1. The Secret to Aging Gracefully

    June 19, 2013

    aging gracefully

    Tao Porchon-Lynch, the world’s oldest yoga instructor.

    by Anita Brayer

    It’s not a miraculous face cream. It’s not a brilliant makeup technique. It’s not a hidden plastic surgery procedure.  Then what’s the secret to aging gracefully? It’s quite simple: Acting your age.

    Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”

    It’s entirely possible to blossom into a beautiful old woman full of poise and grace without the aid of face cream, makeup, or plastic surgery. You just need to embrace your aging body. Understand that it’s simply part of nature, and there’s perfectly nothing wrong with getting old.

    Society views “old” as a bad thing, so naturally we women want to stay young forever. Some women take aging harder than others. You can find such women at the hottest club in town, dressed in tight mini-dresses and flirting with men two decades younger than them. They may think they’re hip, hot, and so Carrie Bradshaw, but we’re not living in TV land. We live in the real world, where the ladies from Sex and the City would be perceived as flippant women pathetically clinging to their rapidly fading youth. Know what’s funny? Middle-aged women who try so hard to appear 20 years younger actually make themselves seem older than they really are.

    That being said, women who dress and act their own age often come off as refreshingly youthful. There’s something beautiful about a person not being afraid to evolve over the years.

    No, we’re not telling you to cut your hair short at 40, give up exercising at 50, throw away your jeans at 60, take up knitting at 70, and start smelling like mothballs at 80. Rather, we’re just showing you how to embrace and boast your age while remaining youthful and fashionable.

    Just look at Helen Mirren.

    Ladies, Helen Mirren is 67 years old. Sixty-seven years old, and she still looks amazing in a bikini! However, her stunning bikini bod isn’t what makes her beautiful and inspirational; it’s her confidence, intelligence, grace, and total acceptance of her age and appearance. If it were possible, we’d tell you that the trick to aging gracefully is to physically and mentally transform into Helen Mirren. Since such technology wouldn’t exist for another thousand years, you could only move on to the next best solution: acting your age. Here are a few tips on how to act your age while remaining youthful and fashionable:

    Reconsider your definition of ‘old’.

    When you were a kid, you thought grown-ups over the age of 35 once roamed with the dinosaurs, didn’t you? Now that you’ve passed the threshold of little-you’s definition of super old, you’ve found that you’re not so old after all, right? Think about what age you consider to be old right now. Chances are when you reach that age, you’ll change your opinion of what age constitutes as old, and when you reach that age, you’ll change your mind again, and the cycle will keep repeating until the day you die. Actually, you only become old when the world loses color – when you no longer find joy in life. Till then, you’re bright, colorful, and definitely not old!

    Embrace your age.

    Now that you understand you’re not old at all, it’s time to accept your age and understand that it’s just a number. Instead of saying that you’ve got an aging body, start saying that your body’s evolving. Wrinkles? They’re laugh lines! Gray hair? That’s just a new hair color! You’re evolving into a new you, and it’s quite exciting to see how you will end up!

    Take up new activities.

    Part of getting older is accepting that you can no longer do some things. You’ve been doing this your entire life (remember giving up diapers at 3, Barbies at 12, and miniskirts at 25?), so why stop now? When you decide that you’re too mature to keep doing something, don’t sulk! Simply replace it with another activity that’s appropriate for your age.

    Stay fashionable.

    Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you have to give up your fashion sense! There are plenty of age-appropriate fashionable clothes available in many different stores near you. It can’t hurt to wear some makeup, although not too much.

    Keep taking care of your body.

    Eat well, exercise, and treat yourself to a spa session once in a while. Getting older is not an excuse to give up on yourself. Next to acting your age, taking care of your body is the key to aging gracefully.

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  2. On Music Therapy for Alzheimer and Dementia

    May 1, 2013

    Playing piano

    by Sophie Evans

    One of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is dementia, which is a decline in brain function. The earlier someone is diagnosed with this incurable disease, the longer they are likely to have to deal with the symptoms associated with it.

    The greatest fear for most people upon hearing their doctor saying that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is that they will lose their sense of self. They fear that dementia will rob them of their uniqueness and, once that gone, then there is no hope of recapturing it.

    Take for instance veteran soul musician Bobby Womack. He is only 68 years old. Despite being a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, he has trouble remembering songs that he wrote, and even the last names of his band members.

    Music Therapy and Dementia

    This is ironic because music therapy is one of the best ways to help treat every stage of Alzheimer’s, from early onset until later when the individual spends most of their time immobile in a bed or a wheelchair.

    Here are some specific ways it reduces symptoms: 

    1. Offers mental challenges to stimulate the brain and keep it active to fight off symptoms of dementia
    2. Affords individuals with ways express their emotions regarding symptoms related to Alzheimer’s
    3. Provides opportunity for repetition which improves memory function and therefore reduces the occurrences of memory loss
    4. Encourages singing along to lyrics which improves speech and vocal health, even for patients who are otherwise nonverbal
    5. Allows interaction which helps with social interaction and helps reduce depression

    How Music Therapy Works

    We use every part of our brain to process music. And not just in one way – we process music in multiple ways at once! Even if a part of the brain is damaged due to dementia, then music can still stimulate it in ways that prescription medication and other therapies cannot.

    Concetta Tomaino is a certified music therapist and director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function at Beth Abraham Family of Health Services. She explains that “Music has a personal significance to someone…is a strong stimulus to engage responses in people.”

    In other words, if a particular song or piece of music has historic significance in regards to something from our past, then we are likely to be moved by it. Along with the memory of that event are the emotions associated with it. This can delay Alzheimer’s symptoms, and even improve quality of life.

    Individual Therapy Programs

    One of the largest benefits of music therapy is that the therapist can tailor and individualize programs to suit the unique needs of each patient who suffers from Alzheimer’s. These programs are based on the individual’s personal history and ability to engage with others.

    Just because something works for one person does not mean it will work for all patients. That is because each person who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s could present symptoms that are as unique as their own genetic makeup!

    The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (www.alzfdn.org) advises that any time a particular piece of music evokes distress that the session should discontinue. They observe that stress may be indicated by “agitation, facial grimaces or increasing muscular tension.”

    Alzheimer’s and Instruments

    Along with listening to music and singing to it, individuals can play an instrument to express their feelings, relieve stress, or just as a way to be able to interact socially. For those who have never played a musical instrument before, it is still possible to take basic lessons on learning.

    Learning how to play an instrument, like the piano, offers a way for Alzheimer’s patients to reach small goals and work their way up to slightly larger ones. For patients who lack the ability to sit at the piano, an iPad or other tablet offers how to learn piano notes.

    Being able to just tap or swipe across a digital screen to play an instrument helps Alzheimer’s patients build confidence regarding their new talent. Individuals who just prefer listening can operate an iPod or MP3 player – even if they lack the motor skills to do much else with their hands.

    Image Credit: Vladimir Agafonkin

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