30 Days of Joy: A Dip in the Fountain of Youth

Note: This article is the next step in my challenge to find joy in something — anything — every day for 30 days. Today’s entry is part 16.

I’m getting old(er).

This is apparent every time I doze off before 10 p.m., or wake up before 6 a.m., or look in the mirror — both at my receding hairline and the gray hair left behind.

But it’s most apparent every time I exercise.

Not only do I feel more pain than ever during the workout, that pain lingers longer after the workout is finished.

Like, days after.

My search to slow the sands in my hourglass has uncovered various tactics, from a modified diet to more time spent doing yoga.

And while these strategies have proved worthwhile, there’s one that just might be the fountain of youth.

A few months ago, my cousin told me about this place where you can go to get stretched out by a professional trainer.

It was founded by a former pro football player who wanted to give people the opportunity to recover like a pro football player.

This morning, as I do once every two weeks, I laid out on the treatment table while a trained technician pushed and pulled my limbs in every direction, until it hurt so good.

It was incredible.

And as good as the flexibility gains will be for body, in both the short- and long-term, they’ll be even better for my mind.

Who cares how old you are if you don’t feel it, right?

*****

This originally appeared on 100 Naked Words.