Longevity is one thing; being happy and healthy enough to enjoy it is another. The people of Okinawa Island off the coast of Japan have both: the longest life expectancy on the planet and the keys to staying happy, healthy and active well into old age...and beyond.

At the time of life when all their Western peers can hope for is a comfortable nursing home, the Okinawa still lead active, healthy lives, and with 15% of the world”s super centenarians, they must be doing something right...

We bring you the secrets of these incredible age-defying people: zen living, combined with an active lifestyle and a healthy diet, plus more on why the Okinawa live longer, and how to incorporate Okinawa into your lifestyle.

A different attitude to eating

On Okinawa, eating isn”t just about satisfying your emotional and physical needs: it”s about enjoyment and taking on energy. Want to change your attitude to food? Here”s how they do it: 

- Take a moment to relax before eating: Before each meal, take a few minutes to relax and unwind before sitting down to eat.

- Make it look good: Decorate your table artistically - how it looks is just as important as how it tastes!

- Take your time: It”s better to savour your food slowly than wolf it down just to get rid of your hunger.

- Know when to stop: You shouldn”t feel heavy at the end of a meal. Don”t force it down - listen to what your body is telling you.

- Spread your meals out properly throughout the day: Eat a hearty breakfast and lunch, with plenty of protein, and a light evening meal with slow-release sugars. This way you”ll provide your body with a continuous energy release. Avoid animal protein and alcohol at your evening meal.

- Enjoy your treats now and then, and most of all, enjoy your food!

Ways of relieving stress

It”s common knowledge that in the West we let stress, worry and anxiety ruin our health. Not on Okinawa! The islanders owe their lust for life and happiness to trusty stress-relieving techniques: visualisation, various self-therapies, deep breathing, meditation and magnesium supplements.

Deep breathing

When you breathe deeply you burn more calories, improve your energy output, relieve stress, tension and general wellbeing and even help ward off age-related complaints and illnesses.  

You can do it in any position, and it”s best in a quiet, airy place. Inhale and exhale through your nose, into your stomach and chest as much as possible, let out a fifth of the inhaled air and hold (start by holding for 10 seconds and work up to 30). Then breathe out deeply and repeat without letting any air out after you”ve breathed in. Do 20 breaths, alternating the slight exhalation after you breathe in (one breath with and one without). Do it first thing in the morning, before each meal and whenever you”re stressed, tense, tired, emotional or aching...

Meditation
The aim of this is to stop thinking! Meditation is about recentring the self, being at one with nature and not being at the mercy of your thoughts the whole time.

Either at sunrise or sunset, choose a calm, quiet place. Put a candle on the floor and sit on the floor. Concentrate on your breathing, on the circulation of air through your body and on the candle flame. To meditate, put the candle just over 10cm from you at eye level. When a thought comes into your head, see it and let it pass. Don”t react to it - enjoy the precious feeling of complete freedom.

Exercise

Exercise improves your muscle mass, tires you out (which relaxes you and helps you sleep), stimulates the secretion of growth hormones, reduces the amount of glucose in the blood, improves the distribution of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, improves your breathing and energy conversion, reduces your risk of becoming overweight, reduces your risk of diabetes, cardio-vascular illness, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer, slows down the ageing process and is great for stress relief. So if you”ve never been in the slightest bit sporty, there are more than a few reasons to get active the Okinawa way... 

To start with, simply incorporate quick, simple, easy, light exercise into your daily routine: take the stairs instead of the lift, do your shopping on foot if you can, walk the dog, play with the kids, do some DIY or gardening. 

Every week, make time for any of the following: long walks (build up the length), jogging, cycling, swimming, a game of tennis or other sport, a gym, yoga or similar session.

Every month, try and do something active such as a weekend away walking, a yoga course, a day of golf, or a trip to a water park.

Every year, try and take at least 2 “active” holidays: walking, cycling, golf, swimming, kayaking, sailing, skiing, sports tournaments, alternative therapy, retreats, etc…

Sharing and caring

We don”t just need a healthy body, lifestyle and diet to be completely healthy: a good dose of affection goes a long way!

The Okinawa place great importance on the family and keep their circle of loved ones close. Surround yourself with people who love you, and don”t stay in on your own: go out and do things, join a club, take up a new sport or new interests, do some charity work...get involved!