Last Thursday, I joined my wife in going to a local tai-chi class. a first for me, though not for her. The group was small, just eight, including the two teachers, Juliette and Bobby. The exercises weren't too testing physically, though as with anything new my mind and body spent most of the 2hr class out of sync with Juliette's, watching and trying to follow as she weaved an imaginary ball through a series of continuous flowing movements. I like to think that by the end of the 2hr session I was more relaxed, although if I was it certainly didn't last long on account of the bitter easterly wind which met us outside the venue, the Royal British Legion hall in Port Erin (which for anyone who doesn't know, is a small coastal town at the southern end of the Isle of Man). 'You won't feel the real benefit until you go to bed,' the lovely Lorraine (my wife), said confidently, later in the evening. So did I? Well yes and no is the answer. I certainly slept, and quite well I think, but did I have the deep, undisturbed, and satisfying sleep I can still recall having when I was younger, absolutely NOT! There's just way too much clutter (old and new) stashed away in the back of my soixante-neuf old mind to allow eight hours of undisturbed sleep to occur ever again, or so I thought, until this week that is when I opened up a new online course in BBC Maestro, but we'll get to that in a minute. Night after night when I close my eyes, one, maybe two or more bits of that clutter forge their way to the forefront of my troubled mind to pester the hell out of me. Selfishly, I take some comfort in knowing that, as a guess, most 69, and older bodies go through the same semi-conscious turmoil as I do. I use the word turmoil because most of what stops me from sleeping well is made up of very weird stuff. Stuff that mostly manifests itself in a way that forces me to seek escape from it, by way of waking up. The trouble is, that's when the endless tossing and turning begins! So what's the message here, I hear you ask? Why am I bothering you with my rant on the subject of sleep deprivation. Well, the thing is, irrespective of normally planting my size 10 feet on our fashionably, grey-coloured carpeted bedroom floor each morning, feeling a little hard done by, I like to think that I remain positive to finding new techniques (of the organic type only), when it comes to improving both my physical and psychological wellbeing. That's why in the last week, I've been studying a course featured on the BBC Maestro online learning centre by Dr Ranagan Chatterjee, entitled: A Blueprint For Healthy Living. Basically what Dr Chatterjee is selling in his course, can, for a simple soul like me, be summed up in just one word - Empowerment. And I love it! Empowerment to take control of, and improve, our bodies and minds health in a way that makes perfect sense, is readily achievable, and here's the big one, it's backed up by sound scientific research. In each of his four life pillars (relax, move, eat, sleep), Dr Chatterjee provides easy to follow advice/exercises, that if adhered to, can only have one outcome; A better understanding of how our minds and bodies work, and a healthier physical version of who we were before starting the course. Organic body empowerment baby, and who wouldn't want some of that. I know I do. And to demonstrate how effective these life lessons can be, I've been honed into following Dr Chatterjee's advice on how to get a better night's sleep. It may surprise you all to know that the secret to sleeping well actually starts first thing in the morning. One of the best things we can do to gain a better quality sleep is to expose our eyes to natural light first thing in the morning. When we do this we start to kick into place a whole series of processes within our bodies that will help us sleep better at night. Who would have thought it. Now, along with a whole raft of simple to follow tips and tricks to help us gain a better quality sleep, including eating our last meal several hours before we go to bed, putting all electronic devices away earlier, and writing down a next day 'to do' list to help clear the clutter from our worried minds, Dr Chatterjee also endorses a breathing technique that turns out to be the perfect set-me-up to having a settled sleep. And guess what? Last night, for the first time in too many years for me to recall, I had a sound, undisturbed, eight hours of sleep. In fact, it was so good that I was transported back to that younger me, when getting a solid night's sleep was something that just happened as soon as I lay my head on the pillow. And so to the moral of this tale. It's as straightforward as what Dr Chatterjee is selling. Never think you're too old to learn something new and never close your mind to the power of learning. I never have and I hope I never will. Sleep tight! .

The Good, The Bad &  The Ugly!

Al's world