Getting old sucks. I know, I know, its probably just a mid-life crisis, since I am turning 40 next month, but still. I can’t help but think, what all infirmed geisers think… if I had just taken better care of myself when I was younger.

Well, if you are still a lad, take a bit of advice from an old fart…

Yoga

When you’re young, you don’t think about the eventual and inevitable decline into decrepitude. The youth believe they are immortal, but when you first throw out your back by doing nothing more than sleeping in a different position, you realize that not only are you not at your peak, but swiftly rolling down the other side.

So if I were a young man again, I would start keeping my back in shape by starting up a yoga routine. Of course, I would recommend my current routine, but I suppose anything would be better than nothing.

Along with the physical advantages, yoga lends a certain calmness that is so often lacking during that impetuous stage of life. But what kid wouldn’t choose the excitement of football over the tediousness of a morning full of stretching?

Meditation

I wouldn’t recommend a regular meditation routine for any lofty goals such as enlightenment, but the skill and mental clarity that comes with a mind that can concentrate is a life-long benefit that I wish I had started when I was younger.

Here is my step-by-step guide to mental prowess:

1. Sit comfortably. Sure you pretend the part and sit in the full lotus position, and brag about the fact that you can, you lil’ bastard. But if you lie down, you’ll probably start falling asleep, and that kinda defeats the purpose.

2. Take a deep breath through your nose. Concentrate on your breath… perhaps the feeling of the air passing your nostrils.

3. Exhale slowly, once again concentrating on nothing but your breath.

4. Rinse and repeat. Actually, you probably can’t do this exercise for 11 breaths. You probably will get to 3 and then start thinking about how wonderful you are that you are meditating, and then you’ll have to start over. Oh yeah, go ahead and count them, as it will help you concentrate.

Don’t worry about enlightenment or feeling anything special. Just start doing it for the skill you develop, and perhaps you can use that skill in the future.

Artistic Expression

My final bit of advice is to pick up an art. It doesn’t matter what… painting, poetry, music, dancing, or writing fibs… if you are attracted to it, and you can express yourself in it, work it. Don’t do it for the goal of a career or public performance, just enjoy yourself while doing it. As soon as you have to make a living from it, it will be difficult to keep the magic from slipping away.

Also, don’t through out the residue from your art… how fun will it be when your dead, and watch your loved ones open up a dusty box full of your poems. Especially if you leave a half-dozen dirty limericks at the bottom.

Ryan, over at Brain-drops.net, wrote:

Hey Howard. I forgot to commend you on this wisdom-filled post. I am nearly 21 now, and within the last few years have adopted each tenet of your wisdom. They could be refered to as the ‘primary pillars in pursuing mental (and physical) salubrity.’

I find it extremely hard to keep up with all three of them, especially while going to college and working. But I believe that this early recognition of the benefits recieved from each of them is a good head start. Now I’ll just need to come across a new method to help me search for my lost clock. Maybe then I will find the time.

Take care…oh and I wrote a tea related brain drop for ya to enjoy