Keeping Fit in Senior Years

Although we all recognize that we live in a culture that stresses looking, acting, dressing and being part of a youth oriented society, the fact is that much of the population is 50 and beyond. Does that mean that those who are part of this segment of the population are exempt? Obviously not.

If we were to ask a healthy, fit, vital looking older person who pays attention to their state of health and well-being, what their age is, I think we would be surprised to find out that they are considerably older than we would have thought them to be. What does this mean? I think that we simply have to change our own image of the various stages of our lives and how we should look and feel.

Despite one of our favorite lines “it’s not how you feel, it’s how you look, darling,” I think most of us recognize that it’s how you feel. If a body is toned and fit, if the energy level is vital and the creative juices flowing strong, if the endurance and strength are evidenced, that person looks great! More importantly, that person feels great a good deal of the time.

To know that we are doing the best for ourselves, in mind, body and spirit, is a rewarding and satisfying feeling. To be able to hike, to garden, to do physical work without moaning and groaning every time we bend down (or even harder, get up), to spend a day at work without feeling totally exhausted is a sign of fitness. To be able to maintain a general feeling of well being most of the time is the proof that we’re succeeding in keeping ourselves healthy.

Exercising regularly, eating in a healthy and conscious way, keeping our weight at a desirable level, and maintaining a strong immune system, at any and all ages, will help insure a life that is rewarding. Keeping a mind that is active and creative, a body that is strong and fit and a spirit that is connected, will help insure the quality of life, whatever the quantity of years that we’re given. It is vital to our best interests to insure that we stay healthy at any age, but even more so at fifty and beyond. If you haven’t tuned into this yet, and you’re part of this age group, it’s time to begin….now. The results will amaze you!

Lovers I Never Had

Daydreams? -- no. Reminiscences? -- no. Hopes, Dreams or Ambitions? -- no. What things could have been? -- no. So, what are they, the lovers I never had? They are simply recollections of people (men, specifically, in my case) that have touched me, although not really touched me as in the biblical sense.

My feeling that is if people have stayed in your mind after as many decades that have passed since I knew them, however briefly or fleetingly, there must be something there. Otherwise, how could there be a connection? I think I've figured it out. They're signposts to other realities that never became manifest. How many other signposts have we had like these in our lives, the road not taken?

My life has been rich and full, filled with adventure, taking risks, at times being quite crazy. I've been surrounded by loving family who fill me with joy. My creative energy still flows strongly, and my chosen business continues to give me pleasure as well as challenges. I have interesting and caring friends and don't think I've ever known the real meaning of "bored."

Most people are happy enough with a home which is their sanctuary. I have two. Both of them are beautiful. Every night I lay me down to sleep, it feels like a sacred space and it is my heartfelt wish that everyone on earth had a place to lay themselves down to rest that would give them solace and respite. Someone else will have to take care of the feeding and clothing part -- I just wish them to sleep well and feel comforted.

I'm deeply connected to nature and don't believe I've let a day go by in decades, where I'm not consciously aware of all the blessings and beauty that are given to me. I'm surrounded by green growing things, by plants, flowers and trees, most of which I've planted myself although I've been fortunate enough to find land that started out with old growth trees. I'm surrounded by them right at this moment, their full branches disrobing from their summer opulence and changing to their fall finery.

The life that has unfolded for me and continues to unfold (it ain't over til it's over, as someone once said), is touched with mystery and magic and I take little for granted. I've little or no attachment to the way I look, sometimes with long hair, sometimes with short. I have a varied wardrobe and wear long velvet skirts as well as jeans, silk as as well as denim. I travel. I never feel stuck in a "rut" or role.

Complaining about my life would probably be last on my list, as I don't think it would or could ever occur to me to do so. I love my life and try to live it with gratitude, consciousness and awareness. I try to help others when I can. So, why do I sometimes think of the lovers I never had? I think the answer is that they represent lives I might have had, or certainly episodes that might have had a direct impact on the choices I did make.

This is so with all of us. Some read their signposts directing their career, their family, their personal relationships and sometimes think of the way things could have been. Maybe. But for me, these lovers I never had are simply reminders that we all have lots of choices that continue to unfold for us like beads on a string, different colors, textures and sizes.

Taste of Oaxaca in Taos, New Mexico: Master Zapotec Weaver, Florentino Gutierrez Gives a Weaving Demonstration

October 3-4, 2009

On Saturday and Sunday, October 3rd and 4th, Starr Interiors weaving gallery will host a special event in their courtyard to coincide with the Taos Wool Festival. Noted Master Zapotec Weaver, Florentino Gutierrez, will be giving a weaving demonstration showing the traditional method of the centuries old Zapotec Indian flat weaving technique on a double harness loom.

