The Importance of Independence (and Interdependence)
by Baxter Bee & Flower by Melina Meza Yesterday Nina dove into three key aspects of Healthy Aging, and I wanted to pick up the ball on the middle concept, that of maintaining �independence.� As Nina mentioned in her post What is Healthy Aging, Anyway? , one goal of aging well is to �continue to live independently and care for ourselves as long as possible. And Nina outlined many of the independent skills we would ideally love to preserve as time goes on: �the basic daily self care activities, such as dressing, going to the toilet, getting up and down from a chair, doing light housework, and so on as well as the ability to continue to do the activities we love.� And indeed, a regular asana practice that is appropriate for our stage of life, as well as our unique health and physical challenges, will likely keep us on track in maintaining our independence. As I have mentioned in previous posts, loss of independence in my patients can be one of the most dramatic and potentially de...