The Yogi Grandma

Over the last few days in this series on Longevity, I’ve told you about two amazing masters of longevity. One was Joe Rollino, who unfortunately passed away on Jan. 11, 2009 (having been hit by a car) at the young age of 104; and then I told you about the amazing Jack Lalanne, who at 95 has proclaimed that he plans to live to 150.

So let’s look today at another person who is an amazing example of someone who is experiencing a long and vital life, and has not allowed age to slow her down.

This person is the Yogi Grandma, 83-year-old Australian yoga instructor and grandmother Bette Calman, who is still bending over backwards to spread the benefits of the ancient Indian discipline.

Bette has been teaching yoga for 40 years, and still is extremely flexible. She’s the author of three yoga books, including one called Yoga for Arthritis.

She can do all the difficult moves including the agonizing “peacock” where the body is held in a horizontal position by the strength of the arms alone; she can also pull off a tricky raised “lotus,” “bridge,” and a headstand with ease.

She can also put her head between her knees and hold her ankles, putting her inflexible grandchildren to shame.

On top of all that, she still teaches up to 11 yoga classes a week

“I’m proof that if you keep at it, you’ll get there. I can do more now than I could 50 years ago,” Bette Calman said.

And she has no plans to give up and retire anytime soon. “You’re never too old. The body is a remarkable instrument. It can stretch and stretch, and get better all the time. Forget age,” she says. “Even a basic posture, or just going to a window and breathing deeply, can have big benefits.”

It’s that spirit that has made Bette Calman a legend in her native Australia.

She was a pioneer of yoga in the 1950’s, ran yoga centers for 33 years, and made regular TV appearances in the 1970’s.

She then thought she would retire, and moved to be closer to her daughter, but the call of yoga was just too much for her to ignore, and here she is now, teaching 11 yoga classes a week, and looking like she’s not planning on stopping anytime soon.

Living a Low Density Lifestyle – especially as a longtime yogi/yoga teacher – has made Bette Calman a model of longevity. As she says, “Yoga keeps you young.

“Never have I gone to a yoga class and wished I was somewhere else, because I know I’m going to come out feeling on the top of the world. There’ll always be yoga.”

Jack LaLanne – The Master of Longevity

In the previous article in this series on Longevity, I told you about the amazing Joe Rollino, an incredible master of longevity, who died far too soon at age 104.

If you read the article, you will recall that Joe was hit by a car on Jan. 11, 2010, and passed away shortly thereafter. Otherwise, Joe would still be going strong. His daily routine was to get up very early, walk 5 miles, and then possibly go for a swim in the icy, frigid Atlantic ocean by Coney Island, in Brooklyn, NY.

Today I want to tell you about another amazing master of longevity, one that is still going strong - Jack LaLanne.

Jack Lalanne, born in 1914, is now 95. He is considered the “godfather of fitness,” and is well-known for the many books he has written, the fitness television show he hosted from 1951-1985, and for the juicer that bears his name that he sells on TV.

But Jack LaLanne is no hawker of questionable goods. He is the real deal – a model for how to live a healthy, vital and long life, a Low Density Lifestyle life.

His passion is living a healthy and fit life, and he is recognized for his success as a bodybuilder and for his prodigious feats of strength.

But it wasn’t always that way for Jack – he was a sickly child who was addicted to sugar and junk food. At age 15 he heard a lecture on health and nutrition that had a profound impact on him, and from there decided to focus on his health.

He changed his diet and started exercising regularly. He made these lifelong habits, and he blames overly processed foods for many of today’s health problems. He advocates an organic, vegetarian diet as the best type of diet to eat, and his simple rules of nutrition are, “if man made it, don’t eat it”; and “if it tastes good, spit it out.”

His interest in health led Jack to take pre-med courses in college, and to attend and graduate from a chiropractic college. Yet his newfound interest in personal health steered him away from the idea of treating disease for a living, and instead, his focus became helping people to avoid disease by achieving optimal health and fitness.

In 1936 in Oakland, CA, he opened up the first health spa/gym way before it was fashionable, and at the gym he preached the benefits of weightlifting. Meat and potatoes was the standard fare back then, yet LaLanne, far ahead of his time, opened a combination gym, juice bar and health-food store.

