From a nurse's perspective:
Baby boomers, become as fit as a fiddle
Is baby boomer exercise important from a
nurse's perspective? Definitely!
In the year 2010, the first
baby boomers of this unique era, will begin to turn sixty-five years of age. Thus,
baby boomers will officially enter into retirement, as seniors. Some baby
boomers will enter into senior-ship gracefully and prove to be as fit as a
fiddle. Others will become seniors less gracefully, seeming to be more like an
old, worn out bicycle, with a broken chain and two, flat tires. Fine tuning a
fiddle is the key to its current relevance. For baby boomers, exercise is an
important part of that fine tuning. Remember that old bicycles can often be
repaired, but not always, if they have not been taken care of properly.
Registered nurses, who are working in
many different settings, don't always see the baby boomers that are as fit as a
fiddle. They see the ones whose health has broken down through lack of
proper exercise, quite regularly.
From a nurse's perspective,
exercise is vital.
Exercise, in its truest context, is more than physical
exercise. Certainly, there is a fine line and delicate balance between aerobic
and anaerobic exercise that must be maintained, in order to stay physically
healthy. This cannot be refuted, particularly in terms of heart health.
There is something else just as
important to your health as physical exercise. There are other kinds of
exercise that are important. These include mental, emotional and spiritual
exercise. These aspects of your life need to be developed further. No one else
can do this for you.
How can you go about broadening
this horizon in your life?
Thousands of articles have been
written about the relationship between physical exercise and physical health.
There are increasing numbers of articles written about the other realms of
exercise, too. If you are a baby boomer about to enter into retirement, begin to
research these aspects of life, if you have not started to do so.
Healing, health, happiness and
wholeness always go in hand. Neglecting one realm of life in favor of the other
realms can leave anyone, including baby boomers, in the position of having a
potential health deficit.
The transition to senior-hood
can be difficult for people who are not prepared to be seniors. This could
prove true for some baby boomers over the next few years, if they are not ready
to become seniors.
In reality, the majority of
baby boomers see themselves as too young to be seniors.
Right now, baby boomers range
from forty-four to sixty-four years of age. Hundreds of baby boomers are
heading into immediate senior-hood next year, with all of the possible joys and
sorrows of becoming seniors.
The transition from baby boomer
to senior status does not necessarily have to be difficult. It won't be hard
for those who are exercising as they should, but the importance of exercise,
cannot be ignored.
In our era, baby boomers have
the distinct advantage of being able to live life, far beyond the level of
people in any other era, in terms of fulfilling their human potential. Human
potential has to be stretched to its full capacity in order to be realized or
actualized. That means working at it everyday. That entails serious exercise.
The elderly seniors of today,
with some exceptions, did not focus primarily on exercise. Their focus was on
their work. For many seniors, their work was their only exercise. They worked
hard physically. Many times the emotional, mental and spiritual realms played
an important role too, but not always.
Baby boomers of today are far
younger than the men and women of their age, fifty years ago. Many of them are
actively living life to its fullest, in every single way possible and enjoying
it.
They do not get up every
morning, facing the day with fear and dread, regardless of what they are
presented with. They plunge into life's reality and face it head on, regardless
of their personal challenges, individually and collectively.
Thinking about beginning to
exercise, as a baby boomer?
Broaden your horizon of thought
and think about exercising in every possible way, that you can possibly
exercise.
In other words, start by
exercising your mind. Do whatever is necessary to expand that horizon. Broaden
your emotional and spiritual realm, by exercising the power of the love of God
and one another more fully. Never forget the importance of exercise in the
physical realm.
Are you experiencing pain and
feel that you may not be able to exercise?
For instance, are you having
pain across your shoulders, from continually working on your computer? That is
typical of lactic acid build up in your system or a deficit of oxygen, with
respect to your muscles. This suggests that your physical body needs more
exercise. Increase your physical activity and your oxygen level will improve.
As your circulation improves, so will your heart health, as well as your mental
and emotional state. Your pain will gradually decrease or disappear.
Always remember that your body,
mind and soul always function together, as a whole.
Get up and start exercising.
There just is no room for couch potatoes in the baby boomer world, regardless
of whether it is in the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual realm.
Is exercise important from a
nursing perspective? Yes, but when you exercise, exercise in the fullest
understanding of the word.
It's time to get that old
fiddle tuned up. You still have a sweet song to play. Repair that old bicycle,
or find a new one somewhere. You will be glad that you did, especially on that
day that you enter into senior-hood.
That's not too far away, is it?
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