In just one weeks time I'll be in Ibiza - (No, not to party! Believe it or not Ibiza seems to shut down for December! Clearly the revellers who arrive in their droves in the summer months think it's too cold to party so the airlines simply stop going there!!)
No - I'm going to Ibiza to refresh my yoga teacher training and to begin the process of up-skilling in the more recent field of therapeutic yoga so I can support people with more serious medical conditions such as cancer or arthritis.
Now I'm no spring chicken! There's been a lot of water gone under the bridge and a number of major career changes and personal crises which have peppered my 62 years - but I'm still standing! Actually, my fitness level could give my two children a run for their money - not that I'm competitive of course you understand!
I believe a large factor in my maintaining good health is down to regular yoga practise for the last 40+ years.
I first began teaching yoga in my twenties - and whilst I stopped teaching for the next 3 decades I still practised regularly. I'm a total convert - and I'd like to show others how it can help them continue to live life to the full, regardless of the date on your birth certificate.
My belief? Ageing is inevitable - how we handle it isn't!
The so called baby boomer generation of which I am one has led the way to changing expectations of what we look like and what we can achieve at 60 and beyond. We still have lots of things we want to do and goals we want to set: places we want to see; grandchildren we want to be fit enough to spend time with; new hobbies or interests we want to pursue and just having a darned good time! Retiring is no longer about slowing down.
Hitting mid life is often a watershed too - and an opportunity to set new goals.
For many hitting 45 is a time for re-evaluating how we're spending our time; realising there 's more to life than work or becoming aware age is creeping up on us, the big 50 is round the corner, and wanting to ensure we make the most of our lives.
That reflection often leads us to make significant changes to how we live, and to setting new goals we want to make sure we achieve.
There's nothing more likely to put a hold on our goals than health problems.
In our twenties and even thirties we probably didn't think too much about our health - it's easy to feel immortal at that age! But neglect or abuse a car for too long and you're likely to require more than an MOT to run effectively. It's no different with our bodies. I don't want to end up unable to tick those things off my bucket list because my body lets me down.
That's why I'm doing this yoga training - first and foremost for me. I already know it works - I want to know more! But most of all I want to be able to share this really useful approach with as many others as I can - so more people benefit - and achieve their goals!
Studies show that when we make our goals public we are more likely to be committed to making them happen - so here goes my public statement!
So here's my goals:
- To develop and expand my experience and expertise in yoga so I can more usefully help others.
- To transform the health, well-being and experience of ageing for anyone approaching mid-life or later years, creating ongoing generations of healthier older people.
- To encourage further and continued research into the benefits of yoga for certain conditions.
- To build a network of skilled therapeutic yoga teachers both in the UK and abroad.
- To reach one million people by 2020.
- To support charities which research specific conditions related to ageing.
Any encouragement, advice or support is welcomed! Please join me on my journey.
What are your goals?