In the 1950s, on his TV show, LaLanne suggested that daily calisthenics rather than girdles would keep housewives trim. “My whole career, doctors and so-called experts called me a crackpot and charlatan,” he says. “But I was right.”

He celebrated his recent 95th birthday with the publication of his new book, Live Young Forever. In the book, Jack teaches you how to achieve a vibrant, motivated, stress-free, sexually active life that will make waking up a joy for decades to come.

That sounds to me just like a Low Density Lifestyle life.

Even at age 95, Jack LaLanne continues to work out daily, exercising for two hours every morning. He spends an hour and a half in the weight room, and then a half hour either swimming or walking.

And for various prior birthdays, he has done all kinds of prolific activities to show off his fitness. For example:

***in 1976, at age 62: To commemorate the “Spirit of ‘76″, United States Bicentennial, he swam one mile in Long Beach Harbor in Southern California. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he towed 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.

***in 1979, at age 65: Towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with 6,500 pounds of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp.

***in 1980, at age 66: Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for over one mile in less than one hour.

***in 1984, at age 70: Once again handcuffed and shackled, he fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles while towing 70 boats with 70 people from the Queensway Bay Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary.

And what is the key to longevity, according to Jack Lalanne, the master of longevity? Let’s hear it from Jack, in his own words:

“You have to work at longevity. Exercise is king and nutrition is queen: together, you have a kingdom. My ‘secret’ is that you have to plan for your life. Some older people are now starting to exercise, but there are too many fat people. They spend time watching TV and drinking at the bar, then they say they don’t have time to exercise. People need to get their priorities straight.

“To live a long life, you have to work at living. Most Americans work at dying. You wouldn’t give your dog a donut and coffee for breakfast. Yet people fill their bodies with junk and then wonder where their physical health has gone.

“Life is like planting seeds. Put junk in, junk comes out. Exercise is also essential. Exercise increases your life expectancy and gives you a reason to get up in the morning. With a sound program of physical fitness, everyone can lead healthy and productive lives in their golden years.

“You control your life. My dad died at 50, but your genetics don’t control your longevity. Do the things that are under your control. Man can live to be 150. Common diseases like diabetes can be controlled by diet and exercise. Stay away from animal fats and processed foods. Read every food label, and if you can’t pronounce the ingredients, don’t buy it. Buying nutrient-empty foods is like putting water in the gas tank of your car. But good food by itself is not enough. You need a healthy lifestyle as well.

“Nutrition and exercise should be an important part of everyone’s life. Life should be a happy adventure, and to be happy you need to be healthy. Just take things one step at a time, and remember that everything you do takes energy to achieve. You need to plant the seeds and cultivate them well. Then you will reap the bountiful harvest of health and longevity!”

Thank you Jack LaLanne. You are a true visionary and pioneer. Listen to his words well, and you too can live a long and vital life.

Goodbye Joe, You Left Us Too Soon at 104

As I continue with this series on Longevity, I want to tell you about Joe Rollino.

Sadly, Joe Rollino died this past Monday morning, Jan. 11, 2010. He was out walking near his home in Brooklyn, NY when he was struck by a van.

The above video has the news report. There’s a 15 second commercial at the beginning, so be patient, as it’s worth the wait.

Joe had his morning routine. He would go out early, while it was still dark, and buy the newspaper and a lottery ticket. Then he would walk 5 miles. After his walk, depending on his mood, he might go for a swim. In the ocean. The Atlantic ocean. No matter what the temperature was.

Joe Rollino was 104 when he died, and his 105th birthday would have been in March.

Joe was a lifelong vegetarian – his mother was a vegetarian, which was unusual in that time – who still had all of his own teeth, and ate oatmeal every morning. He never smoked or drank alcohol, he walked five miles every morning, rain or shine, and he also exercised everyday.

People called him the Great Joe Rollino, the Mighty Joe Rollino and even the World’s Strongest Man, for he was a man of extraordinary strength.

Joe Rollino once lifted 475 pounds, using neither his arms nor his legs but instead, his teeth. With just one finger he raised up 635 pounds; with his back he moved 3,200. He bit down on quarters to bend them with his thumb.

At his 103rd birthday party, he put a quarter in his teeth and then bent it. He apologized for his act, saying he used to be able to do it with dimes.

