10 exercises to keep the body and spirit youthful

1. Make life plans

“Developing a plan and putting in the effort to implement it keeps you upbeat, alert, and curious, and makes your relationships more meaningful and enriching,” says psychotherapist Béatrice Millêtre¹. A project, unlike a dream or just a desire, implies a clear goal and a set of funds that will need to be used to achieve it.

Another criterion: a plan that motivates us is always based on our desires and consistent with our values. These two factors guarantee its viability and give our decisions meaning.

1. Write a list of your interests and activities that you have a penchant for (in the field of culture, charity, sports).
2. Ask yourself why you want to implement your plan. The more meaningful this goal is in your eyes, the more likely you are to implement your project and it will make your life better.
3. Plan the stages of the project as specifically as possible.

2. Neutralize your regrets

Psychotherapist Frédéric Fanget believes that the realization of what is important to us is a condition without which harmonious old age is impossible². In order not to accumulate regret, he suggests mentally transporting ourselves to the last moments of our lives: this will help us make better use of the time allotted to us. Try to imagine that you will die today and ask yourself two questions:

1. What have I done that I am proud of? Choose what you would like your eulogy to say about you (your qualities, your accomplishments…). Then think about how you could get closer to your ideal.
2. What do I regret the most? “I should have been more involved with children”; “I haven’t traveled enough”… All these regrets will show you new goals that will give your life meaning. Make a list of what you can do to achieve these goals, and start implementing one of these solutions today.

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3. Imitate the head of a turtle

“This longevity exercise gives flexibility to the cervical vertebrae and the body as a whole,” explains qigong instructor Nadine Crégut.³. It enhances the circulation of blood and cerebrospinal fluid. All this improves memory and concentration and contributes to the prevention of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s).

1. Standing or sitting, press the tongue to the palate.
2. Pull in your chin by pulling your head up and lifting your shoulders slightly.
3. Pull your chin forward.
4. Return the chin to the sternum through the bottom, relaxing and lowering the shoulders.

These movements (slow, gentle and non-stop, performed without effort) outline a circle, “as if the turtle were drinking water from a lake, and then, in moving in the opposite direction, as if it were spitting water back.” The upper back and shoulders are slightly involved in the movement. Exercise should be done every day, 20 times in each direction.

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4. Alternate tension and relaxation

“As we age, we notice that the muscles and skin become less elastic, and the joints lose their flexibility,” says kinesiotherapist Gil Amsallem (Gil Amsallem)⁴, which offers micro-movements to improve blood circulation, maintain a figure and reduce back pain. For each part of the body, hold the tension for 5 seconds without stopping breathing, then relax. Exercise is done standing or sitting.

1. Tighten the thigh-abdomen-perineum, then the buttocks (both together or right and left in turn).
2. Press the left and right shoulder blades and the left and right knee together.
3. Spread your hips and try to bring them together, resisting with your hands.
4. Put your hand on your knee, push hard and try to lift your leg (this makes the abs work).
5. Standing, pull in your chin, pull up the top of your head and stretch. A little trick to improve your figure: walk on your toes or on your heels as often as possible.

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5. Maintain Brain Plasticity

“Over time, reproducing the same thought patterns, we lose brain plasticity,” warns neuroscientist Maïté Sauvet.⁵. Therefore, it is important to maintain it by meeting new people, discovering new ideas and points of view, changing everyday habits (go the other way, try a new taste). Unfamiliar activities that give us pleasure are good for the brain. “When dopamine (the hormone of desire and pleasure) enters the brain, it enhances the work of neurons, which means it improves perception and memory,” Maite Sove adds. She also advises to excite your “gray cells”, raising the bar for yourself. If you like crosswords or chess, look for other logic games where you are not so strong yet; if you love to read, write notes as if you were a literary critic, or blog about what you read. It is important not to let the brain stagnate.

6. Chat with enthusiasts

Youth of spirit is also supported by communication with people who stimulate you. According to Maite Sove, these include interesting personalities and enthusiasts who can infect with their passion. “An enthusiast,” the neuroscientist clarifies, “is often a person who has spent his life in vain, who stopped to consider, study something that interested him, and who took the time to tell you about it.” He’s not necessarily young, but he’s definitely not a whiner, a talker, or a pessimist. “The trap closes,” the expert warns, “when we limit ourselves to discussing platitudes that carry no surprises with our friendly and family environment.” This is how we age prematurely. Boredom.

