July 28, 2018
You have the Power to Change the Way You Age
Writen by Naomi Whittel |
Published on: July 28, 2018
In my New York Times Bestseller, Glow15, the aging process is explored in detail. What I want readers to understand is that we have a choice in how we age. Yes, we all get older each year, but the decisions we make in how we eat, sleep, and care for our bodies profoundly impacts whether our aging is graceful or uncomfortable. It may come as a surprise, but simple switches in your lifestyle can have a “time reversal” effect when it comes to how we look and feel. Living in a modern world that often immerses us in a toxic mixture of pesticides, GMO’s, chemicals, pollution, and never-ending electronic stimulation can all accelerate the aging process. It’s important to have tools that help to detoxify the body and turn the volume up on your internal cellular cleansing process known as autophagy.
The Glow15 program gives you tools to feel and look your best. But it goes much deeper than the surface of your skin because the transformation your entire mind and body experiences can provide you with the confidence needed to live a healthy, well-balanced, energetic life.
Anti-Aging Versus Unlocking Your Inner Youth
No matter what cosmetic companies and the plastic surgery industry wants to tell us, aging is a natural part of life. Marketing tactics have used women’s insecurities and vulnerabilities around their appearances to sell products that promise anti-aging, and it’s often at the expense of their health since they tend to use toxic ingredients.
My aim is to empower women when it comes to the aging process and encourage them to experience it with grace. It’s a process that will have your friends and family in awe, asking, “What are you doing that makes your skin look so young?” It’s an inner understanding that will leave you empowered around the many gifts, rather than struggles, that aging can bring.
There is a powerful difference between the motivation to look and feel better because you want external affirmation from others versus becoming the best version of yourself because you’re inspired by a loving and compassionate energy from within.
When your body is performing at its peak, you will naturally look beautiful because you are hitting your stride and exuding a total body glow from the inside-out. This glow is ageless and doesn’t discriminate against those in their golden years, so you still have all the opportunity in the world to get your glow on!
Empowerment comes along with this kind of self-fueled inspiration. When a woman is motivated from her own success, this energy takes root and produces its own momentum. Amazingly, it becomes less and less work to maintain self-care as you start to see and feel the positive results.
This contrasts with the motivation that comes from body hatred and low self-esteem, which is unfortunately amplified by society’s rigid standards of beauty. Negative self-talk, such as body shaming, is not a good kind of stress — it alienates us and puts us into a fight or flight stress response that can lead to adverse physical symptoms.
With awareness and dedication to self-care, you can change feelings of inadequacy and shame to those of inspiration and confidence. Combined with the tools in Glow15, which will lower inflammation and turn up autophagy in your body, you can glow with an inner poise about your ability to take control of your health and create real results.
Here are three steps to transforming negative mental dialogue around aging that may diminish your Glow:
1
Recognize the Gifts of Aging: It may sound like a cliché but the wisdom and experience that comes with age is an invaluable part of the life journey. This includes all the changes as we age: emotional, mental, and physical. When we can focus on appreciating the journey of life and all the opportunities for growth, the physical changes that accompany it can be seen as part of the whole experience.
2
Become Aware of Self-Deprecating Thoughts: Make it a practice to notice any critical voices that come up around your body or your looks. You can approach this like a meditation practice: don’t try to push the thoughts away; instead, recognize that you’re having the thought but choose not to fuel it. You can even choose to offer compassion to that part of yourself, soothing the inner critic who is never satisfied. Imagine this voice is coming from a deep part of you that just wants love and attention.
3
Focus on Positive Changes: The mind does an excellent job of uncovering what is wrong, including the smallest of flaws that other people may not even notice. If you can accept that this is the nature of the negative (or protective) aspect of the mind, you will become less reactive to it. Choose to focus on the positive changes that this lifestyle brings. Build your self-confidence the same way you would for a good friend who is doing her best to make positive and healthy changes in her life.
Transforming the mental attitudes and beliefs you possess about aging is an ongoing practice; it will take time, effort, and energy on your part. However, it’s a worthwhile effort that pays off hugely, with results like improved sense of well-being, less stress, and a brighter glow.
