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i wish i'd had deportment lessons

(84 Posts)
petunia Wed 29-Jan-20 09:52:14

There's a picture of the Duchess of Cambridge on a royal visit in the papers today. Slender and composed as usual She is looking elegant in a smart suit, crouching down to be on the same level as a small child she is talking too.

There was a time when I too could crouch down and then stand up straight without recourse to an ungainly bum in the air, legs splayed, grasping at nearby furniture to push myself back upright and a cry of uugghhhhaaaa as I struggle to my feet. And, Kate does it in high heels

Sigh, how things change when you get old. Or maybe its just me?

crazygranny Thu 30-Jan-20 21:49:42

It's never too late to start!
My wonderful daughter has been my inspiration. She was very unfit and very overweight (20 stone) but has halved her body weight since taking up exercise - running in particular. (She's now 35)
I started running last May (couch to 5k) I found it really hard at first but now I run 3 mornings a week and my joint problems and general level of fitness have improved tremendously. I wouldn't have believed that it could make such a positive difference to the way I can move. This summer I will be 70 so, honestly, it's never too late to start.

welbeck Thu 30-Jan-20 22:45:10

dressing can be a hazardous activity.
most accidents happen in the home.
I would counsel against putting on trousers standing up.
trousers are involved in a high percentage of accidents.
I used to read the statistics from the home accident survey reports, crossed my desk at work, and this fact always stuck in my mind.
I am now understanding it experientially.

GreenGran78 Fri 31-Jan-20 00:27:17

Vegansrock getting fit again after my hip replacement I decided to give Pilates a try. I am 80, and must have been at least 40 years older than everyone else in the class. I struggled to get down. I struggled to get up. My glasses fell off, then my hearing aids fell off. I managed to get through to the end of the class, but decided that Pilates is not for me!

hollysteers Fri 31-Jan-20 00:52:57

I love people watching outside cafes etc and I’m always surprised how many people, men and women, seem to make so much effort walking as if they have forgotten how to walk simply and I don’t mean just old people. Arms swinging, head forward as if it’s a big effort. They seem to have no sense of their own body and it looks so ungainly and ugly. I’m not including those who are really having difficulty walking.
I remember around the age of seventeen feeling like a young colt, long hair flying, short shift dress and walking round the summer city, head held high, full of wellbeing. Well time has passed, but when I’m out, I try to remember that young girl and hold my head up and walk faster, makes me feel better.

curvygran950 Fri 31-Jan-20 10:05:08

We didn’t have our heads in our phones .....

marianalma Mon 03-Feb-20 08:26:56

It's the little things that can make such a difference! If you're having a tough time with your osteoarthritis, I recommend trying: www.halfthebattlecoach.com

Granny23 Mon 03-Feb-20 09:29:24

I sometimes catch sight of myself in a shop window and I look OK striding by. Other days I am bent forward with shoulders hunched up. Then I had a lightbulb moment. Dry day = shoulders back, head high. Rainy or windy day = head down, hunched back.

It is the rain jackets, of course. The hoods are always too loose and if you stand tall they fall/blow off.

JenniferEccles Mon 03-Feb-20 11:14:55

Oh hollysteers what memories your description brought back to me!

I was the same - mini dress, long flowing hair as I walked to work in the summer sun, and your coltish’ expression was completely right!

Now I am still able to walk quite quickly and I concentrate on my posture as much as possible, but do I still feel coltish?

Unfortunately not ?!