The Shine of Internal Arts

Is this among the ideal exercises for older folks?

Many years ago I was in a program that encouraged to select a target age for my eventual demise. I was in my 30s at the time, so still filled with enough idealism to take the idea seriously. I chose 105.

Part of the program this came from suggested posting one’s goals on various surfaces in my home so they could be seen, read, and repeated. I did this for a while, not sure how long, but the notion of living until 105 stuck.

Now I’m in my late 60s. The minor aches accompanying aging are with me daily, and the idea of living until 105 has taken on a caveat – physical, mental, and spiritual health pending.

I still think there’s value in a target age. But tempering it with the realities of the present seems wise. And this is where internal arts really shines for me.

The exercises can be done as vigorously or gently as desired, the desire for which varies from day to day. One can add weights to the movements, speed them up, slow them down, etc. The most significant difference between internal arts exercises and other is the use of the mind or imagination.

One of my favourite exercises is Circle Walking in Nine Dragon Baguazhang. There is much to say about this practice, but I will limit my remarks here to health maintenance. Walking itself is already known to be of immense benefit, especially to seniors. Add the particulars of Bagua walking such as the Rolling Step, along with the various upper body postures, and you have a dynamic exercise that benefits the body in ways unheard of by a simple walk around the block.

Add the mind to all that by imagining and sensing the movement of internal energies (I’m working on a better description for this) and you have a complete exercise for body, mind, and spirit.

Exercises like this are unique and effective ways to stimulate the mindbody towards maintaining it capacities which seem to me to be the essence of health as one ages. Keeping one’s systems active and in demand strikes me as the core of health practices. Internal arts offer unique ways to achieve this.

This is not to say that other exercises such as strength training or aerobic are unimportant. Far from it. In fact, a judicious combination of these method with internals offers a complete regiment that can be modified to last many years.

Perhaps until age 105.