Covid, Covid, Covid has taken over our lives. Of course, you must see your doctor and get vaccinated and boosted for your protection. During these times with Covid, you may have been faced with overwhelming life challenges. Maybe you lost your job, or you must stay home with children while home schooling, plus doing your own work at home including household work, losing family and friends that have died and not able to go to their funerals or even to the hospital. (These lands close to my heart as my brother in law’s mother passed during the lockdown and he could not even visit her in the hospital because of Covid which was very devastating for him).
For you being in the age range of 50 -75 years old, these times can be especially challenging. Maybe you are feeling secluded (cut off) because of not being able to go out and socialize more often and unable to go to your regular exercise class, even if you watch an exercise class on TV, there is no other person there with you to talk to or share information. Or, maybe feeling stiff in your body (not feeling flexible enough), and you have problems with staying balanced during movement, not feeling strong in your upper body because of muscle loss, fear of injury and pulling muscles, especially wrists injury during exercise routine, feeling stressed out and having a lack of motivation to even get started with your overall selfcare. These factors contribute to your overall decline in mental health.
But there is good news! There is also neuroplasticity to consider when you get older. Neuroscientist, Jerzy Konovski says that neuroplasticity is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. When you change a negative behavior to positive, and with constant repetition, the neurons rearrange themselves to form new pathways to create the change you desire. Wow, this is so extremely exciting as its means that with repetition you can wire in new behaviors, new habits which will become the new normal. Wow, it is great to know that your old habits which are entrenched in you and that are not serving you, can be overturned with repetition because of neuroplasticity. For example, I was terrified of appearing on camera and I now make videos for social media, Instagram, and you tube.
If you can create a bad negative habit, you can create a good positive beneficial habit. If you are willing to, it really is never too late to change.
In Mona D. Fishbane, PhD’s article “Change is a Choice: Nurturing Neuroplasticity in Your Life, 9/30/2015, she states that: Researchers have identified three (3) habits as facilitating neuroplasticity as you age: (1) physical exercise (which increases blood flow to the brain, delivering much needed oxygen); (2) paying attention, for example, you can learn a new language or learn to play a musical instrument, or you can do crossword puzzles, anything that you can place your focus on shifts the attention off negatives as what you focus on expands, and (3) learning new things. Reverend Carrera says in his book “Inside the Yoga Sutras” that the way to develop new habits is the purposeful redirection of attention.
So, it makes excellent sense at this age (50 -75) to focus on physical exercise and learning new things. Now you know that your brain can create a new habit, you can start creating positive, healthy habits every day. As with all change, you must start off slowly. Giving an example of a metaphor of crossing a huge river. You step on one “rock” at a time to get to the other side and to have patience with yourself and love yourself and be gentle during your transformation.
So, what can 50 -75 years old do to encourage neuroplasticity and better mental health?
Well, at this point, I want to share with you 3 practices that can, if done regularly, quite quickly start to retrain your brain and will set you up with a strong foundation, with a healthy mind, brain, and body. You will feel more flexible in your body, more balanced and more confident in your movements, feeling stronger in your body, less stress, less body aches, you will feel motivated to get started with a selfcare program and you will develop a more positive outlook for your life.
1.YOGA
You can start with these three (3) yoga poses with breathing exercises included during the flow to move the body and fill the cells with life giving oxygen to stimulate and keep the brain sharp and capable. Dr. Nevins from the American Osteopathic Association says that “Yoga’s incorporation of meditation and breathing can help improve a person’s mental well-being.” “Regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centers attention; and sharpens concentration,” … Body and self-awareness are particularly beneficial, she adds, “because they can help with early detection of physical problems and allow for early preventive action.”
Here are the 3 Yoga poses:
1.Bound Angle Pose
Mental Health Benefit: This pose quiets the mind and brings focus inwards and relieves anxiety and fatigue
Instructions: Sit with your legs stretched in front of you. Bend your legs and bring the soles of your feet together, close to your groin. Hold on to the outsides of your feet. Lengthen your spine upward with an inhale. Bend forward with an exhale and release your torso toward the floor. Relax your neck. Hold the pose and take slow deep breaths. Rise with an inhale.
2.Tadasana Pose or Standing pose
Mental Health Benefit: Improves clarity and mental focus and promotes awareness.
