Notes on Turning 50
Part 1: Middle-life Health
I’m turning 50 next week! 🎉
The fact that I have lived half a century seems like a huge milestone, and it is. This day has been in the back of my mind for a while.🙂
When I turned 49 last year, I did a lot of contemplation to figure out what I wanted in the second half-century of my life. My intention was to welcome my 50th with greater clarity, purpose, and ease.
It has been an intriguing exercise.
As we age, there are so many things we have to think about and I wanted to share some of my experiences, thought processes, and decisions because I know many of you are (or have been) going through the middle-life stage of life with me.
Since this is a big topic, I will make a multi-part blog series focusing on different aspects of life in each.
Today, the topic is Mid-life Health.
Everyone’s life changes around age 50, but for many women, there is a lot of change around that age. 🎂
The menopausal transition often happens between the ages of 45-55 so many of us notice changes in pretty much everything including hormones, metabolism, mood, sleep, vision, body, skin, hair, memory, energy… and the list continues!
Ironically, this is the age when our lives tend to be the busiest. Many of us take care of kids while taking care of or worrying about our aging parents, resulting in high-stress levels. There seems to be very little time for self-care.
I am definitely noticing the aging process of my body.
So one of the things I started to do more intentionally since last year has been self-care.
Here are some of the things I try to do regularly…
See an Acupuncturist for a monthly check-in so I don't get sick. 😷
Get massages because I like them and deserve them!💆🏽♀️
See a Chiropractor even if I am not in pain. Our body shifts constantly and needs to be put back in alignment so I make it a priority.
Exercise regularly, and emphasize strengthening. Injuries and muscle loss are preventable as we lose 1-2% of our muscle mass each year.🏋🏻♂️
Cook often and eat a lot of fresh, seasonal, and local fruits and vegetables.🍳
Practice moderation but still enjoy all kinds of food and drinks without being restrictive.
Do a reset twice a year. This has been indispensable to keeping up my energy level and fine-tuning what my body likes. As we age, what our body prefers to have or avoid starts to change so it is good to do occasional resets.
Practice self-compassion when I notice the physical effects of aging such as a more forgetful brain, wrinkles, worsening visions, etc. 💝
As a part of yoga teaching, we discussed the importance of Acceptance and Surrender. When we deny, fight, and resist what happens to us, we tend to create more suffering.
In my yoga classes, I used to share quotes related to pain when we talked about it. I am modifying them because they work so well for aging!
“Pain Aging is inevitable but suffering is optional”
“Pain Aging plus resistance equals suffering”
Although this makes middle life sound bad, there are so many great things when we get to this stage.😌
Personally, I feel healthier, fitter, and more at ease than I’ve ever felt in my life. And most importantly, I am loving what I do!
Some of the positives of being in middle life…
More confidence around life decisions (will discuss further in Part 2)
Caring less about what other people think of you. Who even has time for that!?
Being able to afford self-care practices and being more intentional with them than we were in our youth
The realization that we do so much for others and we deserve to care for ourselves too
Cultivating deeper friendships with people we truly align with. Again, we don’t have time to waste on people we don’t connect with or feel comfortable around
If you are going through a similar stage in your life, please share with me how it's been going! I am really interested in how you are dealing with the transition and what kind of self-care you are practicing.
February is a month of love - please practice some self-love by doing something fun and nice for yourself 💖
If you are looking for a super fun self-care idea, consider joining me for an amazing retreat in Costa Rica.🧘🏾♂️
It will happen December 2-9 in the beautiful Osa Peninsula. Registration is coming soon but if you want to be the first to find out the details, please email me. It will be a small group retreat!
Happy Valentine’s to you all! ❤️
To celebrate it, I am sharing my favorite chocolate cake recipe below.
Much love,
Ai
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
½ C (4 oz.) fine-quality bittersweet or dark chocolate
1 stick (113 g) of unsalted butter
¾ C (149g) sugar
3 large eggs
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal mixing bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.
Whisk sugar into the chocolate mixture.
Add eggs and whisk well.
Sift ½ cup cocoa powder over the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, or until the top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in a pan on a rack for 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
Dust cake with powdered sugar and enjoy!
***Cake keeps in an airtight container for a week but it’s delicious it probably won’t last for more than a day!
