I am a retired ER physician and father of many. After graduating from Chicago Medical School in 1990, I embarked on a 23-year career in Emergency Medicine. Medical interests include wilderness medicine, addictionology, and trauma psychology. I currently teach health and medicine online. DISCLAIMER: Accept all medical advice with a jaundiced eye. Before following my suggestions, do your own research and consult with your physician first. Enjoy & Learn!
Aging Gracefully
I mentioned in a recent post concerning the Baby Steps you can take while walking, that one way to improve your posture is to do a chin tuck without tilting your head forward, as taught by the Taoist masters. This video by Rosie and Mike Mew illustrates a modern version called “The McKenzie Chin Tuck Technique.”
I plan on incorporating it into my 5-minute Pomodoro break at least twice a day:
I divide my book Aging Gracefully into three parts: Baby Steps, Teen Steps, and Adult Steps. There is a fourth which will remain a secret until the end. Baby Steps are free, cheap, and easy attitudes and behaviors that require only intentional changes to your daily routine. Teen Steps require more effort and cost a small amount of money. I have been homeless for 78 months out of the last 11 years, so I gained a lot of Teen Steps knowledge. Adult Steps involve focused changes in behaviors, attitudes, and increased costs. I am only now in a financial space that allows me to pursue knowledge concerning Adult Steps, and I am still experimenting on myself. I am fortunate to have fellow self-experimenters like Dave Asprey, Tim Ferriss, Ben Greenfield, and Alex Fergus to guide me along Adulthood. I suggest all of them to you.
Since this is a non-comprehensive list, I’ll make it short and sweet and start with Baby Steps:
Walk continuously for at least 20 minutes every day, weather permitting. The longer, the better. I walk for at least 2 hours daily. The weather be damned!
Inhale through your nose with the tip of your tongue pressed gently against the area of your hard palate where it meets your upper incisors. This creates nitric oxide as the air travels over your tongue. NO is a potent vasodilator, and even opens up the small air sacs in your lungs called alveoli, allowing more oxygen into your bloodstream. It is a small but significant change.
Walk tall. Follow the sage advice of the Taoists: lift your head and tuck in your chin while keeping your eyes up and forward.
Swing your arms as far as you can without drawing stares! Frozen shoulder is a very real thing.
