Wellness

BEAUTIFUL SLOW AGING NOW

Chablis & Burgundy Bike Tour by Backroads Travel.

by Backroads Travel. Chablis & Burgundy Bike Tour.

Today we are looking at the beauty of Slow Aging, with some new ideas for mind, body, and spirit.

SLOW TRAVEL BICYCLING

Yesterday, we checked out the beautiful of Slow Travel. It is carrying over a bit today, as we check out Slow Travel bicycling.

Faster than walking but plenty slow enough to smell the roses and sip the nectars along your journey, bicycling is a beautiful way to Slow Travel. Pedal from village to village, vineyard to vineyard, treasure to treasure.

One lovely Slow Travel bicycle trip to consider this coming October is offered by the Villa le Barone, the four-star luxury hotel in Panzano, Chianti. Start slow at the 28-room hotel Villa le Barone, which has been in the Della Robbia family since the 16th century.

Once you settle in, you can explore the magnificent Tuscan countryside, hills and all. But then get ready to either sit back and watch -- or if you want to speed up a little, you can join in -- L’Eroica (“heroic”) bicycle race.

Called a “poem written with a bicycle,” you will roll through the vineyards, past olive tree groves, oak and chestnut forests, and medieval villages.

The race suits riders of all levels. You can take the shortest route, with just 23.6 miles and an elevation gain of 2,296 feet. Or you can go slow and take the full 46.6 mile route which passes through Volpaia, close to Villa le Barone, and includes a stop at the Ristoro di Panzano.

Indulge in some Chianti wine, figs, salamis, cheeses and breads before you get ready to burn it off on the way back to the Villa.

Nearly 5,000 participants are expected this year with their vintage cycles, dating from the 1950s and 1960s… like the beauty we see above, as photographed by Julian Darwell.

Slow down. You move too fast.

It’s time to make the morning last.

-- Paul Simon, Feelin’ Groovy

RECENT STUDIES ON SLOW AGEING - TAI CHI

Everything about Tai Chi seems calm and relaxing. Slow fluid movements, formal poses and forms, controlled breathing. Tai Chi, which originated over 2,000 years ago in China, has recently been found to help slow down aging.

Research published in a recent edition of Cell Transplantation has revealed that in addition to serving as a relaxing practice, Tai Chi can have anti aging effects on several parts of the body.

The study compared individuals who either practiced Tai Chi, walked, or participated in no exercise at all. Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin and his team at the China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, were able to determine that those who practiced Tai Chi benefited from an increased CD34 cell count, a type of stem cell that can slow aging.

According to the study's authors, Tai Chi, "has been confirmed to benefit" patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease and fibromyalgia. In addition, Tai Chi also appears to help with balance, blood pressure and stress reduction.

Other studies have found that Tai Chi can give your memory a boost. Indeed scientists found that elderly Chinese people who practiced Tai Chi just three times a week for eight months performed better on memory tests than those who didn't do Tai Chi.

MEDITATION

Now there is further evidence that meditation can help to slow aging.

Elizabeth Hoge of Harvard University led a team study the effects of meditation on the length of telomeres, segments at the end of chromosomes that shrink as we age or feel stress.

What they found was incredibly exciting. Those in the study who practiced loving-kindness meditation, a type of meditation in which the participant focuses good will towards themselves and others, had longer telomeres than those who did not practice.

Now, there is reason to believe that meditation may be able to slow, stall, or even reverse aging at the neurological and chromosomal level.

ACTIVATE BRAIN & BODY

Activate Brain & Body is all about slowing down and increasing the quality of our minds and bodies as we age.

This innovative company, whose motto is Age!Younger, has created an integrated brain and body program with a patent-pending process that consists of a wide range of physical exercises, stress reduction techniques, and brain training routines that work in harmony. It is said to radically improve the trajectory of aging.

The program was designed based on a number of recent studies which have revealed new evidence of our abilities to slow down our aging processes. For example, it considers a recent study which found that "the whisker-tickling experience had a long-term effect on the mice's memories."

Trial programs have shown to result in profound positive effect on participants’ brain and body biometrics.

Activate is gearing up to offer this program to the public via a unique technology that pairs highly trained brain/body coaches with clients in a virtual format. Coaches create a personalized program to achieve The Act!vated Self, where brain and body are functioning at optimal levels, even as they age.

For more information, follow Activate Brain & Body on twitter and Facebook .

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Slow in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.22.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!