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7. Practice “hitting the target”

Stress is a factor in aging. First of all, physiological, since it causes cell oxidation. But also psychological, since it depletes the intellect, leads to isolation and even depression. To overcome stress, sophrologist Clarisse Gardet⁶ advises “target karate”. “It’s called that because we control the force and synchronize it with the breath,” she explains.

1. Close your eyes, stretch your arms along the body, inhale and bend your right arm, tightly clenching your fist. Hold the air in your lungs and concentrate your strength in your fist.
2. Exhale, throwing your fist out sharply, as if you had to hit a target. Feel your tension release. You can accompany the throw of the hand with a shout.
3. Do the same with your left hand. You can do this movement three times with each hand, then three more times with both hands at the same time.
4. Then calm your breath. Focus on images, sensations, or any other phenomena that spontaneously come to you.

This exercise should be done as soon as you feel the need for it, especially at the end of a hard or stressful day.

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8. Awaken Chi

This self-massage allows you to activate “qi” (vital energy) and promotes its circulation. The effect is immediately apparent in a change in complexion and digestion. “When the chi energy circulates freely in the body, the organs work without interference,” explains tai chi teacher Gregorio Manzur.⁷.

1. Massage your wrists, fingers, palms, rub your hands together. Slap (not too hard) your body from head to toe and from toe to head. Then shake your hands to release tension.
2. With the palms of your hands, massage all parts of the face, tap the skull with your fingertips, then grab your hair, pulling it up. Finish with an intensive massage of the face and head, performing it with the whole palm.
3. With your thumb and forefinger, grab and massage the area between the eyebrows, then rotate your eyes first clockwise, then counterclockwise.
4. Cover with one hand the other and in a circular motion massage the chest and solar plexus with them. Then go down to the stomach and continue.
5. With your hands, slowly stroke your head, face, chest, stomach, arms and legs. Get down to your feet. At this level, fold your hands palm to palm, then straighten up.

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9. Stimulate the Longevity Point

In Chinese energy medicine, a special point is distinguished, called the “point of longevity”. “It is located below the knee on the right, just above the tibia,” says teacher and shiatsu master Philippe Ronce.⁸. – Its stimulation promotes the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow. As a result, the tone, appearance, and flexibility of the joints improve.” The effect will be doubled if this point is stimulated on certain days and hours, since “each point at the moment of stimulation is influenced by the energies of heaven and earth,” the master clarifies.

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10. Get upside down

“According to the philosophy of yoga, aging harmoniously means changing your mind every day,” says yoga teacher, osteopath and Thai massage master Carole Simonelli (Carole Simonelli)⁹. The movement allows you to mitigate the loss of flexibility of the connective tissues. Postures practiced daily activate hormone production that declines with age, irrigate the heart and brain, and calm the nervous system.”

Uttanasana: standing, bend over with knees bent to protect your lumbosacral area, relax your upper body by dropping your hands palms down to the ground, then straighten your legs.

Viparita karani: lie face to the wall, put a pillow or a folded blanket under the pelvis, stretch your legs up so that they touch the wall along their entire length.

Exercises should be performed daily in the morning, taking at least 5-10 minutes for each.

¹ Author of Six Clés pour se sentir enfin à sa place (Six clés pour se sentir enfin à sa place, Payot, 2014).

² Author of “Where Are You Going? How can psychology give meaning to life” (“Où vas-tu? Les réponses de la psychologie pour donner du sens à sa vie”, Les Arènes, 2007).

³ Author of the book “Qigong for Weight Loss: The Ease of Being” (“Qi gong pour mincir, la légèreté de l’être”, Guy Trédaniel Éditeur, 2004).

⁴ Author of Pratique de l’automassage, le bien-être au bout de vos mains, First Éditions-Santé magazine, 2012.

⁵ Author of the book “Keys to Pleasure” (“Clés du plaisir”, Chiron, 2013).

⁶ Author of the book “Tame Stress with Sophrology” (“Apprivoiisez votre stress avec la sophrologie”, Le Livre de poche, 2014).

⁷ Author of the book “The Art of Combating Your Shadow” (“L’Art du combat avec son ombre”, Albin Michel, 2010).

⁸ Author of “The Right Point at the Right Moment: A Primer on Shiatsu for Yourself” (“Bon Point au bon moment, manuel d’autoshiatsu”, Guy Trédaniel Éditeur, 2014).

⁹ Her website is thaimassagemettayoga.com It should be noted that these poses are not recommended for diseases of the cardiovascular system and the spine.