This is the third of five posts on what it’s like to be newly retired – this on Restoring physical wellbeing. If you are the unicorn who has consistently done cardio, stretched and managed stress over your career, I salute you and invite you back for the next R. However, if accumulated years hunched over a computer has tightened some muscles and sitting in long meetings shortened others, we know that all have taken a toll on postural alignment and flexibility. Stress-induced inflammation and gut issues could also be in play. While time pressures may have restricted ability to consistently commit to an exercise prescription, downshifting is the perfect time to attend to physical well-being before tolerations demand more attention
I’m pictured here with my BFFs who all met during our first “for real” professional marketing jobs thirty-five years ago, sustaining our friendship through marriages, kids, job changes, moves…life. We meet up monthly for chats, annually for vacations – our latest last week in Napa/Sonoma branded the Women of a Certain Vintage Tour (because we’re hard-wired marketers and that is what we do). Here is the collective wisdom we shared creek-side over several glasses of pinot.
- Embodied awareness – If your body has existed to transport your head from meeting to meeting, a mind-body reunion may be in order. We’ve embraced body scan and loving-kindness meditation and yoga indoors, hiking and biking outdoors.
- Uncork – Muscles and connective tissue may need to be unkinked and elongated to move with ease. While really good health insurance is still in hand, seek out covered resources near and far – traditional and non-traditional – that can address whatever aches have been tolerated.
- Fine wine takes time – Travel and adventure await, but meet your body where it is at. It may need progressive training & TLC to build stamina and strength in preparation for the demands of your mind’s travel aspirations.
- Sip – Taste – Sip – You now have time to do more of what you love. Or to try something new to see if it’s for you…or not. You Tube, MasterClass, and a world of remote and in-person instruction are gateways to new possibilities.
- Drink the good wine – Alas, other friends have chronic illnesses that have made their worlds smaller. There are no guarantees for how many “good years” are gifted, so squeezing the juice out of life – and savoring it – requires vigilance.
Our picture was taken at the Far Niente Napa Valley Wine Estate. Italian “far niente” translates as “doing nothing.” That, of course, is always an option, too. The intention of Restore is not in the Doing. It is replenishing the vitality, capacity and stamina that may have been deprioritized during working years to do what you want for as long as you enjoy doing it. For me, that will be sitting creek-side and drinking wine with my treasured friends in our adventures to come.