None of us are getting any younger. 

And sometimes it sucks. Aches, pains, sensitivities, digestive discomforts, thin skin … Sometimes I don’t know how I make it out the door. But somehow I do.

We’re getting older in a youth-obsessed world. It’s not young people who are doing it to us. No. It’s us. We hate it that we aren’t taut and tawny with luscious manes of vibrant, healthy hair. We hate our age spots and our cellulite like they’re our enemies.

Sometimes we even hate our bodies for doing this thing they inevitably do. How many millions get spent per year on anti-aging goops and drinks and injections or other medical procedures? Plastic surgery is no longer a secret. It’s a given in some economic circles.

Jaime Lee Curtis recently came out as Pro-Aging. Aging with acceptance, style, health, grace, and verve. Not necessarily in that order. I applauded her then, and I applaud her now. Don’t we have enough shit to worry about? Haven’t women paid sufficient homage to the fucking male gaze in our lifetimes? Can’t we just be who we are now?

Aging doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Well, ultimately. Just not now.

It’s possible to age healthfully and energetically. There are some simple things, and some complicated things, that we can do to ensure we are in excellent health and retain mobility and flexibility long into our advanced years. If you are under 45 or so, you can start now and get a big jump on the rest of us. If you’re not already doing the following things, start working on them as soon as you possibly can.

1. Drink water, 5 pints a day. That’s the baseline. Coffee, soda, tea, wine, beer … none of those things count as water. In fact, all of those things are dehydrating. Coffee is a straight up diuretic. We need at least 5 pints of water a day to be fully hydrated, and to flush toxins out of the body. Think of it this way: How do you flush a toilet? With water, to take away the yuck. You gotta have plenty of water to flush your body, too.
2. Walk. Dr. Andrew Weil says to walk ten-to-twenty minutes a day, but Katy Bowman says three miles a day is when the real magic happens. We evolved as nomads and walked many miles a day for most of our tenure here. Walking regulates every single system in the body, from the heart and lungs to the way your food is digested and how it’s used, to the timing and quality of your poo, to how you sleep. Three miles seems to be the magic distance to really start seeing amazing changes in your body. Ten-to-twenty minutes is a great place to start.
3. Read and learn continuously. Always have at least one book going. Two or three are better. Take classes, build skills, keep your brain working, puzzling, solving problems and learning new tricks. It will keep you smarter and sharper and driving a car longer …
4. Ditch meat, alcohol, wheat, soy, dairy (sorry, especially cheese) and cigarettes. Eliminate them – slowly if you have to. Just stop poisoning your body, period. Seriously, none of those things do you a bit of good and you will live healthier longer if you get rid of that garbage.
5. Do a little stretching every morning to keep you moving comfortably. Find a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist you like and an energy healer that you resonate with and see each of them once a month. Make the investment. It will pay enormous dividends as you grow into wisdom with grace and flow.
6. “Meditate” once a day for 15-20 minutes. You don’t have to go bimbling off to woo woo land, just sit and focus on your breath or a mantra or a mandala – however you can do it. Let your mind sit on idle for a bit, drop into Alpha, relax, slow down, and extend your life and good health for years.
7. Laugh your ass off at every opportunity. Have magnificent friendships. They are way more important than lovers in the long run. Surround yourself with people you want to be like when you grow up and emulate them.

I could go on, but 7 is a sacred number and a damn fine start. We are works of art, and the patina we acquire with the years is a priceless part of our value. But we don’t have to be grubby and run down and out of our minds. We can age brilliantly. Enough with the “woe is me, I’m so old” bullshit. Getting old is what we do, so let’s do it like bosses. We rule this time.