His wife, Eloisa, will be preparing and serving traditional Oaxacan hot chocolate, a delicious blend of hand ground chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, beat to a frothy mixture that is traditionally served at all important events in Oaxaca.

Thirty or so years ago, Florentino Gutierrez was a young law student, one of the first from his Zapotec Indian village outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. Like most of the men from his village he was also a weaver and an exceptionally fine one. Raised by an older cousin, he was steeped in the tradition of weaving that the village is known for.

Before becoming an "abagado," Florentino decided to stop his studies and continue in the weaving tradition, eventually finding his place as a master weaver and then as one of the village council members, proudly possessing the staff that represents one of the highest forms of service to his community.

Now, with several decades of dedication to developing his craft, he has been able to send his oldest son to continue his education, not as a lawyer, but as a doctor of medicine. He and his wife, Eloisa, live with their three children in a spacious home in the village with a courtyard filled with flowers and birdsong.

Starr Interior’s owner, Susanna Starr, has had a close relationship with the weaver and his family for thirty five years. The entire collection of his weavings will be exhibited and on special sale during the weekend event.

STARR INTERIORS
117-119 Paseo del Pueblo Norte (2 doors south of the historic Taos Inn)
Taos, New Mexico
575 758 3065
Email
http://www.starr-interiors.com/
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MEDIA: For more media information contact Leah or Susanna at Starr Interiors
Photographs available

photos by John Lamkin

Join Us This Weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Saturday September 26, 2009

This weekend will feature the work of a number of New Mexico Women Authors to be held at the Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. Published women authors filed submissions early in the year and now those who have been chosen will do readings and book signings.

Many of my friends, as well as myself (Susanna Starr), will be reading in various categories. My reading, from Fifty and Beyond; New Beginnings in Health and Well Being will be at 11:30 AM on Saturday, Sept. 26th with a book signing to follow. It will be in the Spirit, Home & Family Pavilion.

Mirabai Starr will also be doing a reading and book signing at 3:30 PM in the History & Biography Pavilion. Mirabai, as those of you who know her, is an outstanding speaker who has given readings all over the country.

Two other friends, Nancy King, recognized fiction writer and playwright as well as critically acclaimed author, Natalie Goldberg will be reading and signing also. All three of these women have many books published and have received much recognition in their fields.

The entire event should be well worth attending if you happen to live in the area……

Life as an explosion of possibilities

In the early seventies, my then husband and I went to a lecture by the noted, ground-breaking psychiatrist, R. D. Laing at Stony Brook University, where I was finishing up my undergraduate degree at 32 years old. Of all the things of great value that he talked about, the one phrase that stuck in both of our minds was his comment that freedom was “an explosion of possibilities.”

Yesterday, 35 years later, a friend who was visiting made an almost identical remark. Her life, she felt, was presenting her with so many possibilities, that she really needed to step back to decide what she would do, what direction she would take. It was especially exciting for her as she had spent close to twenty years recovering from paralysis resulting from first an accident falling off a horse that left her unable to have movement from the waist down. When she was just about recovered from that, there were subsequent accidents that further immobilized her. Now, after all this time, with grown children living on their own, she finds herself in the place where many doors are open.

It’s interesting to note how some people feel trapped within their own lives, unable to make whatever moves are necessary to help them change their paths, to discover new talents and sources of creativity within themselves, or to simply “move on.” For others, like my friend, they’ve opened their hearts and their minds to make the space for new ideas and new possibilities to enter. In her case, like the comment of R.D. Laing, it represented freedom.

Incarceration of any kind is the curtailment of this kind of freedom. Each day is proscribed. There are virtually no unknowns. Some, like Nelson Mandela, Mohatma Ghandi and many other social protestors and sacred activists (as Andrew Harvey calls them), use their time of incarceration, of serving time in prisons, many in small cells under harsh circumstances, to transcend those prison walls. They go within and find their freedom beyond their physical environment and so, go beyond. They have created their own vital life and freedom through their understanding of their minds, through the connection of their spirit.

We’re not all sacred activists who willingly pay the price for their own actions by serving time behind prison walls. But we, as individuals, can stop and look at where we are and, if finding it an inhospitable place, change it. If our lives feel as if we’re imprisoned, what do we need to do to “break out?” Becoming involved in things that are of meaning, replacing boring, repetitious activities with others that feed the soul, that stimulate our minds and that recharge our batteries, is one of the ways to begin going from a glass that’s half empty to one that’s half full.