At this same party, retired NYPD detective Arthur Perry met Rollino for the first time, and didn’t believe Rollino was the celebrant – he looked too good for a centenarian.

“It was astonishing, how he was smiled upon by nature,” Perry said. “If you would’ve said to me he was 80, I’d have said he looked younger. And when he started shadow boxing, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

He was a member of the Coney Island swimming society, the Iceberg Athletic Club. Members of the club swam into the icy waters of the Atlantic in Coney Island. But Joe was the leader of the pack: he holds the record for swimming everyday for 8 straight years.

The Iceberg members actually swim in the ocean three or four times a week, and attribute the habit to enduring good health. It is called “winter bathing.”

The water temperature, they insist, is often warmer than the air temperature. If they stay in for 5 or 10 minutes, they believe the cold water kills germs that fester inside one’s body. All the members of the club have attested to the fact that since they started winter bathing, they have not been sick.

When asked at his 103rd birthday party, Joe Rollino couldn’t recall the last time he was sick.

One winter, the police asked Joe Rollino to see if he could find the bodies of two people who drowned in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, because the police did not have the necessary protective equipment and it was too cold for anyone else to jump in and bring them to the surface. Joe went in and recovered the bodies.

If it wasn’t for the car striking him down, Joe would still be with us. Even at 104 years young, Joe left us too soon.

Joe Rollino was a role model for what longevity is all about. We all have a lot to learn from Joe Rollino.

Live Long and Prosper

Today begins the first series of the year – on Longevity.

Why longevity? By living a Low Density Lifestyle and experiencing exceptional health, it increases the odds of living long many times over.

Experiencing longevity is also about living a vital life well into your later years. It’s one thing to live a long life, it’s another thing to live a long life well.

It can be done, and many have done it and are doing it in this day and age. We’ll meet some of them over the course of this series.

As Mr. Spock always said, “Live Long and Prosper.” Right below is a video of Mr. Spock stating his famous Vulcan salute.

Studies of cultures that are known for longevity have found certain common attributes, and many of these traits are the lifestyle characteristics of a Low Density Lifestyle.

These characteristics are such things as:
***Eating a simple, whole foods, plant-based diet
***Eating less, not more
***Being active, and moving in ways that accentuate flow
***Making quiet time and also making time to relax, unwind,
destress and decompress
***Being happy and having a joyful approach to life
***Exercising your mind and having a purpose in life
***Maintaining a connection to the spiritual dimension of life

At the top of the page is a video from CBS News. When you watch it (there’s a short 15 second commercial for Ford at the very beginning, so please be patient), you’ll understand why longevity isn’t something you experience only if you’re lucky enough to have the right genes. There’s a common denominator that is found with people who live long lives, as the two experts on the CBS program state. These common denominators are the ones listed above.

And they are the common denominators of living a Low Density Lifestyle.

So I say to you, as all Vulcans say to one another, Live Long and Prosper! And remember, you don’t have to be a Vulcan to give the Vulcan salute.

Live a long life, and live it well…

I’ll be back tomorrow with the story of a man who just passed away the other day at the age of 104, and lived an incredibly vital life, well into his later years.

Longevity: Meet the 91-Year Old Drummer Who Rocks!

Jerrie Thill: The 91- Year Old Drummer (Oxygen Tank and All!)

What better way to conclude a series on longevity than to present the above video of Jerrie Thill, a 91-year-old drummer who can still rock!

Isn’t she sweet? And isn’t she a dynamo?

This is what longevity is about, the ability to live a long and prosperous life, and still, even when the advanced years set in, to keep on keepin’ on.

No matter your age, you are always young at heart. Just tell them that Jerrie told you.

Longevity – Secrets to Living a Long and Prosperous Life: Part III

Longevity, the ability to live a long and healthy life, is one of the things that a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.

If you want to experience longevity and live a long and healthy life, there are nine secrets to doing so. And whatever your age, whether you’re young, middle or elderly, or young at heart, if you take these nine secrets into account, you will have found the Fountain of Youth.

The first article covered the first three secrets, and the next article covered the next three secrets to longevity. In this article, I will give you the last three secrets.

