MORE ABOUT LORA – 10/19/2017

When I was twelve years old the patriarch of my parents’ church gave me a blessing: “You will live as long as life is a blessing to you.” Even as a kid hearing a long blessing, I knew that the gem of that experience was knowing that I have a “say.” We’ve all seen goldeners (our term for seniors/elders coined in our book) who don’t seem to be fully enjoying their time here. The purpose of our blog is to share with you some of the tools and successes we have experienced as a result of following the practices/correctives of restorative exercise created and taught by Katy Bowman (www.nutritiousmovement.com.)

In my 30s I got to deal with two ruptured lumbar discs about which an orthopedic surgeon stated I needed immediate surgery. As a hospital nurse I gathered lots of knowledgeable information, and took up a gentle yoga program. It was a decade before I could comfortably do child’s pose, but everything comes to those who wait (or so I’ve heard). Also, Katy Bowman was not on this planet in my 30s.

To not drag you, dear courageous reader, through all the muck of most of our lives, each decade has had challenges that I felt competent to deal with. My 60s saw retirement, but also cancer and medical care for which I’m very grateful. But scariest of all, one knee froze at a bent angle and I was told a knee replacement was mandatory. The ability and desire to walk became of paramount concern and importance.

HELP! I not only needed help, I needed a whole new body paradigm. This time Katy was not only alive, but she’d done the research and math: I had and have options where I can do the work and enjoy a variety of activities. This is me in my 70s – rafting the rapids.

 

 

I walk everywhere to do my local errands. Here I am getting ready to hike and camp out for a week with my two sons, Randy and Tom, and grandson, Tommy. Pretty awesome considering my history with my knee.

 

To brag, I was in Budapest last month which has lots of bridges crossing the Danube River between Buda and Pest. The Danube is wide and crossing it was part of the adventure. Here I am on the bridge with my daughter, Amanda, age 53, just after she completed walking 223 miles in 20 days on the Camino de Santiago in France (through the rain with a cold)! A year or so before she hiked 496 miles in 35 days over the Camino in Spain. Now at 76 I feel as though I could walk it – if I chose.

 

 

And, what I realize is that even in the help-seeking mode, one muscle we must always maintain is the one that resists the temptation to allow others to define us and our potential future.

Some of us are uncomfortable about not knowing our fate. As long as I ask lots of questions and don’t rush to conclusions, I can accept and use the many gifts of knowledge available to me. I hope you join us, as I’d like you to be another point of light.

Our blog encourages alignment and the healthy practices that brings. Yet there may seem to be no justice in many lives. With this blog, we want to offer to all a place for greater information, honesty, acceptance, and tapping the awesome creativity of a wider forum.

Author

8 Comments

  1. Hi Lora, thank you for sharing your journey here and in Dynamic Aging. You are an inspiration. When you and Katy were writing your book, there was a survey that many of us in RES training did on terms for seniors for the book. Goldeners won, but it was never my favorite.

    I’m a senior (over 60) and teach mostly seniors. There has been a lot of talk about what to call our elders in this society. Elders calls to mind feebleness, unfortunately. Seniors is meh. Goldeners seems patronizing to me. Recently a friend in her 80s who teaches classes called “Ageing to Sageing” posted:

    “Instead of other names for older people like ‘seniors’, ‘older adults’, ‘Elders”, how about Perennials – blooming continuously and more fully every year and leaving our seeds of wisdom behind? I’m signing my letters Perennially Yours from now on!!!”

    I found Jane Fonda using this term on her blog as well. I like being a Perennial. And it’s a nice bookend to Millennial.

    What do you think?

    Perennially Yours,

    Lois

  2. Lora, you are a great inspiration in your quest to live from heart and agency, and to keep listening for what’s possible next. Your wonderful journaling is a guide for me, and surely for many others, as to how to keep cultivating our dreams, vigor, and aliveness. Thank you!

  3. My granddaughter Jasmine was on the Sierra hike as well. She was carrying a tent and I had packed only a hammock to sleep in. When my backside froze in the hammock Jazzy let me join her in her tent. Thank goodness she was there, body heating her tent, as well as her competence and lovely personality.

  4. Loved reading your blog and the progression of your journey into healthy physical practices through time. Because movement is so joyful, I appreciate your encouragement through your book, blog, and in person. Thank you for sharing Katy’s program with so many and becoming a light to others. You are changing lives.

  5. Lora,
    I love your statement to almost tears, *The one muscle we must Always resist is the one that allows others to define our futures and our potentials” I am going to put this affirmation on my car dashboard! Thank you for this.
    Love Cynthia

  6. Your genuine words and intrepid spirit really shine in this post! It is truly encouraging– I hope to shine as brightly one day!
    Keep on shining…

  7. What an awesome testimony! I greatly admire your patience, progress and encouragement. Thanks for this post!

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