9 Secrets to prolong your life!
Last weekend I attended a brilliant training at Open Circles Academy, one of my favorite training companies.The weekend was all about excellent health and how to be balanced to be able to live longer, better, happier and above all, to be able to have a life purpose that makes it all worth it.
I got so inspired by all the fantastic speakers, that I immediately decided to write my next blog about one of the most interesting themes, the Blue Zones, and the 9 secrets how to live a
longer, healthier and happier life. Isn’t that interesting?
The Blues Zones are areas on our planet where people getting old healthy, and where they live longest on average. It is quite normal that people living in the Blue Zones become 125. Dan Buettner wrote a book about the Blue Zones. There are some common aspects that researchers found to be evident for a longer life. Dan Buettner led an expedition to Nicoya, Costa Rica and confirmed the existence of "a local population with the longest average lifespan in the Western hemisphere.” Dan Buettner became interested in demographics and longevity and began his research into "Blue Zones,” a term for the regions on Earth with the longest life expectancy, disability-free life expectancy or concentration of persons over 100. He began investigating these "Blue Zones" with physicians and demographers, focusing his initial efforts in Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Icaria Greece and Loma Linda, California
So here follow the 9 secrets to prolong your life that have been found by research within the population of the Blue Zones:
Number 1: IKIGAI (Japanese for life purpose)
If you want to prolong your life with an average of 7 years, you have to get yourself a goal in life, find your life purpose. As I earlier wrote to you that already living on purpose makes you a happier person, knowing and following your life purpose will add at least some more years to your life. You just could say that your purpose is to fulfill your potential, whatever that is and you already live longer.
Number 2 : Downshifting, RELAX
Eliminating stress by downshifting stress and relaxation helps you to add some precious years to your life.
Meditation and being mindful is the key.
And if you think of mediation as sitting silent, or doing AAUHHM…then you are only thinking of some possibilities. Breathing is one of the best and simplest ways to relax, by just focusing on and slowing down the breath, you can lower your heartbeat and relax.
Everything that you like and that relaxes you can be a meditation.
Cooking, cleaning dishes, running, gardening, walking, etc…everything that you like can be your meditation, make it the best you ever had.
Number 3: Hara Hachi Bu
Hara Hachi Bu is is a Confucian teaching that instructs people to eat until they are 80 % full.
The brain just sends the “ I am full “hormone after 20 minutes, so you have to prolong the time of eating to actually not overeat.
- Tips to do so:
- Take a smaller plate
- Chew very often ( 50 – 100 times) and eat slowly
- Use chopsticks instead of a fork and knife
- Change hands when you eat with a fork and knife, and instead use your knife in the opposite hand.
Number 4: A Plant Based Diet
In all areas of the Blue Zones the inhabitants have a plant based diet, a lot of beans and legumes. They sometimes eat meat, not more than 5 times a month, and sometimes fish, regional and seasonal food.
The redline is moderation!
Number 5 : Little alcohol
Especially in de Blue Zones, people drink their own red wine. And not more than two small glasses a day. It doesn’t work if you don’t drink at all all week, and than on Sunday you drink 14 glasses. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers, so moderation is the perfect answer. The only place where they didn’t drink, is in Loma Linda, an Adventists community.
Number 6: A Belong Community
A faith based community. If you come together with your community at least 4 times a month, life can be prolonged. This does not necessarily mean a religious community. It is all about faith.
Number 7 : Love ones first/family first
Young people can trust that their parents will take care of their children, and vice-versa. Parents know that they will be taken care of when they grow older and need some more support.
They are all surrounded by family and friends.
Number 8 : the RIGHT Tribe
Gather with your peer group and like-minded people. The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors. Habits are contagious, positive or negative. In Okinawa they had a custom called “moais” where they established a group of 5, lifetime friends around them to support and guide them for a lifetime.
Number 9 : Moving Naturally
The inhabitants of the Blue Zones move naturally by growing their own gardens, and they don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work. They actually live a quite simple life. They wake up, weed the garden, cook some food, make a little walk to friends and locals to trade or buy some goods, and then come home again for some more work in house and garden.
You can find more information on http://www.bluezones.com
So to live a longer, happier and healthier live we don’t have to do outrageous things, we only have to adapt a Blue Zones lifestyle, and we can become above hundred.
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog, and if you feel inspired to share please feel free to do so. Anyone who could use that information should be reached!
Have a great week and know that you are wonderful and special as you are. Be the light and bring it to the world.
Hi Martina,
Thank you so much for all your tips in your blog. It is not only very interesting to read, but it also invites me to start living a different life right now. Hope you’ll support me…:)
Warm regards,
Lizet
Dear Lizet,
you can count on me 🙂 thank you for reading my blog and taking the time to write me a comment!
We all can profi from slowing down our life and simplify it! Big hug Martina
Hi Martina,
Thanks so much for this wonderful and inspring blog. I’ve read it with a lot of pleasure. And implemented immediately some of your tips.
I do agree that we should make communities where we belong too. In the past people went too church. Now people should join a community. I open my doors every month on Me Monday, where everybody is more than welcome to get inspired. Feel free to join one time.
Hi Lorraine,
Yes let’s do it! I love to come on a monday, a ME monday very soon 🙂
also always open to get inspired and to inspire1
Hugs
Martina
Lieve Leni,
bedankt voor je mooie warme woorden. Ik hoop dat ook, wil je een keer een LinkedIn workshop in Amsterdam bij Karunika geven,
in samenwerking met UP Coaching? 🙂
Liefs Martina
Dear Jorgen, it was such a pleasure to be part of your enthousiastic workshop 🙂
Loved it to the max 🙂
let’s get busy, or better let’s slow down, to be happy and healthy !
Hugs
Martina