Life Lessons from Older Adults - Society of Certified Senior Advisors

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STORIES THAT
INSPIRE
Life Lessons from Older Adults
In each CSA Journal we will present a story or two about individuals
who have changed the way we think of older adults. We hope you
will enjoy these insights and share them with others. Each story
will attempt to provide a link or QR Code connection to further
information or videos on these inspirational stories.
BY E R I K A T. WA L K E R , M B A , M S E D, C S A
CSA JOURNAL 63 / SUMMER 2015 / SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED SENIOR ADVISORS / WWW.CSA.US
PAGE 35
Longevity in Okinawa:
A Model for Treasuring Old Age
As Western culture prepares for the growing aging
population, we search for models of how to find the
fountain of youth and integrate meaning and value
into the “third age.” Which societies are doing it right?
Where can we find role models to show us the way?
One example is on the island of Okinawa.
The Japanese live longer than anyone else, and Okinawans live longer than anyone else in Japan. According to the Okinawa Centenarian Study website, there
are fifty centenarians for every 100,000 islanders in
Okinawa, whereas the United States has about ten to
twenty centenarians for the same number of its population (www.okicent.org/cent.html).
The Okinawa Centenarian Study found more than
nine hundred verifiable centenarians. Not only do
Okinawans experience impressively long life spans,
but their older population has admirably good health
and enjoys independence into their seventies, eighties,
and nineties.
Okinawa is an island archipelago region of Japan
in the East China Sea where the average life expectancy is just over eighty-two years (almost seventy-eight
for men and eighty-six for women). This is over a year
longer than in the rest of Japan, and almost 4.5 years
longer than the average U.S. life span. Okinawans are
three to seven times more likely to live to one hundred
than Americans. As impressive as Okinawan longevity is, however, what is of equal—if not more—interest
is the quality of health most older adults in Okinawa
enjoy. Heart disease, cancer, dementia, diabetes, and
other conditions considered par for the course in older
people in North America are rare in Okinawa (www.
caring.com/articles/the-balanced-care-method).
What is their secret? What is the fabric for their
long life? To get a better feel for a typical day in the
life of an Okinawan older adult, connect with the following YouTube documentary, Okinawan Longevity
and Health.
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The following stories are examples of three Japanese older adults—
two from Okinawa and one from Yamaguchi.
Mieko Nagaoka: “I’m 100 Years Old and
the World’s Best Active Swimmer.”
Mieko Nagaoka is one example of the 59,000 centenarians in Japan who remain physically active, long
after many people have “given up the ghost.” She is
the world’s first one hundred-year-old to complete
the 1,500 meter freestyle swim, twenty years after she
took up the sport. Showing no signs of stopping her
impressive performance, Nagaoka told Kyodo News,
“I want to swim until I turn 105 if I can live that
long.” (See www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/
japanese-centenarians-notches-up-world-swimrecord/ar-AAatLvA). She was the only entrant on
April 4, 2015, but her accomplishment was nonetheless impressive. The BBC reported Nagaoka finished
in a time of just over one hour and fifteen minutes,
using a backstroke the whole way.
Nagaoka entered masters swimming relatively late
in life at eighty years old as rehab for sore knees, and
began training several times a week. She now trains
two hours at a time, four days a week. Breaking her
first national record at eighty-four years old, Nagaoka made history as the first centenarian to swim more
than one hundred meters in a sanctioned meet (www.
swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/mieko-nagaoka100-becomes-oldest-person-to-race-1500-meters).
Speaking with CNN, her son, Hiroki stated, “She
is some woman. It is awesome that my mother has
challenged and accomplished this goal at her age. She
still uses her brain and tries to figure out the best way
to swim. I’m really proud of her.” (See www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/04/06/
meet-the-100-year-old-japanese-swimmer-who-seta-1500-meter-world-record.)
Photo: AFP Photo/Japan Masters Swimming Assoc.
CSA JOURNAL 63 / SUMMER 2015 / SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED SENIOR ADVISORS / WWW.CSA.US
PAGE 37
Seikichi Uehara: Martial Artist and Role
Model throughout His Life of 101 Years.
