Go Primitive to stay healthy and live longer

Last Saturday morning I came down to my family room to find my little dog Spike sun bathing on the floor in front of a large window. My first thought was “how great that looks, we see so little sun here in the winter”. I looked at Spike and he looked back at me with the calmest and most soothing expression, he was clearly in his pleasure zone. Well, for once in a long while I had nowhere to go and nothing pressing to do so, you guessed it, I laid down right next to Spike so I could feel a little of what he was so obviously enjoying. He immediately wiggled up against me and the two of us were in our little piece of heaven. I laid there with no thoughts other than how great this is, sun on my face and body and truly present in the moment, no mental clutter or chatter. How simple and satisfying this was.
This experience reminded me of a segment I caught on the Today show one morning. They were discussing Blue Zones. If you are not familiar with Blue Zones, they are small geographic areas where people are the healthiest and live the longest lives on the planet. In Blue Zones there are more centenarians than anywhere else in the world. But what really stood out for me is the quality in the lives of these elders. It is common to see people in their 80’s, 90’s and even 100’s riding bicycles, cooking for their extended families, tending to their gardens, pretty much acting as if they were 30 to 40 years younger than they actually are.
What makes these Blue Zones so unique? One might think a genetic anomaly is at work here. No, this uniqueness is largely a result of their lifestyles. If I can encapsulate this lifestyle with one word I would describe it with the word Simplicity. However, this is simplicity with only the most admirable of connotations associated with it. The lives of these people are filled with meaningful work, but with low stress, with physical activity that is purposeful and fun, with eating whole fresh unprocessed foods, with connectivity to faith, community and loved ones.
As a Wellness Educator and a Lifestyle Counselor at the YMCA I was struck by the similarities of what I am teaching and the fundamental principles that are helping the people in the Blue Zones live longer, healthier and happier lives. Unfortunately, I often see in the typical American lifestyle what appears to be the complete polar opposite of what we are seeing in these Blue Zones. For example we have so many things vying for our attention, such as nonstop work, cell phones, emails, TV etc. It is no wonder that many of us are feeling an uncomfortably high level of stress and can’t shut our minds down for even a few minutes a day. Our bodies and minds have not evolved to keep up with the rapid changes found in our modern life. We struggle to adapt to the physical, mental and emotional stresses. What these blue zones are showing us is that our bodies and minds are missing what we had when we lived in a more simple and primitive time. It is what our bodies and minds instinctively and subconsciously wants and needs.
Just think of all of the stress that is being created by the present economic climate. I keep wondering if there could be a silver lining and lessons to be learned amongst all of this doom and gloom. With money being tight and everyone feeling the need to cut back, just maybe, the lessons to be learned will be found in the value and the pleasure in the simple things in life. These are things we do not need to spend lots of money and resources on. Things like cooking a dinner together, rediscovering nature by taking a hike, reading a book, giving yourself down time, spending quality time with the ones we love. Now go out and find something that feels good and do it!

Regards,

Stuart