The Secrets to Longevity

Secret #7: Have a Sense of the Sacred
Longevity studies have shown that having a spiritual belief and practice can lengthen your life. One recent study that followed 3,617 people for 7 1/2 years found that the people who attended religious services for at least once a month reduced their risk of death by 1/3.

Another study, commissioned by the U.S. National Institutes for Health found that people who pay attention to their spiritual side have lower rates of heart disease, depression, stress, and suicide, and their immune systems functioned better and stronger.

Secret #8: Make Family a Priority
Successful nonagenarians and centenarians embrace family and center their life around the family unit. Ritual, familial duty and an emphasis on togetherness are core values for people who live a long and healthy life.

Secret #9: Being Surrounded by People of Like Mind
Social connectedness is always important, but if you want to live a long and healthy life, having a social network of people also interested in living a long and healthy life can increase your chances of doing so – that means people into a healthy lifestyle.

A study of 12,067 people who were followed for 32 years found that people were more likely to become obese when their friends became obese. And in the case of close mutual friends, if one became obese, the odds of the other becoming obese tripled. The same was also found with weight loss.

As the saying goes, choose your friends wisely.

So that concludes the nine secrets to longevity and living a long and healthy life. If you missed the first three secrets, here’s the article.  And for the next three secrets, here’s the article.  If you follow these secrets well, you’ll be living to at least the age of 150.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the last part of this Longevity series. You’ll hear about a very special person, a model of longevity and living a long and prosperous life.

Longevity – Secrets to Living a Long and Healthy Life: Part II

Longevity, the ability to live a long and healthy life, is one of the things that a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.

If you want to experience longevity and live a long and healthy life, there are nine secrets to doing so. And whatever your age, whether you’re young, middle or elderly, or young at heart, if you take these nine secrets into account, you will have found the Fountain of Youth.

In yesterday’s article, I gave you the first three secrets. Today I will give you the next three secrets to longevity.

The Secrets to Longevity

Secret #4:  Drink Red Wine (or Beer) in Moderation
Studies of cultures that are noted for longevity have found that they all have a daily drink – one or two at most – of wine, beer or sake.  Drinking this amount has been found to lower the risk of heart disease, reduce stress and can reduce chronic inflammation. The best type of wine is a good quality red wine, while the best type of beer is also good quality and unadulterated, such as those made from handcrafters.

Secret #5: Have a Sense of Purpose
If you have a goal, a reason for getting up in the morning and going through the day, you feel like you have a mission in life, something that spurs you on to achieve greater heights. Contrast that with someone who feels as if life is drudgery and has no purpose.

Someone like that won’t feel energized to wake up every morning and take on the day, whereas if you have a sense of purpose, everyday offers new challenges to achieve your vision and dream.

Your sense of purpose can be a grand vision, or it could be something as simple as providing for your children, family or other loved ones. It could also be to always keep learning and expanding your mind, and so you’re always taking on new activities or challenges.

One way or another, the trick is to have something to live for.

Secret #6: You Need Decompression Time
We’re all so good at accumulating lots of stress in our lives, but not as good at the opposite, of finding the time to destress. Decompression time, the ability to stop, unwind, relax and enjoy the simple things, is a fine art that seems to be a rare commodity for so many people.

Decompression time is also essential for living a Low Density Lifestyle.

How often do you stop and smell the roses? Or stop and watch a thunderstorm? Or do some other thing that is not about being busy and doing, but instead allows you to enjoy the passage of time?

So many people are busy with their lives, along with shepherding their kids off to one place or another. In the equation, we’ve become busier and busier.  But what is needed is down time, the decompression time.

Ok, that’s it for today’s secrets to longevity. I’ll be back next time with the next three secrets. Until then, as Mr. Spock always says, “Live long and prosper.”

Longevity – Secrets to Living a Long and Healthy Life: Part I

Longevity, the ability to live a long and healthy life, is one of the things that a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.

If you want to experience longevity and live a long and healthy life, there are nine secrets to doing so. And whatever your age, whether you’re young, middle or elderly, or young at heart, if you take these nine secrets into account, you will have found the Fountain of Youth.

In today’s article, I will give you three of the secrets to longevity. In tomorrow’s article, I will give the next three secrets, and then I will conclude the series on the following day with the final three. So make sure you read them all, so that you can live long and prosper, as Mr. Spock always said.

