“The Match Technology” is an award-winning documentary that explores the lives of lively older adults in Canada, significantly these of their 70s and 80s. Directed by Elton Hubner and produced by Eyes Multimedia, the movie challenges standard views on ageing and highlights the benefits of sustaining a wholesome, lively way of life nicely into your later years.
Within the video above, you’ll hear inspiring tales of seniors who, regardless of dealing with important well being challenges akin to most cancers, arthritis and coronary heart situations, proceed to interact in bodily difficult actions and lead vibrant lives.1
“The Match Technology” emphasizes that age isn’t a barrier to health and should encourage you to pursue an lively way of life and discover pleasure in your life. Additional, the documentary demonstrates how making daring decisions that convey you pleasure considerably enhances each your psychological well-being and bodily well being.
Match Seniors Show Age Is Only a Quantity
Think about being a full-time ski teacher at 82 years previous. That is only a day within the lifetime of George Tjelios-Nicholas, one of many lively individuals featured within the movie. When it’s not winter, you could find Tjelios-Nicholas biking round Whistler or paddleboarding.2
“George Tjelios-Nicholas is without doubt one of the most important characters of the documentary and, nicely, such a personality! He used to smoke, has undergone a number of surgical procedures and nonetheless suffers from fixed again ache — all good causes to remain residence and anticipate time to go,” in response to Eyes Multimedia.3 But, this doesn’t cross Tjelios-Nicholas’ thoughts:4
“Educating snowboarding is so rewarding! That is why I just like the ski faculty. I like individuals, and my job is to get them snug. It is an ideal motivation to maintain going … I discover it exhausting to imagine, however technically my snowboarding continues to be getting higher. I’ve had individuals say to me, ‘Oh, you are too previous to do this.’ I am not loopy, I do not go off large jumps and stuff like that, however I ski fairly quick.
I’ve had stitches in my head from skis hitting me on the pinnacle, I’ve dislocated a shoulder and I’ve had two tibial osteotomies as a result of my knees had been worn out from snowboarding … After which I’ve had two knee replacements. I had prostate most cancers too and I overcame that. I’ve a whole lot of again ache, I’ve arthritis and I am nonetheless functioning, however I imagine that the extra lively I keep, the much less impact it’ll have on me.”
Others featured within the movie embrace Lawrence Huzar, who, at 79 years previous, performed hockey thrice every week and retains busy the remainder of the time by constructing and repairing issues in his yard — an ideal pastime for this retired mechanical engineer. “I’ve by no means been sick in my life. I don’t also have a physician,” he says.5 Whereas Huzar lives alone since his spouse handed away, he’s not lonely.
He says he’s content material being alone and in addition enjoys spending time with different hockey gamers on his crew — a number of of whom are comparable ages. Gwen McFarlan is one other inspirational athlete featured within the movie. At 81 years previous, the world document marathon runner, retired instructor and most cancers survivor continued to compete in races, regardless of accidents:6
“There’s numerous individuals on the market who will allow you to and there are definitely numerous working teams you can be a part of, so if you wish to get on the market and do one thing, you possibly can, however it’s important to need to, as a result of nobody can push you into doing something … My breast most cancers made me very, very optimistic.
On daily basis I get up now I am grateful as a result of when you’ve one thing like that occur to you and you do not know if you are going to come out of it, you are simply so glad to be alive and simply face no matter right this moment is and neglect it and begin a brand new day tomorrow. I am taking a look at 100, no less than 100, and I need to run as a lot as I can till then. I do know I’ll decelerate, I do know that, however I am not going to cease.”
Optimism, Pleasure and Social Connections Are Widespread Threads
Whereas every of the individuals featured within the movie have totally different pursuits and life tales, you’ll discover a number of frequent threads, together with optimism, pleasure and a real pleasure for all times. They every have robust social connections of their communities and have interaction in every day with a way of goal, whereas residing absolutely within the current second.
Regardless of dealing with well being challenges, lack of family members and different setbacks, every individual within the movie leads a vibrant life full of pleasure and keenness. This pleasure is deeply related to their bodily actions and the robust sense of neighborhood they construct via shared experiences and social interactions.
Ava Stone, a yoga teacher in her 70s, says, “To me, it is the most important pleasure to place myself in a spot the place I may give one thing to others.” She makes use of class time to show not solely respiratory and stretching methods but additionally meditate, share tales and inform jokes. Outdoors of sophistication, she likes to drive her black sports activities automotive round city and encourages others to have enjoyable and create their very own pleasure:7
“Now stress comes from not appreciating what’s, not appreciating life, your life that you just created. We blame stress exterior ourselves as if it is attributable to some mysterious others. In a nutshell, are you aware what stress is? This current second that you just’re having, you do not prefer it. You need to eliminate one thing you do not need otherwise you need one thing you do not have.
