The easy anti-ageing technique that’s breathed new life into my body and mind | Robyn Ingerson

The time of life when it becomes tricky to tie up your shoe laces sneaks up on your quickly, writes Robyn Ingerson.

My body is failing me spectacularly. I am in a state of frustration with my 57-year-old chassis. I feel internally and mentally my 20-year-old, aerobic queen, vital self, but the reality is I need ibuprofen and anti-inflammatory medication to even bend over to tie my shoelaces.

According to my brother Ant, who is 18 months younger, I am attacking the shoelace-tying strategy from the wrong angle – apparently the over 50s lie down and have a knees-up approach to the tying of laces, adding a hamstring stretch simultaneously. Who knew?

On my morning walks, I seem to be joined by other grimacing 50-year-old health nuts, holding on to past fitness regimes. At least most of us are walking, not running or jogging at a Cliffie Young kind of pace. I feel like the tin man – a squirt of oil in each joint would be most welcome!

This time last year, I felt the best I had for a long time, practising yoga five times a week and dropping a few kilos. I booked a France road trip with one of my favourite girlfriends and embraced life as an empty nester. What on earth had happened in a year? Well, I am a year older physically, with no warning that 365 days could result in a seizing up Mission Impossible scenario. Of course this is all tongue in cheek, as being a stiff old girl is hardly reason to complain, but I feel I am not alone. So, what to do, how to prevent the constant aches and pains, groaning and moaning?

Robyn Ingerson felt the best she had for a long time, practising yoga five times a week. Picture: Generic

You would have needed to be living off grid for 20 years to not know that daily exercise is imperative, weight training is our kryptonite, stretching is the new spin class and diet is king, consisting of high protein, fibre, calcium and good fats (they say that just to make us feel slightly happy – they are not talking about duck fat chips!) AND we are all to be achieving eight hours sleep to prevent ageing – every night.

In the past when my body has decided enough is enough, mainly my lower back to the point of barely standing, my first call has always been to a holistic therapist whose philosophy is to review the whole-of-body function, not just to look at the main culprit or pain-producing region, but what is happening overall physically, emotionally and mentally.

During my last treatment, I endured a series of intense trigger-release point and acupressure manipulations. These instantly released the muscle pain, making me realise how much stretching and strengthening work needed to be administered into my daily routine. I must say I walked in with muscles like guitar strings and walked out feeling taller and lighter. The lightness came from the calming of the nervous system, the increased height came from the stretching of hip flexors and hamstrings, instantly improving my posture. I have been committed to a series of back-strengthening exercises ever since, thanks to the algorithms that bombarded my feed over the ensuing days – the few positives of social media.

With my back pain easing and under control, I started on a path of prevention and looking into the benefits of mobility and building muscle mass, precursors to anti-ageing, feeling stronger, better balance, flexibility and longevity.

As my therapist says, “a gate in constant motion will never rust”, or in layman’s terms, get moving daily.

I also looked at how to continue to keep my nervous system in a state of calm, an oxymoron I know, but at least I am trying.

Breathwork can contribute to a healthier system and lower anxiety. Picture: iStock

Breathwork, the latest buzz word, that can significantly contribute to maintaining a healthy and calm nervous system, helps lower levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, reducing anxiety. It also increases oxygen supply to the brain and body, improving focus, energy levels and cognitive functions, and ultimately better brain health. This we all need. Breathwork, especially through a teacher-led practice such as yoga, encourages mindfulness, emotional awareness, and my favourite, better sleep quality by calming the mind. Meditation has always been a challenge for me. It is too slow (kind of the point) but breathing I can do!

A few new strategies for the weeks ahead – lying down to tie shoe laces while stretching, standing up straight while eating protein to improve my posture and muscle mass, and conscious breathing to improve my energy levels and better sleep. I am going to be unstoppable!