B L Razdan
In his famous essay New Year’s Eve, Charles Lamb reflects wistfully on the passage of time saying “… I set more count upon their periods, and would fain lay my ineffectual finger upon the spoke of the great wheel….” We all know that time and tide wait for none. You can’t stop the clock; you can’t turn back the hands of time. And as time passes, age sneaks upon us and there is no escaping the fact that we are all growing one year older every 365 days and a quarter.
It is now very well known that our body is made up of trillions of cells. Science proves that our cells regenerate every 7 years leading into an entirely new existence. Even Einstein said that 98% of the intelligence and energy renews every year. It has been seen that for some mysterious reason, the cells suddenly stop regenerating as though there is an in-built time device inside them, and then deterioration sets in. For some people it happens very late so ageing is delayed while for others it happens relatively sooner.
The yoga tradition offers a completely different script, one rich with possibility. Here we play four distinct roles in the four distinct stages as the drama of life unfolds.Vedas have outlined the ways to achieve the goals of life by scrupulously follow- ing the four ashramas or stages of life: Brahmacharya Ashram (first 25 years)-Student life -observing celibacy; Grihastha Ashrama (25 to 50 years) Householder (married life); Vanprastha Ashrama (50 to 75 years), Scriptural studies and meditation on God and Sanyasa Ashrama (75 to100 years)Cultivation of God-consciousness- Monastic way of life. The first two are self-explanatory and accord well with our modern view. During the student years-childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood-our primary task is acquiring the knowledge and skills we need to make our way in the world. We draw on these attainments when we become householders, immersing ourselves in the rough and tumble of life as we go about earning a living, raising a family, and doing our civic duty. But the resemblance ends there. In our modern script, the third act-retirement-defines us in terms of what we’ve left behind instead of what lies ahead. Up through our late 50s and into our 60s, our energy has been mainly focused on tangible achievements: earning a degree, building a career, raising children, acquiring property and perhaps even making a name for ourselves. Now, as these familiar identities and activities fall away, we find ourselves without a clear, purposeful direction.
“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” said Benjamin Franklin. We may not have grown very wise till date, but we know that with years of rich experience and reflection, we can rise above our own circumstances and live an old age of variety, creativity, and fulfillment despite the physical limitations that we may have; for the ability to learn and adjust continues throughout one’s life and is strongly influenced by interests, activities, and motivation. If we take preventive measures now, we can literally reduce the chances of unnecessary damage to our body and soul and age more gracefully.
Aging inspires introspection, and growing gracefully is something that people should aspire to do. With the physical challenges that maturity brings, having a sense of humor, dignity, and a better perspective on things can help in a large measure. Given the physical and cognitive declines seen in ageing, a surprising finding is that emotional experience improves with age. Older adults are better at regulating their emotions and experience negative effects less frequently than younger adults and show a positive effect in their attention and memory. The emotional improvements show up in longitudinal studies as well as in cross-sectional studies and so cannot be entirely due to only the happier individuals surviving. All the same cultivation of a positive attitude is of great help in leading a healthy life. We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”, said Mark Twain. To understand ageing, it must be understood that all that exists in this universe is matter and life. And it is life that is responsible for holding the matter together. When there is no life, matter decays – just like in the case of a dead body. Our body is nothing but matter. Life, in turn, is the outcome of thought. It would naturally follow that our body is the expression of thinking and the mind. Just like dreams are an outcome of thinking, so is the body an expression of thought. If you have beautiful, young thoughts this will form’ autosuggestion’ to each body cell to mould itself accordingly. Taken together the cells form the body and so the body as a whole gets moulded accordingly. So, if we can condition our thoughts to be right, it follows that our body will also be right.
Before middle age one should not fear; after middle age one should not regret. Enjoy your life while you can. Treat sickness with optimism, whether you are rich or poor. Every one has to go through birth, aging, sickness and death. There’s no exception. That is life. If worry can cure sickness, then go ahead and worry. If worry can prolong life, then go ahead and worry. If worry can exchange for happiness, then go ahead and worry. If not, the least one can do is to stop worrying. The two most important things you must do every day – smile and laugh. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
The need to reverse or slow down aging is important to extend the lifespan of a human being. The best and a sure way to do it is through natural means. Eliminating stress is a sine-quo-non for healthy aging. Stress is an important factor in people aging quickly because it damages the part of DNA responsible for controlling aging of the cells. Research has shown that people who are chronically stressed because of various factors such as poor health, caring for terminally ill, etc, age much more quickly than people who are much more stress free. Regular exercise relieves stress because the brain produces endomorphins, which keep the body in a better state of mind and improve its well-being. Some people suffer stress because of the lack of sleep. A short nap during the day can help such people overcome stress. Consciously keeping oneself busy in activities that may interest one also help to relieve stress because they have the psychological effect of putting one’s mind into subconscious of a world without any worries and negative thoughts while participating in the activity.
A regular exercise at least five days a week will prove of immense benefit. Biologically, exercise helps to improve the body’s muscle tone and anatomical condition in many ways. It also helps to improve one’s lung capacity significantly and strengthens the bones that helps reduce the risk of arthritic condition developing. For older people, gentle aerobic activity is more suitable as it eliminates the risk of injury.
The human body is made up of 50% to 70% water. Our body loses about three litres of water each day through perspiration, urination and respiration. Taking plenty of water every day helps to neutralize acids in the body by washing out toxins. Waiting until you are thirsty isn’t always the best barometer. Thirst is a response to dehydration. It is recommended that the average person should drink at least two to three litres of clean, pure water each day.. Water prevents pre-mature aging and also benefits our skin by acting as an internal moisturizer
Diet plays a crucial role in the process of aging. It can either expedite the process or help to slow it down. A bad diet high in sugars, fats and intoxicating foods can contribute in reducing acidic regulatory elements within the body. Foods that are good for health – eat plenty and more; but that is not everything. Foods that are not good for health – eat less once in a while but do not abstain from them totally. At occasions eat whatever you feel like eating; it is most important to be happy.
Alcohol weakens the immune system, and creates unnecessary problems within the body, by depleting it of vitamins and minerals it desperately needs to function properly. Alcohol in excess is known to overtax the liver, which is a much-needed organ that helps to diffuse impurities from reaching and harming other organs and systems of the human body.
Lastly, one should get moving to get a life. Gardening, dancing, running around the mall and similar activities keep one’s muscles in shape, one’s heart rate elevated, and one’s neurons firing. Crossword puzzles; Sodoku; bridge and other card games; research has shown that such brain teasers and exercises keep it sharp and prevent Alzheimer’s.
Scientists may one day slow down aging with a simple injection of youthful stem cells. They’ve just proven this can be done in mice, according to a study published very recently in Nature Communications. “It was mind boggling,” remarked study co-author Johnny Huard, a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “When I saw them I thought, ‘Oh my God, I must have made a mistake and put the normal mice in the wrong cage.’ But they were indeed the mice we’d injected with the stem cells.” Sorry that we may not be around when such a simple prick would inject in us the elixir of youth.
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