At 82 years, NOT EXACTLY SLOWING DOWN, BUT . . .

Unlike just about everybody I know, I don’t DO western medicine, except for Orthopedics (two broken wrists in last ten years), and, possibly, Emergency, (for example, if I was in a car accident.). So I have no idea what any of my “numbers” are. Sometimes I think I should get one of those “watches” that monitor the body; but I think I’ll just borrow son Sean’s for a few days. Frankly, I’d rather not have my own body hooked up to anything AI.

Yes, many would say I’m “paranoid.” 

“What? And your father a doctor, your mother a nurse!?!”

Hmmm . . . Do I have unprocessed stuff with my parents?

No. I deeply appreciate the way each of them thought about their professions. That was a long time ago, when doctors made house calls, and nurses made sure their kids were exposed to measles.

So, what IS my reasoning? Or, you might ask, what is the background context that might explain the way I think? Okay. Let’s investigate the large Overton Window that I see through.

Search this phrase: “Rockefeller took over natural medicine” on X.  Lots of videos.

For example:

A good friend of mine, one of the few “very smart” people I know who did not fall for the covid con, has a grown son who, so far, has gotten seven (SEVEN!) covid shots, including boosters. Still alive, but his former lean, athletic body is now obese, and his soul, she says, is missing.

I spend some time daily, at this advanced age, wondering what I would do if I felt a sudden onset of symptoms (like heart attack). Would I call an ambulance?

I don’t think so. Rather, let nature take its course.

And if I fell down the steep stairs to my basement? Hmmm. Not sure. Except for twice, in past ten years, on ice, I have managed to “catch” myself each time I would otherwise actually fall. I attribute this facility to daily practice of chikung and taichi especially, since it feels to me that every cell in my body is connected to every other cell, and the entire body works as one.

My unusual resilience is neither accidental, nor purely genetic. (Though both sides of my family are long-lived.)

I make it a priority to  spend at least two hours a day on what I call “physical culture.” Forgive me, if you’ve heard this from me before, but I keep repeating it because it keeps on being fundamental. Absolutely fundamental at my advanced age — if I wish to remain of use, as an elder, to the culture at large.

One hour (four-mile) walk; one hour yoga, chikung, taichi.

And, BTW: the walking began back when I was a teenager. Even then, I recognized that a long walk gradually released stored, stuck emotion. That even if I started out depressed, or furious, by the end, my mood would not only even out, but turn upbeat!

In other words, rather than going into therapy, I walk. Rather than taking pharmaceuticals, I walk. And have always done so!

About a year ago, to the usual two hours daily, I added squats (now up to two minutes!), plus exercise arms and shoulders vigorously with five pound weights.

Thise two additions, plus since about that same time, intermittent fasting — two meals (18/6; first one at noon, second one at 5 pm) with emphasis on various forms of protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts) to maintain and build muscle, plus probiotic sauerkraut and good oils (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avos and avo oil, organic butter) and vegetables, usually raw, this time of year from our prodigious garden. Carbs? Yes; a small amount of good carbs — from starchy vegetables, usually; though I do eat one piece of non-gluten homemade toast slathered with butter and nut butter each day. For dessert, both meals: a small amount of fruit.

Oh yes! And since 2019, I’ve been enjoying my own chai tea (or chai coffee) elixir, made daily from all sorts of anti-viral, anti-bacterial herbs.

In other words, I pay close attention to my own immune system. Make sure it’s up and working!

Next challenge:  72 hour fasts once per month, to increase and enhance autophagy.

Always, at this age, the key to health is to do more, more! Add some kind of new and seemingly impossible physical challenge. The results, so far, at least in my case, have been well worth it. Working with weights, I now notice more muscle mass in arms and shoulders than before!

On the other hand, a few years ago, after years in which I did not ride a bike, when I got on a bike and realized my body didn’t remember how; that I would have to learn to ride a bike all over again, I decided not to. I do not want to fall and break another bone. Especially a leg or hip, given that I’ve been a daily walker for nearly seven decades! (Any break of that kind might usher in depression.)

And on the other hand again, I no longer go for long walks far from civilization on a seldom occupied forest trail with only my dog. If I fell, and broke something, there on the trail, then what?

So, yes, I’m not exactly slowing down, but I am adjusting to whatever changes inner guidance demands.