Image courtesy of cienpies (sxc.hu)

Do you ever feel like it is too late to get healthy and start a new exercise routine? That your body is not cooperating with you anymore, and you will never be able to lose weight? Or maybe you know someone who uses their age as an excuse to give up on their health?

We are all scared, at least to some degree, to get older. We are afraid to lose our young energy, our young body, and may think that life is not as bright around the corner. It is undeniable that time has an immense power over our body and mind, but it is also true that we have the power to significantly slow all the aging processes down. We can keep our bodies fit and healthy and enjoy life regardless of age. It is a matter of belief and willpower.

Very few of us have the willpower to adopt new health habits in the second half of our lives, and a very small percentage of those stick with it – but it is all a matter of intention. It is never too late to reverse the aging process and start taking care of our ingeniously built bodies. Now is just the right time, whatever your age is!

Follow these few tips to stay in shape:

• Surround yourself with young hearts. Young energy rubs off – as does old energy! Who do you surround yourself with?

• Don’t be afraid to be a student. Try to keep an open mind. Quite often people think that they are done studying and developing after the official school is over. In reality, there is never an end to studying. If you stay still while the whole world is moving forward, you fall behind. This is true for any field of life: from health research to philosophy.
  

  Image courtesy of jacopoL (sxc.hu)

  Some good ways to learn are by reading, going to workshops, and discussing new ideas with your friends. Two of my favorite recent books were The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle and Light on Life by B. K. S. Iyengar. Have you read any thought-provoking books recently?

• Move a little bit every day. Choose the activity that you like and stick with it. Yoga, weights, and cardio should be a part of your daily life. There is nothing more precious than health; you need to be healthy to enjoy life. Make no excuses to stay lazy. Being 45 is not an excuse to turn your back on your health and looks! It is not the time to look for excuses to let yourself go and feel miserable.As one teacher said: ‘You need to meditate daily for half an hour. If you don’t have time, you need to meditate twice a day!’ This saying is true for any self-improvement method, including yoga, running, push ups, or whatever you choose to do!

• Smile (or, better) laugh a lot. We all know that laughing prolongs life, produces happiness hormones, and turns any situation better. Did you know that laughing also burns calories, creates stronger and flatter abs, and provides a workout for all the facial muscles? Look for funny, happy things around you and you will laugh more often – which in turn will make you a much happier person. Focus on the positive!

Stay inspired and enjoy your life at any age!

“Four Ways to Beat Your Biological Clock“ republished with permission from Real Yoga NYC.

Nadya

Nadya Andreeva is a yoga instructor and ayurveda enthusiast who grew up in Russia in a family of doctors. Nadya grew up practising yoga and learning about different healing approaches in Russia, India, and later all over the US. Trained in yoga therapy and ayurveda Nadya works to create a wholesome path to wellness through yoga classes, personal wellness coaching, and nutrition workshops. Her articles on yoga and nutrition are featured on MindBodyGreen, Modern Hippie Mag, Crazy Sexy Life and YogaCity NYC. She holds an MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from New York University and hopes to eventually bring her holistic approach to wellness into the corporate world. Follow Nadya’s blog Real Yoga NYC and twitter @realyoganyc to receive fun wellness tips.

Four Ways to Beat Your Biological Clock is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Photo by Dani Toth

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock

In many traditions, this season marks a time of rest, celebration, and rebirth. Beyond the festivities surrounding yuletide carols, the festival of lights, and the other holidays, even the sun finds its shortest day of work before its days start to lengthen once again. It is indeed ironic that so many people work themselves into a frenzy in anticipation of this cheerful time, becoming so stressed out that they miss the entire point of the rituals they engage in.

This holiday season, please take time to rest, to meditate, to contemplate, and to smile. A new year is dawning, with new potentials and possibilities awaiting their realization. May this year bring joy to the world, peace on the earth, and the light of love shining from heart to heart.

{Words to Live By} A Season of Rest is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

One of the wonderful things about being a conscious human being is the ability to choose what we think about. We get to choose what music we listen to. We get to choose what movies we watch. We get to choose which books we read. And we get to choose our response in most any situation. The test of how truly conscious we are is measured by how often we choose to make that choice.

Photo by Steve Woods

Every stimulus has a response, but between those two actions, there is a space called choice. With everything that faces us in our lives, we have the ability to choose how we will respond to it. Though the more healthy responses often require a little more work, the payoff is enormous.

We may look at the current economic recession and want to cower in fear, but we can choose to seek out what is really important beyond money. We can look at global warming and become downright terrified, or we can look for true solutions to climate change. We can look at problems we might be having in our relationships and fear the worst, or we can realize how the hardships will only make our bonds stronger.

In everything that comes our way, we can opt for optimism. Which thoughts we entertain is always our choice.  May we choose to choose happiness.

Your Daily Groove – Choose Your Own Thoughts is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Every day, we are faced with an assortment of tragedies on the daily news and challenges in our own lives. It is so easy to get bogged down with all of the things that are going wrong in the world that we fail to notice what is right. Sometimes, however, if we only take a deep, cleansing breath, we can start to see that things aren’t as bad as they seem.

Photo by Sanja Gjenero

If we can breathe, we have the propensity for life. If we have the propensity for life, we have the propensity for joy. For each of the trials that face us offers us a purpose to acheive. Hunger gives us someone to feed. Sickness gives us someone to heal. Challenges give us something to overcome.

Our planet is a tumultuous place. That will never change. What can change is how we exist within the tumult.

In all that we face, we have the choice to be part of the problem or part of the solution. More often than not, that choice alone is the solution we require. May we choose joy in all that life offers us.

Words to Live By – Live in Joy is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag