I like to think that health and fitness was always important to me. I’ve never considered myself lazy and have always loved to cook. I love growing my own vegetables and herbs and using those in my kitchen.

As I get older and watch my grand kids grow before my eyes, my health and fitness have become even more important to me. I am in my 60’s now and I’m not getting any younger! This means I need to take care of myself if I want to continue living an active life. I want nothing more than to watch my grand babies get married and have children of their own. I want to feel good and be able to take care of myself. So, I’m always looking for new and better ways to take care of my mind and body, and I’d like to share a few of these things with you.

Yoga

I never really understood yoga until I tried it. I’m not a very flexible person, so I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the moves. But my daughter-in-law convinced me to try a class and I’m so glad that I did, because now, it’s one of my favorite things to do!

Not only does the stretching work wonders for my back pain, but the entire atmosphere is so soothing and relaxing. It’s much more of a mental exercise for me than a physical, but I definitely notice the physical benefits too. The studio I attend has no windows and is dimly lit. There are candles, music, incense, and an instructor that rubs our shoulders at the end of each class. It’s like an oasis for me. I attend about three times a week and finally understand what the “zen” idea is all about.

Juicing

I’ve never really been one to follow fad diets or trends. I still don’t understand the purpose of detoxing and I enjoy food and cooking way too much to ever restrict my intake. But I’ve learned how to create healthy recipes without sacrificing taste. Many of the ingredients come from my above mentioned garden. But my most recent health food kick is juicing!

If you’ve never tried it you really should. My daughter sent me a juicer for Christmas and at first I didn’t even know what to do with the thing. But with a little research and experimentation, my juicer is now my favorite way to ingest my daily dose of vegetables. I’ve tried a lot of different recipes that combine fruits and veggies. Some combinations were a fail, but I’ve found some of my favorites and I drink them daily. These include beet, carrot, and apple juice, apples with oranges and ginger, and a hot pink juice that uses beets, carrots, apples, kale, celery, lemons and ginger. Don’t knock it till you try it!

Fitness Tracker

I’ve been wearing fitness trackers since before they were “cool”. Now, if you don’t have some type of fitness tracker either on your wrist or on your phone, you’re kind of out of the loop. My first tracker was the Fitbit flex. Do you remember this one? It synced with your phone and you needed to check the app just to see how many steps you’d gone. The band itself only showed five dots, indicating when you hit 2,000 step markers. It was effective at the time, but now things have come such a long way. But I’m not tech expert so I don’t quite understand the Apple watches and trackers. They’re a little too complicated for me. I’ve stuck with Fitbit and I happily use the Alta.

I find wearing the tracker motivates me to walk more. I offer to take out the garbage, get the mail, and park farther away at the grocery stores. I used to have my groceries delivered too, but now, when I’m able, I do the shopping myself. I take the stairs instead of the elevator and I even connect with my friends for friendly competitions. I’ve definitely become more active on a daily basis since having my tracker and I love it!

Set an Example

I think it’s important to set an example for your kids and even your grand kids. Showing them what a healthy lifestyle looks like is important. I also want my kids to know that I care about myself and my health. I respect my body and show that by taking care of it. My grand kids love going for walks with me and my daughter-in-law meets me for yoga classes when her schedule allows. Though I may not convince them to try my juices, they all enjoy the herbs and vegetables from my garden. I want to be around for a long, long time and I’m taking all the necessary steps to make sure that happens.