Then you definately inform your mates, hear, I had such a stress, you can not imagine it, what the husband and the children did. Oh, at work … And but, you retain creating it … Resisting life because it exhibits as much as you is your stress. This consciousness has purchased me a lot pleasure and it got here from yoga, and in case you have any smartness you already know that the thoughts will assist preserve you wholesome. Open your eyes, grow to be conscious of the world.
This world right here is completely superb, is not it? The opposite pleasure is that these individuals which were coming to see me all these years, they get it, they usually preserve coming again they usually need me to speak and need to have enjoyable and loopy stuff. So, these individuals are alert, having fun with life and socializing.
… Solely the individuals who have objectives, who’ve plans, who’ve pleasure, they need their physique nicely to take them round. Maintaining the physique lubricated and shifting to construct the power, to maintain the muscle tissue going and the digestion and sleeping nicely, that is simply to maintain you wholesome so your communication with life can go on. You could have the peacefulness, you’ve joyfulness.
From this pleasure and peacefulness, you’ve got come to pure data to say if I am sad, I am creating it, completely. The ego is one thing you create from day one, needing to be vital and being proper. If you let that go, it would not matter. And then you definately grow to be peaceable, however it’s important to apply, really feel it, go it on, and you’ll solely have enjoyable in the event you do not suppose critically. If individuals suppose every part is so critical, the place is the enjoyable?”
Optimizing Mitochondrial Operate Facilitates Life Selections That Deliver Pleasure
At a foundational degree, pleasure comes from curiosity and the flexibility to make decisions in your life. However in the event you don’t have sufficient mobile power, you possibly can’t suppose correctly, not to mention have sufficient power left over to navigate optimistic life decisions. That is why enhancing your mitochondrial power manufacturing can convey you pleasure.
Your mind, being essentially the most energy-dependent organ, makes up solely about 2% of your body weight but consumes 20% of the power utilized by your complete physique.8 Subsequently, a surplus of mobile power creation is important to have the flexibility to permit your mind to work optimally.
Avoiding dietary pitfalls like extra linoleic acid, within the type of vegetable and seed oils, is instrumental in optimizing mitochondrial operate and realizing your full capability to expertise pleasure. Elements like estrogen and endotoxins may also deplete your mobile power.
Nevertheless, partaking in common bodily exercise can be a robust option to improve mitochondrial well being, contributing to improved power metabolism. Train encourages the creation of latest mitochondria and helps the present ones work higher, producing extra power extra effectively.
Remember that when you get into your mid-40s and 50s — and positively into your 70s and 80s — train ought to be enjoyable and stress-reducing, not aggressive. In his evaluation, Dr. James O’Keefe, a heart specialist with the Mid-America Coronary heart Institute at St. Louis Hospital in Kansas Metropolis, stresses the significance of “social train” over solo train: enjoying a sport of hockey with associates, for instance.
O’Keefe and colleagues revealed a research in 2018 that checked out long-term granular knowledge on bodily exercise and longevity.9 It turned out enjoying tennis added 9.5 years of additional life expectancy, badminton 6.2 and soccer 4.7, in comparison with 3.2 years for jogging and 1.5 years for well being membership actions like weight lifting and working on a treadmill.
At first, O’Keefe thought the evaluation had by some means gone improper. However then he realized it was the social elements of the sports activities that conferred the added advantages.
“Exercising and making social connections on the similar time, that’s an absolute goldmine of a long life exercise. That signifies that even strolling along with your canine or your good friend or [playing] pickleball is big … The entire thing is to maneuver your physique in a enjoyable, playful method and make it social.”
Pleasure and Well being Go Hand in Hand
This mixture of enjoyable, social bodily exercise is clearly evident in “The Match Technology.” Additional, the idea of “vorfreude,” or anticipatory pleasure, additionally considerably improves happiness and well-being by permitting you to savor the anticipation of future pleasures. It is a idea these featured within the movie additionally appear to totally embrace, by partaking in day by day actions they take pleasure in and stay up for every day.
Pleasure and well being share a deep and complex connection, and people within the movie take pleasure in each. They don’t dwell on hardships or loss, as an alternative selecting to give attention to the great round them. This capacity to acknowledge and alter damaging thought patterns is one other key to foster a extra joyful mindset.
As a substitute of catastrophizing and specializing in the damaging, shift your perspective to understand small joys and social alternatives. Finally, as Stone put it, you possibly can construct the life you need, and it’s by no means too late to show a brand new leaf:10
“If individuals are older and lonely, there’s numerous issues for previous individuals. They’ve to speak to a good friend, a neighbor, and say what do you do, the place do you go, the place’s the subsequent neighborhood middle, what’s on this system? It needs to be a behavior like brushing your tooth or sure belongings you do, and then you definately begin having fun with it. There isn’t any pleasure out on this planet, solely what you place there.”