Some of us find a “cause” that they care deeply about, or at least one that they can identify with. There are lots of them out there. For those who feel overwhelmed by the choices, the answer might just be in what resonates with you on an emotional level. Is it working with patients in hospitals through volunteer programs, joining Habitat for Humanity and helping on a material level, is it joining discussion groups or attending grass roots political meetings? Is it taking up a new career, one that’s been put on the back burner for most of your life, such as making stained glass windows or writing poetry?

The opportunities and possibilities are truly an ongoing explosion. Like the active volcanoes that continue to spew out gasses and molten liquids, we can also erupt with creative and exciting new ideas of how to live our lives more fully and contribute to the world in which we find ourselves.

Photo My Explosion of Possibilities by Susanna Starr

mother's day -- 2009

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone. It’s a celebration, to me, of all that’s feminine, whether we are women, men or children. It’s all that we associate with the feminine, the giving, the receiving, the care and the compassion…..If you’d like to check out my article about my own mother, please check here….

Celebrations!

celebrate – to note, to mark, to observe a notable occasion with festivities

Recently I went to one of those kind of celebrations although I didn’t stay around for the festivities. It was forty years since the founding of New Buffalo, one of the early communes in New Mexico and located, as it so happens, just across the valley from where I’ve been living since 1975.

Although not a commune any more (it’s gone through many transformations) many of the buildings are as they were when I first knew them. The person who is the present owner plans to make it into a retreat center some day.

Many of us who gathered have known each other for many years and have gone through our own transformations. Some of the children, now grown with kids of their own, were there, too. My daughter, Mirabai, told me about the plans for the celebration a couple of days ago, but of course I completely forgot about it until she called this morning and said she was on her way.

Although we never lived there, there was always a connection for our family. Mirabai had memories of the alternative high school she helped found, on those grounds and we peeked into various rooms that had been part of the “past.”

It was more than a high school reunion kind of gathering for it really represented a particular era, a special time for all those who were part of it, in one way or another. From embracing the core values of “back to the land” and simplifying their lives to what and where they are thirty or forty years later was interesting. Many are still living lives, although a lot more comfortable on a physical level than they were then, still embracing many of the same values that gave birth to those kinds of experiments in alternative life styles.

Commemorating events

We all celebrate various events, on a personal level, on a national level, on a world level. It must be one of the way we humans mark our history. We forget so much of the day-to-day events, but certain events seem to be etched in our memories.

As parents, we think we will never forget how smart or beautiful our babies were, exactly when they first walked and talked (and, yes, became toilet trained), but we do. When we’re going through college exams or interviewing for jobs or training for professions, those moments that were so intense, somehow get lost the further we are from them. But, there are always specific experiences that we do retain the memory of, even if they’re not “commemorated.”

Conscious of changes

We also seem to be attuned to the seasons, even those of us who are not closely connected to the land, as farmers being able to read the weather and know, from intuition and experience when to plant. Even if we’re not as aware of the solstices or equinoxes as our ancestors were, we’re conscious of the changes of the seasons.

That’s why ceremony is so important in so many cultures and in so many religions. It’s a way of imprinting and, for many, a way of retaining a connection. Holidays are often a time of families coming together. It can also be a time of intense loneliness and sadness for many. Although we may be among the blessed who share the love of family and friends, it’s also a time to remember those who are alone and bereft.

A time of awareness

For those of us who have passed the fifty-year mark, there are seldom ceremonies to help us cross that particular portal, although sometimes we have a nice party or do something special for ourselves. Yet, it’s an important time of our lives, the beginning of the second half of our lives. We’ve done a lot and have undoubtedly gone through lots of changes. There’s a shift that begins, marked by a different kind of awareness, one that notices the passing of time in a way quite different than previously noted when just living our lives was pretty much taken for granted.

With each decade that goes by, we take more notice of the changes in our physical bodies. The lines in our faces, the graying of our hair, the occasional aches and pains for no apparent reason (like falling off a ladder) are there for us to plainly see in our mirrors. But is that the only way we’re aware of the natural aging process? Do we also realize how we’ve changed internally, and how much closer we’re getting to becoming who we really are? Are we closing down or are we letting life in? The choice is ours.

by Susanna Starr, author

Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being

Here is my latest radio interview on Global Talk Radio. You can download the MP3.

Speaking of celebrations, check this one out (and maybe win an all expense paid trip to Taos).

And, my gallery, Starr Interiors, is having a celebration too:

June 07 - June 31

A Photographic “trip” through the Sixties and Seventies
Noted photographer, Paul Dembski, will show at the gallery of Starr Interiors
117 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, N. M. during the month of June. Chronicler of the counter culture in Taos and other areas, Paul Dembski will be present at the artist’s reception to be held at Starr Interiors on Sunday, June 7th from 3-5 PM. Admission free.
Location: Starr Interiors, 117 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, N. M.
For further information, call 1-800-748-1756

PS, I’m on chapter 14 of my new book. I’ll keep you posted.

