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How Can Mindfulness Techniques Help People To Age Well?

Writer's picture: Alexander JamesAlexander James

Getting older is not always welcome: the body may be less agile and more prone to aches and pains, and the mind may not be as clear and sharp as it used to be. There is no getting away from the fact that at some point, we are all going to grow old and maybe lose loved ones as well.


It is natural to feel a sense of loss or longing for times past, and also a fear about what the future may bring. However, getting older is a process that can be successfully adapted to, and it does not automatically mean that your quality of life will decrease.


Mindfulness is a technique that is used to help people positively embrace change, and this includes coming to terms with getting older. Here are some ways that it can help.


Easing stress and anxiety

Change can bring worries with it, even for the most calm and confident person. Mindfulness can help put anxiety into perspective and help to calm the body with deep breathing techniques.


Improving mental clarity

It is natural for the memory to be less sharp than it used to be as we get older. This should not be confused with dementia, which is not an inevitable part of ageing, but a disease. Mindfulness can help to improve the attention span and help to keep the brain sharp.


Appreciating what you have

It can be easy to get stuck in a mindset of ruminating over the past or worrying about the future. Mindfulness can help you to appreciate the present moment. Ageing can bring with it many silver linings. For example, you may be liberated from the routine of work and have more free time.


For people who have worked full time all of their lives, retirement can bring fresh joys with more time for travel, hobbies, and visiting friends and family. You can take life at a more leisurely pace, enjoy a long walk in the fresh air or a restful nap after your lunch.


By practising mindfulness meditation, you can learn to appreciate all the joys of your day to day life and learn to minimise any unhelpful intrusive thoughts.


Being a source of wisdom for others

Achieving a certain age means that you have lived through many experiences, both difficult or rewarding. You are therefore better placed than younger people to put events into perspective and can offer them the benefit of your wisdom. Don’t underestimate how valuable this is to the younger people in your life, and be generous if they seek advice.


Many people learn to relish their senior status, because they are no longer inhibited by what others think of them, and this can be wonderfully liberating. It is a time when richness of life experience can bring a new self confidence, and this more than makes up for any less welcome aspects of getting older.


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