make it a calling to share with the world

As you can tell, all physical, mental, and spiritual are inter-twined, support each other, and make us “whole.” We must identify with each component & address each for our “total” health and wellness in life’s journey while aging gracefully naturally without any risky aging products.  Be Well!

Tags: Life Coach, Life Style, Wellness