Want to know what makes many people old before their time?
They worry too much about acting “civilized”.
Recently, I took at trip to beautiful Nova Scotia. Everywhere I stopped, there were people — sitting on chairs, walking and talking — all perfectly acceptable behaviours. I spent some of my time acting a bit more childish, scrambling over rocks, rolling down a hill, walking on all fours, even climbing a tree. People may have thought I was a bit crazy, but in fact I was acting in a perfectly humanized fashion.
Why connect with the ground and crawl around on all fours? Well, many adults seem to lose their basic connection with the ground, and the older we get the less and less time we engage the floor. In contrast, children spent a lot of time on the floor — they lie down, they squat, they roll around and play. And when it comes time to stand, they can get up with ease.
How easy can you get up and down off the floor?
Being able to get up and down off the floor with ease is one of the key markers of longevity — so it’s important to practice. So called “animal walks” are great too, as they get us to connect with the ground on all fours and crawl much like we did when we were babies.
Bear walks, crab walks, dragon walks (or spiderman pushups) and even duck walks are great drills to practice. Use them in between sets of other exercises or work on them as skills on their own.
