Episode 8: Don't Give Up on Mobility...Starring Tiffany Wilmot
I sometimes watch my grandchildren move, and bend, and squat and I get nostalgic. My grandson effortlessly plops down into a full sumo squat and he can remain there indefinitely. My granddaughter sits comfortably with both legs fully contacting the floor and bent back towards her so her ankles rest right beside her hips. It’s easy to witness such youthful displays of mobility and get discouraged, but please don’t. They’re just young people doing what comes naturally. You used to have the same capabilities, but now as a seasoned adult you probably can’t perform such feats.
And this dear listener, teases the problem. Mobility is important, but when it comes to the ability to move freely and easily,
many older adults become discouraged by their advancing stiffness and just stop trying.
This exacerbates everything. It doesn’t have to be this way.
And this is where Tiffany Wilmot, who’s a 58-year-old educator and entrepreneur from Nashville, makes a dramatic appearance. Tiffany started teaching group fitness classes at age 16! What I love so much about this interview is Tiffany’s transparency in terms of coping with aging and declining abilities. This is an accomplished woman, but she’s humble and real and goes through the same struggles as you and I. But Tiffany is all about mobility. Her passion shines through and she wants you to keep trying, keep experimenting, and not to give up.
As I describe in the interview I’m committed to mobility, but I got tired of doing yoga. I love and respect yoga, but I got bored doing sun salutations and down dogs. So, I created my own mobility routine. So can you! Now, six days out of seven, I do a diverse ten-minute mobility routine soon after waking. I didn’t dream up these routines, I found them on YouTube. I love variety. Here’s a link to one that I do frequently which is great for those of us who do a lot of work at a computer.
What you can do About it:
- Check out the book Movement by Gray Cook.
- Conduct a 10-minute mobility routine hunt on YouTube.
- Try a yoga class.
- Take an inventory of how you feel after a mobility routine.
- Take at least one walk today.
It’s easy to look at young supple folks and get discouraged. But you need to consider how wonderful you feel after practicing some mobility. That’s your body telling you, “Please keep doing this.”
