Fitness is Not an Age

I have been working part time at the Dorothy Visser Senior Center Fitness Center in San Clemente for the past four months.  Anyone aged 50 and up can join, and I am proud to say that two of our members are very close to turning 90. 

I adore the senior population, and am so grateful to have this opportunity to work with them in the arena I  am so passionate about.  Even better, I get to witness their fitness progression.  It means a lot to them, and it might mean even more to me.  I know fitness is not an age, and that improvement in strength, flexibility, endurance and balance will occur for everyone putting forth consistent effort in an exercise program.  When I see them stand up straighter, maintain better balance and walk with ease of motion, I am soulfully rewarded.

My seniors impart their wisdom and life experience on me daily, and when I have opportunity to help them, it is my small way of giving back.  Their generation did not have the wealth of knowledge and resources that we have today with health education, medical advances and prescription medications.  If they knew then what they know now, many would have opted earlier for healthier lifestyles.  Though many seniors have multiple health challenges, they all can be better managed with exercise intervention.  It is never too late to start an exercise program, and for those willing- await tremendous rewards.

Happiness is Not a Weight

More and more people are pursuing gastric bypass as a last attempt at weight loss.  Many complications can arise from the surgery, but I do not want to get into the particulars of that in this post.  I am not against gastric bypass, I only want to discuss a certain angle within its context.  Working with gastric bypass clients has reaffirmed for me what I already know...that happiness is an inside job. 

People I meet and get to know wake me up to the challenges they face, challenges very different from my own.  I have never struggled with my weight, attempted a diet or felt like I even needed to "lose a couple of pounds".  Therefore, I have never created a fantasy world around "being the perfect weight" or established a pattern of "I'll be happy when I ...(fill in the blank)".  I think it is easy to romanticize weight loss when you are always chasing it and it remains elusive.

All of the desire, hard work and efforts surrounding attempts at weight loss create a heavy attachment to the desired end result.  The end result for many, is a magical weight that also provides the key to personal happiness.   I had to gently explain to one of my clients the other day that happiness is not a weight, and it never will be.  Individuals that weigh 132 lbs, and those that weigh 270 lbs are both struggling to be happy.  Happiness must be self-generated, and the sooner we realize this, the better off we will be.  Feeling good about ourselves is truly the key to happiness, and this has more to do with the type of person we choose to be and how we choose to live life, versus how we appear to others.

We are all a work in progress, and we must take responsibility for our own happiness and learn to self-generate it in the NOW vs. in the future.  One of my favorite expressions is "Wherever you go, there you are".  So, if one doesn't bring a healthy mindset to a certain set of circumstances, there will no escaping the same end result elsewhere in time.