Acting Your Age with oomph!

I just read in the New York Times an article called “Turn 70, Act Your Grandchild’s Age,” which plays into the notion that some of us expect 70 year olds to act like you should be 20 not 70. This article makes me think of the work we do here at oomphTV. I hope we don’t give the false impression that you must act like a 20 year old to have oomph!

Accepting your age and your limitations, while still doing what you want (and being realistic about what you can do) is part of the message of oomphTV. And a big part of having oomph! is simply enjoying and celebrating life, no matter what you can and can’t do. After all, life is short and let’s simply enjoy what we can while we are here.

Recently Ringo Starr celebrated his 70th birthday by playing at the Radio City Music Hall and saying his new hero is BB King, who still jams in his 80s. They will be followed by Bob Dylan (“May you stay forever young”) and Paul Simon (“How terribly strange to be 70”) who still both perform and write music.

Dr. Butler, a psychiatrist, died, at age 83, a few days before Ringo’s big bash. No one, his colleagues said, had done more to improve the image of aging in America. His work established that the old did not inevitably become senile, and that they could be productive, intellectually engaged, and active, sexually and otherwise. His life provided a good example: He worked until three days before his death from acute leukemia.

But as much as Dr. Butler would have cheered an aging Beatle onstage, his colleagues said he would have also cautioned against embracing the opposite stereotype, the idea that “aging successfully,” in his phrase, means that you have to be banging on drums in front of thousands or still be acting like you did at 22 or 42.

“The stories that we hear tend to pull us toward the extreme,” said Anne Basting, the director of the Center on Age and Community at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. “It’s either the stories of young-onset Alzheimer’s, or it’s the sky-diving grandmas. We don’t hear enough about the huge middle, which is the vast majority of folks.”

In the film and television business, the business I’m in, Clint Eastwood is still directing films at 80 and Betty White is now starring in a new sitcom at 88 (I worked with her on “Ugly Betty” and she was amazing) The pressure for 70 and 80 year olds is not to face mortality, but to kick up those slightly arthritic heels ever higher.

In the eighth decade, said Dr. Basting, is “now seen as an active time of life: you’re just past retirement, that’s your time to explore and play mentally.” But while many will be healthy, others will not. “There will be an increase in frailty and disability because people are living longer,” said S. Jay Olshansky, a demographer at the University of Illinois at Chicago who studies aging. For some people, an increased risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s “is going to be the price they pay for extended longevity,” he said.

The risk, gerontologists say, is that in celebrating the remarkable stories, we make those not playing Radio City, and certainly those suffering the diseases that often accompany old age, feel inadequate.

Thomas R. Cole, director of the McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and the author of a cultural history of aging, said “We’re going to make it look like if you’re sick, it’s your own fault. If you’re not having orgasms or running marathons, there’s something wrong with you.

Here at oomphTV we don’t want to just portray “aging extremes,” but also inspirational people that fall somewhere in the middle. If we simply profiled extremes we would run into the possibility of alienating everyday people.

We did produce a story on Jack Kirk – The Dipsea Demon, the 94 year old runner. He could be considered one of those extremes. However, we also profiled Alice and Richard Matzkin. Both Alice and Richard Matzkin express themselves through their art, one by painting and the other by sculpting. They are not running any foot race, but clearly they have oomph!

In addition, we are currently in post-production on “The Green Buddha”, a wonderful story about my sister, Dana Dowell Windatt, and my own mother, Jeanne Dowell, that have started a new apparel business, based on gratitude. My mother has just turned 80 and was the original inspiration behind oomphtv.com She is not running a marathon or doing trapeze, but she is still doing what she wants to do at 80 years of age.

We are looking for different kinds of stories about people over 40 and sometimes way over 40 that have oomph! However, we do want to include stories of people that do have limitations. If you know of any, please write to us.

I hope we have found the right balance. Please feel free to write us and let us know what your thoughts are. We want to continue to inspire and inform, but not alienate our audience.

Inspired by oomphTV

I am a new fan of this oomph! blog site and I recently took the time to communicate with David Dowell about doing an article for all of you, his readers. I do like the man’s style.

As a Baby Boomer (and an all around nice guy) taking up space on our planet, I feel it is my obligation to maintain good health and a supportive positive attitude with all other earthlings I come in contact with. I think we owe that to each other. Life has it’s problems and, at times, life is not fair. But this life is a wonderful adventure that we can truly enjoy with the right frame of mind. Of course, a healthy body makes the adventure much more interesting.

I have become a steady visitor to this oomph! blog site because of the good information I can take from it. I have found health and wellness ideas that I have never heard of before. I now look at oomph! as my source of many issues that fly under the radar for most of us. I don’t know where David finds his material and, truthfully, I don’t care. I just know that I can count on this blog site to provide me with important ideas that I won’t take the time to find myself.

I do want to mention to you readers of oomph! another idea you need to consider as another component of health and wellness. Some where along the line similar ideas have probably been expressed in various posts on this blog. I’m referring to the need for each one of us to develop the habit of daily laughter. Author E.E. Cumming once said “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” Many people do not realize that laughing is very healthy for both your body and your mind.

Laughter creates positive changes in our bodies. It will boost your energy, help your immune system, and it will protect you from the effects of stress. Obviously, laughter will put you in a good mood. It will improve your relationships with family and friends.

So, you need to develop sources that will bring you daily smiles, grins, and chuckles. More importantly, find sources that will get you to laugh out loud. It’s well worth your time… and good for your health.

