Look Younger : It's

Easier Now than Ever

Today looking younger

is not only possible, there

are many ways to do it,

as experts show us

In the above picture you see what 51 years of age looks like today. Madonna is only one of the many people who are looking younger by following reasonable advice from a number of experts. In her case, she leans most heavily on yoga, but rounds this out with attention to her diet and seeking reasonable peace of mind. She is also capable of not-so-peaceful activities such as energetic stage performances and speaking her mind in no uncertain terms on occasion, but those things can also be conducive to good health and looking younger.

Many experts are now showing us ways to accomplish this "looking younger" goal, giving us a wide variety of options from which to choose. Eating right is part of this, as is reasonable activity or exercise. But it is also becoming clear that our appearance matters, and can help us keep on the right track to a healthy, younger body.

In terms of eating right, the number of proposed diets range from strict to gentle. At the strict end you find experts such as Joel Fuhrman, a family doctor, who recommended fasting -- which means no eating at all. It should be no surprise that few people wanted to go that way, so he eventually converted to the more funky "eat this not that" approach advocated by nutritionists such as David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. The reason why gentle diets are becoming more popular is that people are able to stay on them and gain long term benefits. The strict, sudden weight loss diets are too often followed by serious weight gain, leaving us with little or no net benefit.

Similarly with exercise, the proposed regimens vary from the intensive workouts of experts such as Salvatore Fichera to the more accessible "no sweat" exercise plan of Harvard Medical School professor Harvey Simon. Once again, intensive programs can drive us to much better shape in a relatively short amount of time, but those plans are all too often abandoned and the gains disappear. The tendency now is more toward activities and games, or stretching with yoga, rather than repetitive exercises and using weights.

Appearance is also important for several reasons. It is, of course, one way to short-ciruit all of the above and just dress up our old, not-such-great-shape body to pretend we are in better shape. That is where knowing whether to wear clothing with stripes going up and down or side to side is important. A number of fashion and cosmetic experts such as Charla Krupp of Glamour magazine are well-versed to advise us in this regard. But another significant aspect of appearance is that dressing in a slightly younger or sportier style can influence our behavior. Instead of always acting mature and reserved, it opens up the possibility of "jumping for joy" and other practices of younger people that contribute  to their positive physical and cardiovascular condition. One word of caution, however:  wearing excessively baggy pants and a backwards baseball cap is probably not going to do it if you are over thirty. Taking only one or two steps in the direction of younger appearance is all it takes to get yourself going in a positive direction.

Clearly there are many details and options to choose from in doing all of these things -- and we will be exploring as many of them as possible in the articles posted here. So take a look around, and check back for more.

Another in our

"Look Younger"

series:

_______

Deepak Chopra's

Center and Spa

Younger Body

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