52 years, ready to die or start over?

A life recipe for Better Healthspan

For a moment I wasn’t sure if I was 51 or 52. Do I care less about my age?

Truth is, I care more about my biological age than my chronological age. I care more about a better healthspan than about lifespan or longevity

Living long is wonderful, as long as one is healthy, vital, enjoys life, and feels relevant! Better lifespan means that we remain healthy, energetic, and free of disease for more years. Thus, better healthspan is when we live healthier for longer.
Think healthy lifespan = health-span.

Happy Birthday to Me!
I just turned 52 chronologically

52 years is a long time, with many experiences in my memory, so much love, achievements, places lived, professions mastered and basically – life lived well. It is long enough that I could die content today.

52 years is such a short time, there are so many more moments to live, to rejoice in the wisdom and maturity that comes with age, to slow down and mostly to share all the wisdom with others. It is way too soon to die.

The real question is: how do you feel? I can say, I feel fantastic. Really. My body feels great, agile and energetic, my mind is sharp, I have amazing friends and family, I own a gorgeous yoga retreat center, I see the glow of my students, I teach teachers and see the wisdom expand onwards, I have some savings, and I have been living in beautiful sunny places for many years now. But the great feeling I have is not because of all the things I “have” or “did”. Rather, I simply feel great now, in this moment. An unexplainable joy. An inner power and feeling of expansion.

Some say it is thanks to yoga. True, doing yoga every day for so many years is surly a key ingredient. And I’m especially fond of ashtanga, Zen, and Doron Yoga :). Moving in general is key. Yoga is great, but make sure you get some resistance training as part of it or to compliment it. Moreover, challenging the mind is no less important. Learning and moving are 2 of my favorite things to do. Yoga, swimming in natural bodies of water, walking barefoot on sand, hiking, dancing, and laughing out loud, build my energy. Meditation keeps my mind clear of junk. And learning; I spend about half an hour a day on Duolingo (Spanish, Italian, French, Polish), and keep up to date with all health topics, particularly perfecting the combination of food, supplements and lifestyle practices.

 I am now opening a personalized coaching program for people over 40 that want to improve energy and Healthspan. Meaning, creating an efficient and sustainable lifestyle that allows us to be strong, flexible, healthy and vibrant for many years to come. Think being 60 and feeling 35. Or 85 and feeling 55

Honestly, I see 30-year old’s sometimes already feeling “tired of life”. Not ideal.

Here are 5 Tips for Better Health-span, 5 simple tips to start now (at any age).

1. Take cold plunges or cold showers. If you start with hot, make it very hot for 5-6 min, then switch into cold for 3-4 minutes. If possible, swim in cold water. Come to Doron Yoga @ Lake Atitlan, swim in the lake or dip in the river. Not too cold, but cold enough to build brown fat (good for you!) Great Yotube about this.
2. Follow your circadian rhythm. Wake up with the sun and go to sleep 7-8 hours before you get up. Something like 10:30pm – 6am. (I know seasons can vary and in the north light and darkness can be more extreme. Try to keep roughly these hours, and adjust for your needs.
3. Limit eating. Some say eat for only 8 hours, some actually eat only 4 hours a day. It will be different for each of us (this is why I am doing a personalized high end coaching program – we are all different, and have different circumstances.) Bottom line, try to finish eating earlier, so 6-8pm, and have dinner be very light. Eat a health breakfast at 11:00am, or noon, or 1pm. You can also eat 3 meals a day with no snacking in between.
4. Eat greens. Simple. Vegetarian or not, get greens every day. check out my cookbook
5. Walk, dance, jump, bike, yoga – just move!

These 5 tips for better healthspan, can be expanded and refined, but the most important thing is to start! The second most important thing is to be consistent. Don’t worry if you ate within your fasting times, or did not move as much as you planned. Just keep going. day after day, you will build new healthy habits for a better health-span and feel great doing so.

Blissful Living,

Doron