Life is known for providing the unexpected. Take habit. There are good habits and bad habits. Those of us who were young adults in the ‘60s all smoked. It was a socially acceptable habit. Do you remember coming home from the cinema or a dance and your clothes smelt of stale cigarette smoke. How hard was it to break that bad habit? Some of us still carry the scars. Walking up stairs leaves us breathless. At the time we did not accept the damage that we were doing to our bodies.

GOOD HABITS

Then there are the good habits. Eat your vegetables we were told. Some became vegetarians. Our bodies now lack various trace elements and iron. We are told to supplement with a host of “natural supplements”. Butter is bad and margarine is good. No sooner had we got used to the taste of margarine than we were told that margarine was just another form of plastic.

SLOWING DOWN

Now that we have got to a stage where our bodies are in revolt we are told to exercise. The jogging craze of the ‘70s and ’80s has left too many sore knees and hips for exercises on hard surfaces. Also we have now slowed down, thank you. Research shows that even simple exercise helps to stave off a host of nasties that send us scurrying off to the doctor. Running long distances may well be out of the question but aqua exercises are gentle on the body and joints but still provide the required movements.

Get in the swim!