Ikigai

Japanese Proverb: "Only staying active will make you want to live 100 years."

Ikigai is The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.

Here is a half Japanese Proverb:
"Only staying active will make you want to live 120 Years and Beyond."
I'm half Japanese, so when I pen a proverb....

Patricia and I just returned from our Kimono Wedding in the country listed as #1 for the longest living physically active people in the world.  We will tell you what we found in the posts to come.  In the meantime, the book below dives into the secret to a Long and Active Happy Life. Get it now, we'll read it together. Let's start a 120 and Beyond Book Club!

We will show you how to build an Ikigai Community where you live.



Credit:  Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles

How to build your own 120 and Beyond Active Community.
Tip # 1 Find a Tai Chi Group or start your own. Get your group together and Tai Chi along with our Master Vince (see video link below).

Click HERE for a Tai Chi Video Lesson #1
Once you've watched this video, search YouTube for Vince McCoullagh Tai Chi for more.

"Ikigai: The Happiness of Always Being Busy."



Tip # 2  Take cardio walks around the block, on the beach, along a river, up a ridge or find a spin class.
Recommendation:   If you're in Orange County, California, 

Click HERE for a link to the Saddleback Community College 

Emeritus Program and Catalog
 



Tip # 3 The pillars of the 120 and Beyond philosophy: Build Community, Remain Physically Active, Engage in regular social interactions. Your nearest Community College is a largely unknown source of activities useful in building your Ikigai. 

The Science of Cells That Never Get Old.

Telomeres found at the ends of your chromosomes protect them from the wear and tear of cell duplication, but they get shorter over one's lifetime. Once telomere protective "caps" are gone, cells no longer function properly and die.

While certain factors shorten telomere length like chronic stress and how it is percieved, you will learn from this Ted Talk by Molecular Biologist Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, how to protect your telomeres and increase your Health Span. 

Click HERE to begin. Skip to 1:51 minutes.

 

"Tight knit communities, being in a marriage long term, and life long friendships all improve telomere maintenance."

How experiences create new Neural Pathways...

Taking care of your brain starts with understanding what's going on inside your cranial cavity.  You have 1,450 cubic centimeters of cranial space filled with neural tissue in a well protected "vault".  Let's take a look inside.

Click HERE for the interactive version.

New experiences create new Neural Pathways... which is why I'm taking a new Tai Chi class and learning Japanese, and Chinese, and Italian, and looking to join a calligraphy class, and listening to digital books and science podcasts. I plan to start learning how to play the guitar one day soon, and make time for a bookclub. (Have you read? Hitching Rides with Buddha, by William Ferguson).  New experiences, new learning, new neural pathways!

Optimizing your Body, Optimizing Your Brain

For Bill.  Optimizing your Body... with Cardio Work Outs

The human brain burns enormous quantities of oxygen and fuel, so it is important to maintain an optimal cardio vascular system, which can be accomplished by walking, jogging, and cycling.  Bill, a friend, is interested in a Spin class, so I've posted three video clips that I hope will take him to the next step.   My gym recently opened a new building with this digital Spin console. Bill, you can select a ride  choosing from over 200 choices on the control panel below, then climb on a bike! 

For first timers, a good goal is to pace yourself for a 55 minute ride. Pedal until you need to ease back... take a minute or two d\pedaling at an easy pace to recover your breath, then pick up the pace again.  Repeat.  You can also jump into a Spin class as a beginner and use the same strategy.  Go at your own pace, but ease back when necessary so you can complete the 55 minute class.

Bill the video below will help you become familiar with the equipment and in this clip, the emergency brake.  Later you will have time to try a live Spin class, which will challenge your cardio vascular system, pour extra oxygen into your brain and contribute to your 120 and Beyond plan.  
I'm on a bike or in a spin class 3-4 times a week, it would be better to have a Spinning partner!

Blue Zones: Where it’s common for people to live over 100.

What is a Blue Zone?

Blue Zones are hot spots of longevity and are good places to start building a longer health span by building a forward looking community.

Click HERE for a short introduction from National Geographic.

What do Blue Zones have in common?

The first principle of 120 and Beyond, and Blue Zones is...  Community. The Venn diagram above includes the terms Healthy Social Circle and Social Engagement.  

But Community means much, much more.  Communities are social units with something in common, eg. norms, values, that share a sense of place (village, town), often with a common cultural and historical heritage.  Communities have durable relations beyond immediate genealogical ties, and have members who often share, intents, beliefs, needs, preferences, resources and some measure of cohesiveness.

So let us now build our own 120 and Beyond 

or Blue Zone Tai Chi Community.

Click HERE to see what’s happening 

in Laguna Beach and Dana Point, California