PHOTO by Art Kopecky from New Buffalo: Journals from a Taos Commune

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Seeing is Not Always Believing

We're all well aware of how things change. Sometimes the changes are subtle enough for us not to take much notice. Sometimes they hit us suddenly like an unexpected storm with no warning. And, sometimes it's just a reminder of how we've moved through time.

That's how I felt when I viewed the photo of myself on this blog. "Wow, I really looked like THAT?" I thought, somewhat incredulously. "How long ago was the photo taken?" I knew my grandson had taken it when he was pretty young at a Christmas gathering in our home, but when was it?

Even the professional photo I have on the back of my book "Fifty and Beyond; New Beginnings in Health and Well Being" seems a little closer to how I look now or at least more of a bridge between the blog photo and what I see in the mirror.

For years, through writing and speaking, I've been encouraging people to not only accept themselves as they are, but to celebrate it. But, I admit it, it can be a jolt! One of the nicest aspects of the ways in which our bodies (including our face) change over time, is that it's so subtle, as if Mother Nature is breaking us in gently.

Once I got over the initial shock at the difference between now and then I'm aware, once again, of how much I have to be grateful for. Obviously the gratitude that I feel covers so many more important things which I'll get to in another blog bit. But this specific little bit of gratitude is that, in spite of the silver now in that dark head of hair, the face that well, frankly, just looks more aged, I feel great.

I'm still a small person, eating healthily, exercising pretty regularly and paying attention to my physical well being because I know how important it is to do everything I can to insure optimum health. No one, of course, has any guarantees but it certainly helps to do your own part in protecting the vital integrity of this blessed body we dwell in.

Well, that's two subjects for further blog bits, gratitude and integrity. Now, if I can just remember them the next time we get together.......

Susanna Starr, author,
Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being

Importance of Exercise

Get Started...

How do you feel about regular exercise? Do you go to your local spa or gym to workout? Are you walking, at a brisk pace, almost every day or at least a few times a week? Have you had experiences with exercise that have "turned you off?" Are you afraid that it's too late to start, although you've certainly heard about the health benefits? Do you feel that your body isn't one you'd feel comfortable displaying in front of strangers and so feel reluctant to join a club?

Or, are you like me, one of those who keep a disciplined exercise program, because you not only know it's good for you, but because you really enjoy it?

Taking Fitness for granted

For years, I took my body for granted. I led a very active life and felt that I was getting plenty of exercise in my work, rolling, lifting and folding heavy rugs. I'm not sure when or why I finally decided that it was time to start exercising in a different way and joined my local spa. At that time, I was in my fifties and (I thought) not in bad shape. I was soon to discover I had lots of room for improvement. I've been going every since and loving it! As a matter of fact, when I have to skip class for some reason, it feels like a deprivation.

It took some experimenting with various classes until I found myself comfortable with a program before deciding to work out with a personal trainer. The first person was good, but the second was fantastic and set the muscle tone and definition that I still maintain.

I walk fairly regularly and generally have been working out about four times a week. Now, I'm considering cutting back to three times a week and walking more, so that I can have a little more time at home, since the spa is half an hour's drive from my home .

Making time for exercise

Since I travel to Mexico fairly often, not only for my rug business, but to Rancho Encantado which is a small eco-retreat resort and spa in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, I have to make sure I don't completely let go of my regular routine. Walking is one of the things that I do each morning I'm at my home there. Not only does it keep my heart rate up,
but it's a time I gather my flowers, which is one of my great pleasures, so it's a double win situation.

If you already work out regularly, you know what I mean about the enjoyment of keeping yourself fit and healthy. If you don't and have just simply procrastinated (we all do), maybe now is the time to begin.

Paying Attention to your body
It's not only sensible, but important that you start out slowly, gradually building up to a pace that strengthens and provides you with the cardio workout we all need. Always listen to your body - it "knows." Many of us have been so out of touch with our bodies that we just don't pay attention to the various messages we're always receiving. The more you're in touch, the more you'll be responsive, knowing when to challenge yourself and when to take it easy.

Helen, another one of the elders I interviewed for my book, Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being, still drives herself to the spa almost every day and she's close to celebrating her 94th birthday. How's that for inspiration?
For more information about Helen and the other "elders" interviewed in my book, please check out my website www.fiftyandbeyond.com.

By Susanna Starr, author
Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being