What is Pro-Ageing?

As revolutions go, the Pro-ageing revolution will have up to now have passed many people by. But that is something that is changing. This is a movement that is starting to take hold of the beauty industry, bloggers, media, and major influencers. This is a revolution that is changing the way society views age and all the connotations that go with it.

Over the years, the anti-ageing industry has dominated the way people view getting older. Always buzz words to get people interested in looking good and fending off lines, wrinkles, saggy skin, and any other forms of looking “old”. To age, it seems has always been something to fight against and fend off, something to be ashamed of. Women especially have been targeted by the industry, they have been fed the idea of “eternal youth” being the objective in life.

The beauty industry has always used young models and has pushed the idea that anyone over the age of 30 needs to stay looking young to be relevant and noticed. Society has been geared to make individuals dislike the ageing process, it invokes a feeling of insecurity, from airbrushed advertising images to social media which can have a toxic effect on the way that we think and view ourselves.

The Pro-ageing mindset

If you have the pro-ageing mindset then you know that age isn’t something that has to be prevented. When you are in this mindset, then you know that age should be celebrated in all of its glory. Every wrinkle and brown spot is a mark on our body of the life that we have lived, the laughter and the tears along the way.

Anti-ageing thinking is bad for our mental well-being, the thoughts that many internalise regards anti-ageing actually make them age faster. The pro-ageing mindset embraces ageing in a positive way which is actually more helpful to the ageing process of our mind and body.

What is the difference between pro-ageing and anti-ageing?

The health and beauty industry has a lot to be held accountable for when it comes to the skewed perceptions of ageing that so many of us have had to live with for so many years.

This has all started to change though. Over the last few years, there has been a revolution in anti-age thinking. Women have started to stand up and defend getting older, wearing it as a badge of honour rather than something to fight against.

It has become more important for many women to embrace getting older and all the experiences it brings rather than worrying about how they look. Now there is pride in showing off your true age and embracing all that comes with time.

No one is going to stay young forever, stopping the clock on ageing is something that is never going to be achieved so embracing the ageing process is something that many are turning to instead.

Pro-ageing is turning the way that we view middle age and beyond on its head. It is shaking off all of the negative connotations of ageing and replacing them with positive language and ideas. Anti-ageing says it all, its use of “anti” as a preposition demonstrates that it is against ageing….and this is where the two fields collide.

The Pro-ageing side is all for getting older in all of its glory, while the anti-ageing side is determined to fight against it. The pro-ageing philosophy allows us to change our perspective on life. We are continually growing, learning, achieving, ageing, and evolving and this is something that should be celebrated.

This way of thinking allows you to be the best version of yourself without having to conform to outdated views from society. It shakes off the shackles of the anti-ageing industry, which can be stressful and demoralizing, and allows a person to look and feel their real self.

What are the ideas behind the Pro-Ageing movement?

Pro-ageing is all about taking a holistic approach to getting older. It’s about embracing life and living it to the max. It’s about being You, YOUR AUTHENTIC YOU! It’s about eating a healthy balanced diet, exercising and looking after your mental and physical well-being.

Pro-ageing and Health and Lifestyle

A lot of women over 50 don’t want to just look younger they want to look healthy and be open and honest about their age. Their priorities have changed to focus on how they feel on the inside, not just what they look like on the outside.

The beauty of the pro-ageing revolution is in its holistic approach; it takes into account all aspects of a person’s life; their health, diet, exercise, and mental well-being, This change in perspective is all about health and lifestyle focusing on the individual as a whole.

The natural holistic approach in pro-ageing

Healthy Eating

We are all aware by now of the importance of what you eat, especially as you get older. The diet that you could get away with in your teens will not serve you when you are 50 plus.

That’s not to say that you have to stick to a rigid diet and not have any fun with food, more being mindful of what you put into your body and feeding it healthy, nutritious food is the way to eat.

A healthy balanced diet full of antioxidant-rich foods, good oils, and fruit and veg will look after the body and help to ward off many ailments that are associated with getting older.

Drinking plenty of water is a wonderful way to stay hydrated to keep the skin smooth and supple.

Avoiding processed foods, smoking, too much alcohol, and sugary drinks are all ways to protect the body from the inside and to look good on the outside.

Exercise

The Pro-ageing revolution looks at the value that exercise has on keeping you fit and active. There’s no doubt that as we age, there are certain things that become harder to do.

