07/17/2025
Elderly Wellness
Submitted by Jim LaFountain, All American Fitness Center
Over the past 40+ years, I’ve written several articles about Wellness. Recently, I have entered the “on line” category of “elderly.” In July, I will be 71 years old and my view on Wellness has changed considerably. The urge to compete with others has been replaced by the inner freedom of competing against myself (you can never lose).
My belief in balanced wellness includes Social, Emotional, Spiritual and Physical components. Balancing all four is the most direct pass to being well and any imbalance is a recipe for failure. The Physical component gets more attention than any, probably because it’s highly visible. The Social component is perhaps next, while the Emotional and Spiritual is not as visual and, in most cases, undetected.
Let’s take a look at each component:
Social: in our high tech world, social wellness is a major challenge. What used to be taken for granted now requires work. Speaking, listening, making eye contact and basic communication skills have been replaced with the latest technology. In the late 70’s Dr. Robert Ringer wrote a book entitled ‘Restoring the American Dream.’ He hypothesized that with the increase in technology, what he referred to as “high touch” had to increase, as well. If it didn’t, our culture would deteriorate. Some experts claim it’s already happening. Socializing, as practiced in the late 90’s has changed dramatically. At 70, I find myself more selective with whom I socialize.
Emotional: as I’ve progressed into the “elderly” category, I find myself more tolerant with the “small stuff” that used to bother me. Aging has taught me to distinguish between what truly matters and what does not. Self esteem is no longer the tightrope we tend to walk in our youth. One of my favorite quotes is from Judy Ford, “your opinion of me is none of my business”. Being upset by an ill timed “spoken word” is no longer a negative for me. What’s made a tremendous difference in my life is that although someone may say or do something that angers me, my response is less intense and temporary.
Spiritual: I’m not in the business of saving souls and I wouldn’t consider myself religious. I am, however seriously spiritual. I’ve read extensively about almost every religion and spiritual practice. What I’ve discovered is they are very similar. For what it’s worth, I pray and meditate daily. At times, I miss and have found my level of focus is off the entire day. Again, I’m not in the business of saving souls, but chose to share an important part of my life that motivates and brings focus to each day.
Physical: although physical development, aesthetics and scale weight loss dominates our culture, a mature view of physical wellness may put things in perspective. It’s essential to understand the role of genetics, as it relates to physical wellness. Experts claim, what we can physically achieve is 50-60% genetically predisposed. Overweight grandparents and parents seldom produce lean children. It’s no secret why professional athletes have physically gifted children. Nature/Nuture is a term used to describe the contribution of genetics and lifestyle. Although one’s gene pool contributes most to the potential for physical development, lifestyle is an enormous contributor also. There are a lot of underachieving, genetically gifted athletes. Training hard pays significant dividends and cancels out many genetic deficiencies.
Can we ever achieve perfect balanced Wellness? I doubt it, but enjoying the process of a serious effort, in and of itself is worth the effort.
