Aging is supposed to be a reward, not a punishment.  However, we live in a culture of youth, with media stars and fashion models all being (at least temporarily) young.  So images of health, happiness, sex appeal, charisma and energy are all demonstrated by young people, as if they owned all of these positive qualities.  By default, we think of our elders (if we think of them much at all) as having none of these attributes.  This is the basis of many misconceptions about our aging population, and, even more importantly, about the stereotype that we all carry about our own future.  The reason plastic surgery is so common today is that people are horrified to see themselves getting old.  Yet much of the prejudice about how our own body will age is wrong.  Let's take a look at some of the myths of aging (and take a bit of the pressure off ourselves in the process!):

1.  As we age, we can expect arthritis.  Wrong.  Arthritis is something that can happen at any age, including childhood.  When we see Grampa in shorts in the summer, we notice huge knees in the middle of noodle-thin legs.  Gramps is sure slow to get up from a sitting position.  But this does not mean the problem is arthritis inside the knee joint itself.  When muscles are not exercised, they atrophy.  Thigh muscles that once bulged are now concave.  Even with no change in the joints, the knees will start to look "nobbly" like those of a giraffe.  If Gramps is slow to get up from a sitting position, it is more likely from the lack of muscular strength rather than from arthritis.   

Action item: Exercise, but first consult your doctor and a fitness professional.  Pick activities that suit your interest, or you will quickly lose your enthusiasm.  Also pick something that suits your abilities, and won't cause any harm.  Consider yoga, pilates, aerobics on land or in the pool, or any one of the thousands of sports available from tennis to skiing.  

2.  As we age, our spines will become hunched over, like we are looking for quarters.  Wrong.  Ballerinas and professional models, even in late age, maintain great posture.  This is not by accident, but by discipline; they do daily routines of stetching and toning to keep standing tall. 

Body builder Jack Lalanne, at http://www.jacklalanne.com/jack.html shows amazing posture and energy at age 94 by keeping his muscles toned.  My partner, chiropractor Dr. Brian Stutz, just returned from a convention where he met hundreds of his colleagues, some still working in their 90's.  Even in their tenth decade, all had youthful posture.  Obviously there is something to all the alignment work they do on each other!   

Action items:  Modern work ergonomics are static, drawing our shoulders and necks into forward flexion.  We can see this when we are driving, working in front of our computers, or hunched over a desk reading.  To rebalance the body, start excercising the  muscles that extend in the opposite direction.  For instance, using pulleys or rubber bands to do "rowing" exercises will pull the shoulder blades together, and help oppose the stronger muscles on the front of the chest. Doing daily stretching will lengthen muscles that spend all day contracted: the hamstrings, as well as the pectoral muscles of the front of the ribcage.  Visit a chiropractor for an initial assessment, and consider occasional maintenance visits to treat your alignment.  By doing this you should be able to keep your spine from curving forward, and keep your body fit for vigorous activities for extra years.

3.  Wrinkled skin:  To be sure, none of us will be as smooth-skinned at 80 as we were at 20.  But much of what we assume to be "normal aging" of the face is nothing more than muscle atrophy.  Just like in the legs, this leaves concavities where the muscles once bulged.  Hence the sunken cheeks, drooping eyelids, and downturned mouth.  But your skin does not need to look as wrinkled as this photo: alright, this is an elephant, but you still don't want these wrinkles!

Action item: consider toning your facial muscles the way the professional spas do it.  Use the power of micro-electric current to stimulate your face, and to pump up all 22 muscles on each side.  The skin over top will still age, but muscle toning will take years off your face.  Visit http://www.facemaster.com/ to see Suzanne Somers show how it's done.  In today's economy, it is cheaper to buy your own machine than it is to have even one single treatment at a spa. 

So look aging directly in the face, and don't fear the future.  Not all the answers come from the plastic surgeon's menu.  Take control of your own muscles, and you will have more spring in your step, more height in your spine, and more joy in your face. 

Dr. Hanson welcomes your comments.  Visit Dr. Stutz at his site at http://www.peterhansonmd.com/. 

"Dear Dr. Hanson, I just saw Suzanne Sommers on Oprah today, and she was amazing.  Not only did she explain the role of hormone replacements as a menopause strategy, but she looked incredible.   If I take the same hormones as Suzanne, will my face look that great when I'm 62?   Sue R., age 45, Jupiter Florida.

 Dear Sue,

Indeed Suzanne looks fantastic at age 62, and it is not just by accident.  Her recommendation to first assess your unique hormone levels, then replace what is missing is indeed medically sound, and is a critical piece of her anti-aging protocol.  She also keeps her mind active by working a gruelling schedule, and keeps her body well nourished by eating organic foods.   But her young looks are very much a part of her disciplined muscle management, which she does routinely, in two ways: 

1.  For her body, she tones and stretches her muscles with yoga. 

2.  For her face, she uses her FaceMaster. 

Without question, the body needs its hormones to be in balance as we age.  Deficiencies or excesses cause a host of symptoms from overheating to chills, from insomnia to chronic fatigue, and from mood swings to itchings.  In her books "Ageless" and "Breakthrough" she outlines strategies to first identify and test for your personal condition, then to consider bioidentical hormones to replace those elements that are shown to be missing.  However, she is the first to note that there is more to beauty than just the hormone replacements.

Muscles tone when they are worked, and sag when they aren't.  That's why Suzanne has been a great fan of Iyengar Yoga, to tone and tighten muscles in her arms, legs, abdomen and core.  In the thighs, for example, it will strengthen the quads, and lengthen the hamstring muscles. This technique, made popular by B.K.S. Iyengar, is a form of Hatha Yoga, and focuses on the structural alignment of the body.   For more information see www.bksiyengar.com.  Also note Sir Mark Tully's article in the BBC, at www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/010116_iyengar.shtml. 

For her face, however, there are no yoga techniques that will compete with the FaceMaster.  This is Suzanne's best beauty secret, and one she has used for the past 16 years.  Microcurrent is used  to stimulate the 22 muscles on each side of the face for just a few seconds each.  In just 18 minutes, the whole face can be rejuvenated, with muscles regaining their tone under the eyelids, along the jaw line, and over the cheek bones.  And just like in yoga, other muscles need to stretch or lengthen, like the muscles between the eyebrows, or those creating the furrows in the brow.  The FaceMaster is the Grand Yogi of the face.  You can learn more about this fantastic technique at www.facemaster.com. 

Aging is supposed to be a reward, not a punishment.   And menopause should not be the ordeal that it is made out to be.  With good hormone assessments and treatments, you can feel  as good as you used to, and as good as Suzanne does now.  With good yoga (or equivalent exercise like Pilates) you can tone, tighten, and lenthen the muscles of your body.  With the FaceMaster, you can tone, tighten, and lengthen selected muscles of the face, and have Suzanne's best beauty secret: a firmer face, with restored muscle volume and fewer wrinkles.

So read Suzanne's books, like Oprah said to her audience today, and see what her techniques can do for you.  Not only your mood will improve, but your body will look younger like her's does.  Also try to exercise and tone your body muscles, in activities such as yoga.  But to put your best face on the menopause, try Suzanne's favorite beauty secret, the FaceMaster.  Give your face the gift of youth in the face of aging.  

We welcome your comments!  Please reply to this blog, or contact us at http://www.facemaster.com/.  For more information from Dr. Hanson, visit http://www.peterhansonmd.com/.