Mindset is the foundation of all success in life. That's a fact. There is no one in the world who ever accomplishes anything worthwhile with a poor or misguided mindset. When it comes to health, one of the most common limiting beliefs in our society is that disease, mental and physical degeneration, and loss of energy and vitality are unavoidable consequences of the aging process. The most damaging aspect of this kind of thought process is that no one can change their chronological age. Therefore, just like with genes, germs, and gender, if you believe that age is the cause of your health challenges, your memory problems, your “bad” joints, and your lack of vigor, then you live in a state of victim-mentality, and have no hope for changing the course of your destiny. In fact, because you believe that chronic sickness, disease, and handicap are impossible to avoid, you live in such a way that makes this a reality. This is what’s called a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” The truth is so much brighter, beautiful, and empowering.
The truth is that all life, not just human life, is designed to strive continually toward equilibrium and harmony, not disease and degeneration. This is because as a living being, you have within you an innate intelligence. This is an inner wisdom whose sole purpose is to keep you alive, coordinate function within your body, and allow you the greatest ability to survive and thrive. This is an intelligence apart from the “educated mind” with which you consciously think, with which you study for an exam, or with which you recall a memorized fact. This is the intelligence that beats your heart, breathes your lungs, creates white blood cells, and digests your supper—all at the same time, and without any need for your conscious effort!
Jack Lalanne was an American exercise and fitness expert and a motivational speaker. He is often referred to as the “Godfather of Fitness” for his role in popularizing exercise back in the 1950s and 1960s. Arnold Schwarzenegger refers to Jack as one of his most influential role models. Fitness is my second passion, next to chiropractic. I value fitness as a hobby, as an art, as a part of my health regimen, and as a way of life. For this, I admire Jack for all that he accomplished in his life. One of the most impressive aspects of Jack Lalanne’s life was his legacy of achieved human potential. Twelve separate times, from the age of 40 to the age of 70, Jack completed feats of seemingly super-human strength and endurance. For sake of brevity, only three are reported, as follows:
At age 40, Jack swam the entire 1.7 mile length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, under water, with 140 lbs. of air tanks and other equipment strapped to his body; a world record.
At age 60, for the second time, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf. He was handcuffed and shackled, and towed a 1,000-lb boat behind him.
At age 70, handcuffed, shackled, and fighting strong winds and currents, he towed 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 mile.
One of the reasons Jack decided to undertake these incredible feats was to show the world that age as a handicap is a self-imposed illusion. Certainly, no one need swim shackled underwater for a mile to have a wonderful and fulfilled life. But if Jack could do that at 70, why are so many people at 50 or 60 in our country overweight, sick, on a half dozen drugs, having joints replaced, and out of breath up one flight of stairs, let alone swimming underwater for miles?
Most people have seen pictures of the amazing marble statues of ancient Greece. These statues are virtually unparalleled in their beauty, detail, and realistic depiction of the human form. Unfortunately, many, if not most of them are now missing their arms, legs, noses, or other parts. This is simply due to the lack of maintenance and upkeep of the stone over 2,500 years of earthquakes, wars, looting, and time. Now think, if marble stone falls apart without proper care, what do you think happens to your body? This is why lifelong, consistent principled chiropractic care of our nervous systems is so crucial to experiencing full life. We do not fall apart because we age. We fall apart because we allow ourselves to fall apart. This is certainly not necessary.
Another important aspect to consider is that of legacy. What message do your actions and lifestyle habits send your children and grandchildren? The fact is, if they watch your health fall apart and they watch you blame age, they will have those values and belief systems hardwired from an early age. It will then likely be just as difficult to reprogram those beliefs later on in life as it has been for you. Señora Beatriz began care several years ago. In just her first few months, she healed from severe joint pain, crippling fatigue, horrible headaches, and lost weight. She had been diagnosed by the medical side with systemic lupus erythematosus or simply, lupus. She was told her entire life that lupus ran in her family, especially in the women. She watched as her aunt, her mother, and several other female family members succumbed to the same dreadful symptoms she would later develop. She recounted for me how as a younger woman, she can remember locking herself in her room and crying, believing in the death sentence she had been handed, a product of bad genes. Señora Beatriz has been freed from that myth. On her first nervous system reassessment, she got emotional telling me the story, because she finally had hope that she was not doomed to a life of pain and misery. She has healed and will stay well because of the mindset that SHE is in charge of her destiny, not her age or her genes. What legacy will you leave your kids and grandkids? Will it be one of myth, excuse, and limiting belief or one of truth, affirmation, and empowerment?
Isaac Hernandez, DC, ACP
Appears in Pathways to Family Wellness Magazine
Issue #79
Provided and published by ICPA. For more information, visit discoverkidshealth.com | For full article, visit pathwaystofamilywellness.com
