Most of the time, I feel rushed. My to do list has not been done in months – years even. I've made commitments that seem reasonable, but I find them increasingly hard to meet. I don't think I've become less productive, rather, I think there are demands on my time now that weren't there 5 years ago. This is no one's fault – it's just life.
My life circumstances have changed but in my mind I can still do what I did easily 5 years ago. At some point, soon I hope, I will acclimatize to what is possible and say no a whole lot more often. Until then, I keep hoping that I will accept what comes at me with grace.
I admit to having a patience problem. I try to take deep, calming breaths rather than resorting to chanting four-letter words when I am presented with things that prevent me from moving forward at hyper-speed. I like hyper-speed but most of the world does not. I can report that my four-letter-word filter is working better than I thought it would when I installed it (that was last year's resolution).
Anyway, balance is hard. And actual balance is even harder. Jeff, when he was home for Christmas, demonstrated what he thought his dad and I needed to work on for our future well-being. He's right. As we all age, balance is key. Steve and I both are now practicing this move every evening. You should too – but please do not fall down. Falling down is really bad.
Stand on two feet and focus on being upright. Bring your hands up even with your ears, one on each side. Now, lift one foot behind you, bent at the knee. Set yourself and then close your eyes. Hold it for 30 seconds.
Unless you are really, really balanced, you can't. I can hold the stance for maybe 5 seconds. But 30 seconds is what I am working toward. One tip – tighten your abs. Another thing I tried last night was to start with my eyes closed and that helped. It may take weeks or months but I am going to get to that 30 second mark.
And Chris, our other very helpful son, sent me this a few days ago. Read the subtitles…
Basically what it says is that mortality rates are higher for people who cannot get up from the floor. If you are young and reading this, you cannot imagine not being able to get up off the floor. Trust me when I tell you that it can happen.
My takeaway from this video is that if you can get up without using your hands, even better! So Steve and I are practicing standing on each foot with our eyes closed (as per Jeff) and then we practice getting down to the floor and back up without using our hands. I can't get up with my legs crossed but I can with my feet in other positions. If you have to use your hands, that's OK. It's still very important to be able to get up from the floor on your own.
If the above exercises have made you glum, I have one more bit of news that will make you feel better. Read this and have a cookie! Thin may be fashionable but it's not necessarily the most healthy. I'm going to breathe deeply, enjoy dinner AND dessert!
Piece O Cake Blog 
are we TWINS????
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Yes, we probably are twins.
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just keep your hands beside your head, or extend your arms out? just bend the knee, don’t extend your leg, right?
I read the same thing about getting up off the floor with no hands, good to practice……….
I really enjoy your blog, especially the home projects, I am also pretty “high-speed”, so I can relate.
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Yoga!
Since doing yoga, my scores have increased and balance improved. We do the tree pose, which is basically that balancing exercise.
Google the corpse pose…..nor as bad as it sounds, but it entails lying on the floor arms and legs out from the sides , and staying still as a ……try lying still, those with patience problems find it very hard….then allow your body to overcome it’s creaks and groans, concentrate on slowing your breath…and before you it..deep relaxation!!!
It’s a good reminder post
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great post – honest and helpful. Thanks!
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Thank you for sharing all that. I have been feeling the same way for a couple of years now and it has been getting me down, and 4 letter words are all too frequent. I will try to follow your lead on the “4 letter word filter” the balance and the practice on getting off the floor… 😉
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Kim and I were only good for 5 seconds. We will work to improve our times and really show off the next time you come in:)
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I’m not even going to tell you how the “getting up off the floor” exercises went:(
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Yes, your hands are up the way they might be in a movie if you were being in a stick-up, with a gun pointed at you. Thats probably a bad analogy, but its what comes to mind. I dont extend my leg. I bend it at the knee, bringing my foot up behind me.
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Yes! The tree pose would be good! And I must try the corpse pose. Ive been considering making a stab at meditation… if I can ever find the time.
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We can test each other 🙂
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As Steve says, so what if you have to use your hands. Men have a different center of gravity and getting up with no hands is harder for him. His brother, who we saw today, has a bad knee and hes going to have to use a hand to get up off the floor no matter how good a condition hes in. The main point is to try not to let yourself get to the point where you cant get off the floor under your own steam.
Life happens and even with exercise and practice, I could get to the point where I cant get up. But dont you hope that by starting now youll be more prepared when youre older? Thats my hope.
And to readers who already cant get up off the floor, I hope you are still doing what you can to stay mobile. Even little movements help a lot. Mom does Silver Sneakers and she really enjoys it.
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OK! I am going to work on the balance and getting up off the floor, I can do it using my hands but not without….
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You know, the main thing is getting up. And staying limber and strong enough to continue to be able to get up.
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Well, I was pleasantly surprised! Yoga is still paying off, even though it has been a few years. But I am not fit, this is about concentration.
For me, the key to this is the same as meditation. Pick a spot on the opposite wall (put a sticky note there if there is nothing else) and focus on that. Don’t let yourself think about anything else, don’t think about your body at all, just focus on that spot. You will be amazed too!
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Thanks Becky–I intend to add these practices to what I already do. I know that I need to work on getting up & down from & to the floor–I hate that I struggle so much with it. I guess I need to stop avoiding it!
I’ve been working on balancing on 1 foot without closing my eyes & have greatly improved–that closing the eyes thing really makes me feel insecure.
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Great post! I had a friend who was 75 tell me that she thought the most important thing to do as we aged was to keep our balance. She had a hip replacement and so did my Mom. Mom never did the rehab and used the surgery as an excuse not to do much from then on. My friend did go to physical therapy and was able to play tennis until she was 80. Mom passed away at 72. So I was 40 then and took her advice to get down on the floor daily and to stretch! I started yoga. Now I am 60 and feel I am in better shape than most of my friends who don’t exercise. It does work! I agree about the weight too, I have noticed that my older aunts who are really thin seem to end up in a nursing home with the Dr. trying to get them to gain weight! Balance is the key.
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