Photo: Okinawa Centenarian Study
Master of martial arts, Seikichi Uehara spent his life
developing his skills in Motobu Udon, a more traditional Karate, which originated from Karatejutsu, the
art practiced by Okinawan royalty. As he expresses
in a YouTube video, Uehara was proud of his ability
to hone his skills, enhancing his quality of life as he
grew older while he served as a Master and teacher of the ancient traditions (www.youtube.com/
watch?v=m5o7x5SHdu8).
In his mid-nineties, Uehara taught an exhibition, in
which he demonstrated his skills on a much larger American visitor. The American said when he was grabbed by
Uehara, it felt like vices were applied to him, while after
being thrown, he was held helpless by one finger.
Uehara was ninety-six years old when he defeated
a thirty-something former boxing champion in a nationally televised match. The boxer tried to hit Uehara
for twenty minutes and was unable to strike the much
older man. When the boxer lowered his hands from
fatigue, Uehara hit him once and the bout was over.
Following the win, he explained that his opponent
“had not yet matured enough to beat me.”
PAGE 38
Seikichi Uehara
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Fumi Chinen
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Fumi Chinen: Kimono Shopkeeper for
Fifty Years at 102 Years Old
In 2001, Fumi Chinen had been in the same business
for fifty years. She ran a tiny Okinawan kimono shop at
the Naha Public Market. At 102 years old, she was full
of life and her eyes sparkled like she was half her age.
She walked a bit slower and her hearing wasn’t what
it used to be, but Fumi hadn’t given much thought to
retirement. “I would hate just sitting around the house.
I think I’d go senile.” (See www.okicent.org/news/associated_press.html.)
As the Okinawan Longevity and Health documentary mentions, lifestyle was the key to her longevity.
She ate a traditional diet of low fat meat, fish, tofu, and
dark green vegetables while continuing to develop a
strong sense of community through her work and daily
activities. There is an old Okinawan saying: At seventy
you are still a child, at eighty a young man or woman. And
if at ninety someone from Heaven invites you over, tell
him: ‘Just go away, and come back when I am one hundred.’ As a testament to the saying, Okinawans believe
that the fountain of youth lies within the green rolling
hills and crystal seas of their lush islands. •CSA
Erika T. Walker, MBA, MSeD, CSA, is owner and
CEO of SAGE WAVE Consulting, LLC, in Greer, South
Carolina. She conducts strategic planning with
businesses and communities across the country
to help them prepare for the growing aging population. She has
served as director of the SAGE Institute, and director of geriatrics at
Greenville Hospital system. Contact her at 864-313-9691, or visit
www.sagewave.net.
■ RESOURCES
Johnson, Kathy N., PhD, CMC. (n.d.). “Senior Wellness: The Balanced
Care Method: Lessons Learned from the Okinawan Centenarian
Study.” Guest Contributor. Caring.Com. www.caring.com/articles/
the-balanced-care-method. Accessed April 9, 2015.
Motoburyu.org. 2007. “Seikichi Uehara Interview.” YouTube
Documentary, August 23, 2007. www.youtube.com/
watch?v=m5o7x5SHdu8. Accessed April 9, 2015.
MSN Sports. 2015. “Japanese Centenarian Notches Up World Swim
Record.” AFP News, April 6, 2015. www.msn.com/en-us/sports/
more-sports/japanese-centenarians-notches-up-world-swimrecord/ar-AAatLvA. Accessed April 9, 2015.
Swimming World Magazine. 2015. “Mieko Nagaoka, 100, Becomes
Oldest Person To Race 1500 Meters.” Blog, April 6, 2015.
---.www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/mieko-nagaoka-100becomes-oldest-person-to-race-1500-meters. Accessed April 9,
2015.
The Okinawan Centenarian Study. www.okicent.org/cent.html.
Accessed April 9, 2015.
Wiseman, Paul. 2002. “Fabric of a Long Life: Centenarians on
Okinawa Credit Healthy Diet, Youthful Outlook.” USA Today, January
8, 2002. www.globalaging.org/health/world/fabricofalonglife.htm.
Accessed April 9, 2015.
CSA JOURNAL 63 / SUMMER 2015 / SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED SENIOR ADVISORS / WWW.CSA.US
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