Phil McMillan
http://www.babyboomerbaloney.com

Gratitude Can Inspire

You know when you read something and it really hits home? I just read about another study today done on gratitude. I know I just wrote about gratitude and oomph! not to long ago. But, here goes another one. And why not share these studies with everyone you can? I think if everyone expressed gratitude more often, we would be living in a better world.

When I express gratitude to my wife it always is appreciated and can be contagious.

Picking up some flowers. Issuing a compliment. Doing your partner’s chores. All are small acts that provoke gratitude and strengthen relationships, say the authors of a new study.

Researchers studied 65 couples who were in committed, satisfying relationships and tracked the day-to-day fluctuations in relationship satisfaction. The so-called “ups and downs.” The researchers found that feelings of gratitude boost the health of relationships. Both the giver and the receiver of an act of kindness benefit, said the lead author of the study, Sara Algoe, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The emotion of gratitude helps people find and then bond to people who care about their welfare, the study finds.

“Gratitude triggers a cascade of responses within the person who feels it in that very moment, changing the way the person views the generous benefactor, as well as motivations toward the benefactor,” Algoe said in a news release. “This is especially true when a person shows that they care about the partner’s needs and preferences.” The study is published online in the journal Personal Relationships.

This work was supported by a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biobehavior Issus in Physical and Mental Health.

And why did I place this blogpost under “inspiration?” Because I do feel gratitude does inspire.

Pets Can be Good for Your Health

By Michael Thomas Masters

In the film, Paulie (United States,1998), an intelligent and talking pet parrot (voiced by actor Jay Mohr) befriends a little girl who stutters and assists an aging and blind widow, enriching their lonely lives.  Bim, a brave and caring pet dog, in White Bim, Black Ear (Russia, 1978), fearlessly assists his human owner, even bringing the man great joy while he’s ill in a town hospital.

Of course, these are fictitious stories and films, which illustrate the emotional and healthy bonds between pets and humans.

Nonetheless, cats, dogs, birds, or any other pet, can make humans happier and healthier.   In fact, pets definitely provide special oomph to our lives!

By no means should we underestimate the power of love and devotion between pet owners and their pets, especially in regards to the positive influence that pets offer to the good mental and physical health of their humans.  Pets are genuine companions. They sense when their owners do not feel well or are unhappy.  Animals keenly feel when their humans need comfort.

For instance, a guide dog makes a blind person feel happier, since this very special kind of canine will help a sight impaired human to be more mobile to go wherever they desire, building their self confidence, spirit and positive state of mind.

While living and working in New York City, several years ago, I visited with my friend George, who is a blind actor, and his wonderful black lab guide dog, Royal.  I was impressed by Royal’s ease and comfort as she walked along the busy sidewalks of downtown Manhattan while assisting George, as well as when she sat quietly in a restaurant during dinner.

As a loyal companion and canine family member, George credited Royal in helping him through personal challenges, often by Royal just being there with her unconditional love.

Sometimes, the seemingly smallest acts of affection from pets, like when a pet curls up at the end of one’s bed, can make humans feel happier, stronger and more secure, thus creating a healthier person.  An affectionate lick from a dog, the purring from a loyal cat seated in ones lap or the lovely singing from a bird, can do wonders for our spirits and hearts.

My friend Carolyn’s husband, Bob, had heart surgery in Oregon a few years back.  Bob was feeling mighty tired, depressed and lonely after the operation.  After two adorable and inquisitive kittens, Jacques and Jill, entered their lives, Bob’s attitude and energy noticeably changed for the better. The playful kitties licked, purred and showered him with attention and love.  They made Bob forget his troubles and worries, as he grew healthier following his surgery.

It is also common knowledge that pets and animals can improve the mental and physical well being of elderly humans, especially when living alone.

In addition to becoming a valued and beloved friend, pets can become an elderly person’s lifeline.  Pets can provide valuable assistance to injured and aged humans.  In fact, pets have often saved their owners lives (of any age) by securing help for their injured or ill humans.

Of course, be aware of the size of your home, your financial situation and the size and type of the pet being considered, before welcoming any pet(s) into your home.

It is wonderful when affection, trust and devotion is shared between pets and humans, making them each happier and healthier creatures.

Michael Thomas Masters is originally from New Jersey. He is a published author, public speaker and arts administrative who presently resides in Iowa. His e-mail address: filmguy552003@yahoo.com

Rashida’s Wellness Journey

It has now been two months since this video was taken and it’s amazing to see how far Rashida has come. She’s lost weight at the rate of about one pound per week, which is considered ideal because it signals healthy, permanent weight loss that is the result of lifestyle changes.

But there is so much more to Rashida’s journey than simply losing weight. In this video (Rashida’s video) she talks about how hard it is to get up and exercise in the mornings.

Nevertheless, she has stayed focused and committed to her morning workouts at All About You! Wellness BootCamp. She almost never misses a day and she does a variety of other physical activities on the weekends, and on some evenings as well.

She’s also made improvements to her nutrition. She’s incorporated a lot more vegetables, fruit and other whole foods. Rashida has such a down to earth, realistic attitude. She knows that giving up all her favorite foods would backfire, so she’s learned to enjoy them in moderation.

Rashida inspires others with her hard work, determination and positive attitude. It is an honor to have her in our fitness & nutrition program and it’s exciting to be a part of her wellness journey.

Elaine Miller, Co-Founder
All About You! Wellness BootCamp

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