That is to be expected from a lot of people but that shouldn’t be an excuse to stop moving and exercising. Many forms of exercise can be undertaken that are amazingly good for keeping you in great shape without placing too much strain on the body.

Yoga, swimming, walking, pilates, and an exercise bike are all excellent ways to keep in shape and protect the body. A lot of people find it difficult to fit exercise into their day because they prioritize it incorrectly.

Making sure that you find the right time to exercise and find an exercise that you enjoy and keeps you motivated should be a prime objective when starting an exercise programme. Making time for yourself to exercise is fundamental in pro-age thinking.

As you age, you lose core strength and balance, simple forms of exercise and movement can start to reverse any changes to your body.

Exercise is good for mental well-being and is an amazing way to focus on time for yourself and helps to promote physical longevity and independence.

Joining groups either in person or online are great for motivation and can help you to stick to an exercise plan.

Pro-ageing focuses on getting your priorities right, making time to eat well, exercise, and look after your mental well-being.

Mental well-being

A major component of the Pro-ageing revolution is the focus that it places on mental well-being.

Women tend to be the ones who are there for a large group of people to serve their needs; children, partners, parents, work colleagues, and friends, sometimes they spread themselves so thinly that there is no time for their own needs and this can start to take a toll on their mental well-being.

Stress and strains of modern-day life can all lead to burnout and so it is crucial to take time to reset, rest and unwind.

Practising mindfulness, meditation, listening to music, reading, drawing, a walk along the beach, whatever the activity, and taking time away from others to spend with yourself is vital for your mental well-being.

Unless you begin to place greater importance on your own needs you will start to find that external stress factors will begin to show on your body, internally and externally.

Start being kinder to yourself, think about yourself in the same way that you think about other people and you will start to notice the difference it makes to your physical and mental well-being.

Sleep

If there is one thing you can do to help your body it is to get enough sleep. Often viewed as the key to a fountain of youth, sleep has many beneficial effects on the body.

Getting 7-9 hours of good quality sleep will help repair the body in many ways.

From a beauty point of view, sleep helps to fend off fine lines and wrinkles by making new collagen whilst you sleep - this is the magic ingredient to keep skin plumper.

It aids in glowing healthy-looking skin by pumping blood to the skin, lack of sleep can leave you with dull-looking skin.

It helps to avoid the puffy-eyed look you get with too little sleep as well as dark circles that appear after a bad night’s rest.

Hair is fed during the night when you are asleep leading to fuller, healthier hair that is less likely to break and you will have so much more energy and feel happier and healthier.

The benefits of the pro-ageing philosophy

Pro-ageing and positive thinking

Pro-ageing is ageing with positivity. There is no one age that is better than another, each year that we live adds a different dimension to our being.

With age comes wisdom as the saying goes, and with each year we learn more and develop in ways that our younger selves could never imagine, this is a wonderful thing and once you realize this then ageing takes on a new dimension.

Changing your thoughts and being conscious of what you are thinking lets you view life in a new way. We have been taught to believe that ageing is a bad thing for so long that these thoughts have become ingrained.

Naturally, there are things not to like about ageing, after all, you aren’t going to embrace every line, wrinkle, and aching joint that appears but adopting a more positive attitude and not letting yourself be defined by how you look can help with the feelings brought up by getting older and your body changing,

Adopting a new, positive way of thinking will enable you to embrace the ageing process and see that life has many things to offer. The practice of gratitude is an important tool to apply when thinking about ageing.

Instead of thinking of negative associations with ageing, give thanks and be grateful for all of the wonderful things that have come about as you have aged.

Family, friends, home life, career, hobbies, and interests, community, knowledge, travel, learning, the list goes on and on of all the things that will have come into your life as you have aged and all of them are reasons to be thankful and as you get older you can add more and more to your list. See getting older as a reason to discover more about yourself and life, look for the wonder in life.

Final Thoughts: How to accept and embrace yourself as you grow older

Never forget that getting older is a privilege denied to many people.

We should embrace getting older and celebrate the fact, this is a gift of living that we should be grateful for.

In the world that we live in today, getting older is easier than it has ever been.

We have the advances in medicine, health and society to aid us.

With so much at our disposal, this is a revolution that is really going places and is really going to make a difference in women’s lives.

If you would like to understand more about the mental and physical health benefits of adopting a pro-ageing lifestyle then click the button below to discover how the pro-ageing coaching course can help you to age in the best way possible.

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