Dad walked every day
and lived to be 103
I tell people in my classes to find some exercise that you
enjoy. If T’ai Chi, or any workout that you do, isn’t a pleasure at least some of
the time, you may learn and acquire it, but at some point chances are that it
will become just another item in your collection of things you have acquired,
and fall into disuse. You might find, as I have, that as you get older, some
form of regular exercise can be extremely beneficial in not losing one’s
abilities due to age.
“They” used to say that after a certain age it’s all
downhill, that as we age we deteriorate and are able to do less. More recent
attitudes suggest that “Use it or lose it” might be a more useful adage. (We
have marathoners in their 90s). I’ve heard it said that “60 is the new 40”
(Garrison Keillor), and I find that as I get older, steadfastness of spirit and
a learned faith that if I stick with things they can succeed, sometimes more
than replaces the physical stamina lost with age. When I was younger I would often give up if I
didn’t encounter immediate success/reinforcement – Now I tell people “Don’t say
you can’t do that, say I can’t do that yet”.
Use it or lose it
Whatever we practice we get better at. This seems to be
obvious in many situations. (Perhaps not all… There are some things that I
might never be good at, no matter how much effort I expend, but these may be
the exception rather than the rule). T’ai Chi has the wonderful quality of
exercising both the mind and body, and the longer I do it the more I find that the
exercise of the attention and awareness muscles may be one of the
most valuable of its benefits. It has been said that many common exercises
strengthen only the large muscles, and that T’ai Chi exercises both the large
and the small muscles, every muscle in the body.
It has also been said that all you need in order to practice
T’ai Chi is enough space for a cow to lie down. No special skills or apparatus are
required, no fancy equipment. You don’t have to be an athlete or a rocket
scientist to do T’ai Chi. You don’t even have to do it perfectly in order to
accrue the benefits. However, patience, or at least the desire to cultivate
some patience, can be a big plus.
Find an exercise you
enjoy
In addition to T’ai Chi, I used to jog (run slowly), and
bicycle for exercise. As I got older, I
worked out in a gym. I also enjoy yoga and stretching. I don’t do these as much
as I used to. My current workouts (Besides T’ai Chi) include swimming,
birding/hiking, and yard work/gardening. If one can find workouts for which one
has a passion, a little of this goes a long way.