The Secrets to Longevity

Secret #1: Be Active, But Move in Natural Ways
It’s not a matter of being an Olympic hopeful or competing in triathlons. You just need to move in ways natural to your body rhythms, and to make it part of your daily work routine. Gardening, hiking, walking and bicycling all fit into this, along with countless other movements that can be part of a daily routine.

Obviously exercise is important, but it should be done to accentuate flow. You need different types of exercise, and these should include aerobic, balancing, flexibility and muscle strengthening. Yoga and Pilates fit this bill, but these are not the only ones. Further down the road, in a future article, I’ll talk about the LDL (that’s short for Low Density Lifestyle) Flow series of movements, which combines everything you need effortlessly and seamlessly.

Secret #2: Eat Less
Longevity studies have shown that if people cut their caloric intake by 20% they will live longer. In Japan there is a saying that you should only eat till you’re 80% full. Furthermore, the Japanese believe that if you chew your food really well, about 50 times per mouthful, you will get full much quicker and will need to eat less.

Contrast that with most people, who keep eating even when they are full. Studies have shown that eating less causes less cellular damage in the body because there are less free radicals floating around. Another thing that eating less will do is cause you to lose weight, and having excess weight on your body will not allow you to live a long and prosperous life.

Secret #3: Right Diet
Eating the right diet is an important key to longevity. Patients and clients often tell me that they eat well, but I always find that to be a meaningless comment. Instead I ask them to tell me what their five favorite foods are, and that tells me much more, especially if they tell me ice cream, lasagna and frozen broccoli.

So what constitutes eating well? A diet that emphasizes plant foods, and contains no or only lean meats–and if meats are eaten, it should be only as a supplement, not as the main dish. Studies show that if you restrict meat intake, you live longer.

Furthermore, eating well also means eating few, if any, processed foods, including junk foods, sugars, and foods laden with preservatives and additives.

I’ll be back next time with the next three secrets to longevity and living a long and healthy life. See you then.

What a Low Density Lifestyle Can Do For You

Ok, in yesterday’s post I told you what the 12 steps are to living a Low Density Lifestyle and becoming FREE.  Now that you have mastered all those–and there will be a final exam on it–I want to tell you what a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.  And believe me, it can do some really awesome, life-changing stuff.

Here’s what it can do:

Health and Longevity: It can help you be healthier and live a long and robust life.
Happiness and Joy: You can be happier, more joyous and more passionate about everything.
Better Relationships, Better Sex: A Low Density Lifestyle can help you to have better and healthier relationships with family members, friends, loved ones and your significant other. It can also enhance you sex life. Ah, three cheers for Flow!
Focus and Clarity of Thought: You will become more focused and have more clarity of thought, as opposed to being scattered, forgetful and fuzzy-brained.
Creativity and Genius: You will use more of your mind’s potential and be capable of tapping into your innate genius within. You can then become a visionary!
Productivity: It can help you to be more productive at work, home or anywhere else you choose to apply yourself.,
Success: You will definitely become much more successful when you embrace a Low Density Lifestyle.
Intuition: Your intuition will become razor-sharp, and you will trust the feelings you sense.
The Law of Attraction: Being in the Flow will help to unlock the obstructions in your energy system that block the law of attraction from coming into your life.
Inner Peace: As you find your stillpoint and your center of balance, your entire being will calm down and inner peace will come your way.
Enlightenment: This is the ultimate extension of a Low Density Lifestyle, and it is not outside the realm of possibilities.

So, there you have it.  Yesterday I talked about the 12 steps to living a Low Density Lifestyle and becoming FREE, and today I discussed what a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you. I would suggest reading these again and again.

And remember, if you want more in-depth understanding and knowledge of the wisdom behind the Low Density Lifestyle, sign up for the free 5-day email course. You can sign up in the box in the upper right hand column, or in that crazy little box that pops up on your screen from time to time.  You will be really glad that you did, because it is jam packed with easy to digest material.

Now that a good foundation about the Low Density Lifestyle has been laid, next up on the horizon is delving into all these categories. So buckle your seat belts ladies and gentlemen, because you are about to go on the ride of your life.  You will never know what the posting will be about and what category will be discussed, until you read it. But I promise you it will be topical, relevant, informative and interesting. You will definitely not be bored.

Tune in tomorrow…

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