Last December, I sheepishly admitted there was a huge hole in my Nerd cred.
I grew up drawing cartoons, took AP art in high school, and have always been fascinated by hand-drawn animation…
But I have Thenever seen a second of any Studio Ghibli cartoonThe!
Studio Ghibli is the Japanese equivalent of Disney, with Hayao Miyazaki as the Japanese Walt: the studio has won many Academy Awards for their beautiful hand-drawn animated films, and Miyazaki has reached legendary status for making of these films over the past 40+ years.
Luckily, the amazing community at Threads gave me hundreds of supportive comments and helped me decide which movie I should start!
Since making that announcement, I’ve watched it Theall 20+ Studio Ghibli filmsThe, Thefell in love with JapanTheand became endlessly fascinated by Hayao Miyazaki.
(My favorites are Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, and The Wind Rises.).
After watching every film, I moved on to watching documentaries about Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli because I needed to know more.
Thanks to these documentaries, I got a fascinating look at Miyazaki’s creative style and experiences making these films with his collaborators.
The running joke is that Miyazaki is the “Infinite man” and can’t seem to retire.
There is one thing that stands out to me in every documentary:
In The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, at one point all the employees at Studio Ghibli stand up and move through a series of mobility drills and calisthenics, including Miyazaki.
Later in the doc, I observed TheMiyazaki showed a very deep squatThe with perfect form and no help. How many people do you know in their mid-late 70s who can perform an unassisted deep squat!?
In Infinite Man: Hayao Miyazaki, Miyazaki is Thefilmed multiple times chopping woodThe with an ax in the backyard of his studio.
And on Hayao Miyazaki and The HeronMiya-san (her nickname), now in her 80s, is still out chopping wood, walking in the woods, climbing fallen trees, working out in the office, and working on the movie that will end her life. .
(Yes, I know. Miyazaki also has a cigarette in his mouth for almost every minute of every documentary! He’s lucky he hasn’t had lung cancer, and I remind you he’s not the picture of perfect health!).
I bring this up because I think it shows a different side of exercise than we would normally consider.
Exercise for your Senior Body
Watching this doc of Hayao Miyazaki staying active and keeping his brain in his 80s…
I remembered it Thefantastic post from ElizabethThe (@ThisGirlLifts on Instagram):
As we age, it’s easier for us to move less, which gives us less energy, and makes it harder to find momentum and mobility. It can prevent us from spending time with our family or friends because we can’t muster up the energy.
Teddy Roosevelt once said “let us run the risk of being tired rather than rusty.”
In other words: use it or lose it, bub.
It’s not a stretch for me to think Miyazaki’s ability to be an “infinite man” is not only due to good genetics (and luck), but also because he actively chose to be tired rather than rusty.
When asked why he chose to push himself to complete another animated film in his 8th decade on this planet, he simply replied that it was all he knew how to do: “I’d rather die doing this than die without doing anything.”
Fitness is more than just losing weight
At Nerd Fitness, we encourage all Rebels to think about their “Big Why:”
Why bother exercising and building new habits and pushing yourself to level up your life when the couch beckons?
What’s the point of pushing yourself and learning to deal with discomfort when retreating into comfort is easier and more appealing?
A powerful “Big Why” can help us stay on target especially when life becomes a garbage fire or we feel like giving up.
For Miyazaki, he decided that “getting out what’s inside me” was a worthy use of his time. He finds peace and contentment by creating things instead of consuming them, which means he needs to take care of his body well enough to stay alive long enough to do these things!
For my gramma (who TheI visited the hospital last monthThe), his goal is to support his community and help those around him. Staying active allowed him to make it well into his 90s!
If you’re having trouble coming up with a reason to do something…
You could do a lot worse than “Exercise for my old body.” It’s the only body you’ll ever get, and the only life you’ll ever get, so now is as good a day as any to start treating your body with a little respect.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic either. We can start simply:
- We can take a short walk every day.
- We can stand all day and do mobility work like squats and arm swings.
- we can Thestart strength trainingThe to build strong bones and avoid the need for assistance whenever possible.
It is up to us to keep our bodies active, and fatigue is better than rust from inactivity.
As a chaotic creator who spends a lot of time in my own mind, Hayao Miyazaki gave me a lot to think about:
Hopefully when I’m in my 80s, I’ll still be writing this newsletter and helping people, chopping wood and going for walks and spending time with loved ones.
I know I can’t control what happens and accidents happen and so many parts of life are out of my control, but I will do my best to give myself the best chance to continue to create and break rather than rust!
I’ll leave you with one last curmudgeonly quote from Miyazaki that closes the documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron:
“Stop whining and act.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to train my old body!
-Steve
PS: The original Japanese title for The Boy and the Stork is How Do You Live?. This is a more interesting (and appropriate) title for the film; it is a true encapsulation of his life’s work, those who influenced him, and his deepest thoughts on the meaning of life.
PS: Need guidance and accountability to reach your fitness goals? Nerd Fitness has helped 10,000+ people over the past 8 years with 1-on-1 online fitness coaching. TheClick here for more detailsThe.