Instructions: Stand with your feet together. Allow your arms to hang by your sides, palms facing in. Reach the crown of your head toward the sky. Point your tailbone toward the floor. Widen across your collarbones and relax your shoulders downward. Engage your core and thighs and lift your kneecaps up. Hold the pose and take slow, deep breaths.
3. Downward Facing Dog
Mental Health Benefits: Brings fresh blood to the brain and soothes headaches.
Instructions: Lie on your stomach. Bring your hands under your shoulders and spread your fingers wide. Bring your feet as wide as your hips and curl your toes under. Push into the floor and come onto your knees with an exhale, then slowly straighten your legs. Release your heels toward the floor. Reach your tailbone toward the sky behind you to lengthen your spine. Bring your head in between your arms. Hold the pose and take slow, deep breaths. Release your knees to the floor with an exhale and sit back on your heels.
2.POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
You can create positive affirmations that fill up the subconscious mind (Motivational guru, Tony Robbins says: the subconscious mind goes beyond learning new skills. It’s involved in information processing and affects everything we think say and do. It stores our beliefs and values, determines our memories, and monitors the information all around us, deciding what to send to the conscious mind and what to store for later. It affects every moment of our lives and most of us don’t even know it). Positive affirmations create new neural pathways, overriding any negativity because scientists have discovered that your body is a physical representation of your mind, i.e., the thoughts you think are represented in your body. Raymond Holliwell, author of “Working with the Law” states “that those who study the mental processes find that all the conditions of the body are created or caused by the mind. Scientists accept the Truth that the body of man is moved by the mind.” Negative thoughts represent negative emotions, positive thoughts represent positive emotions. Also, saying these positive affirmations in the mirror goes directly to your subconscious mind. Your thoughts become your feelings and then your emotions, which is energy in motion. For example, if you think “I am sad” constantly you will begin to feel sad (have sad feelings) then you will start to act sad in your physical body by being unmotivated, depressed, etc. Here is a quote from Abraham Hicks regarding thoughts and aging: “We forget that we are supposed to feel good, and we are not vigilant about feeling good. Negative emotion is slowing us down. The reason for the aging process is negative emotion. The willingness to endure it, the acceptance of it. … So, find thoughts that feel the best.”
For example, if you are feeling stiff in your body or have weakness in your upper body or if you feel stressed mentally or you just don’t feel confident to start a selfcare routine. You can say this affirmation: I choose health and vitality, or My cells are healthy and vital. This changes your focus, and you will begin to slowly get ideas to increase your health and vitality.
3. MEDITATION
Dr. Swami Karmananda, author of “Yogic Management of Common Diseases” states that: Meditation is fundamental to yogic life. It gradually instills peace, stability and increasing awareness into the life of the individual who is trapped in the throes of pain, fear, insecurity, and emotional agony.” If you practice meditation constantly you will feel calmer in your mind from the constant negative thoughts. You can start off with 5 mins early in the morning before doing anything else, for example watching TV news or any other social media. Just close your eyes and focus on your breath and with practice you can increase the time. This calms your mind and body and puts you in a receiving mode to receive ideas from infinite intelligence (source) for what your desires now are for you to do during this stage in life and prepares you for the day. Here is a quote from Abraham Hicks re: source: “You are source energy in a human body, and you get what you want.”
Meditation instructions: Just sit down (you can sit in a chair), just make sure your back is straight) and close your eyes. Begin to deepen your breath and focus on your breath. Your mind will begin to think many thoughts, but just keep going back to focusing on your breath. Do not get discouraged because just like you learn to ride a bicycle with practice you will learn to meditate with practice. There are many tools you can use to increase satisfaction during this time, for example you can purchase a special meditation cushion, incense, or Tibetan singing bowls, which works to help you to focus your mind. Here is a link to one of my meditations.
So, I would love to hear which one of these you are going to put into action this week? Let me know by sending me an email at Kerrinesyogamindset@gmail.com I would love to hear from you or for more support like this come over and join my wellness email at Kerrinesyogamindset.com.
Kerrine Ramsey
500 hrs. Yoga Alliance Certified teacher
Certified Reiki Practitioner
Certified Magnetic Mind Coach
