Last December, I ruefully admitted that there was a huge hole in my Nerd cred.
I grew up cartooning, took AP art in high school and have always been fascinated by hand animation…
But I had ,I never saw a single second of any Studio Ghibli animation,!
Studio Ghibli is the Japanese equivalent of Disney, with Hayao Miyazaki as Japan’s Walt: the studio has won several Academy Awards for its beautifully hand-drawn animated films, and Miyazaki has achieved legendary status for creating these films for the past 40+ years.
Luckily, the amazing community at Threads gave me hundreds of supportive comments and helped me decide which movie to start with!
Since I made this announcement, I have watched ,and all 20+ Studio Ghibli films,, ,fell in love with Japan,and was endlessly fascinated with Hayao Miyazaki.
(My favorites are Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart and The Wind Rises.).
After watching each movie, I proceeded to watch 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 colleagues.
The running joke was that Miyazaki is the “endless man” and can’t seem to retire.
There was something that stood out to me in each documentary:
In The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, At one point everyone at Studio Ghibli stood up and went through a series of mobility and fitness exercises, including Miyazaki.
Later in the paper, I noticed ,Miyazaki demonstrates a very deep squat, with perfect form and no help. How many people do you know in their mid 70’s who can do a deep squat unassisted!?
In Endless Man: Hayao Miyazaki, Miyazaki is ,filmed many times chopping wood, with an ax in the backyard of his studio.
And inside Hayao Miyazaki and The HeronMiya-san (his nickname), now in his 80s, still chops wood, goes for walks in the forest, climbs over fallen trees, does his office exercises, and works hard on his upcoming movie his life’s work.
(Yes, I know. Miyazaki also has a cigarette in his mouth for almost every minute of every documentary! He’s lucky he hasn’t developed lung cancer yet, and I’m reminded that he’s not the picture of perfect health!).
I mention this because I think it shows a different side of exercise than we might normally think of.
Train for your Old Body
Watching this doc of Hayao Miyazaki staying active and keeping his brain sharp in his 80s…
It reminded me of that ,amazing post from Elizabeth, (@ThisGirlLifts on Instagram):
As we get older, it’s easier for us to move less, which gives us less energy and makes it harder to find the momentum and mobility to keep moving. This can prevent us from spending time with our family or friends because we are unable to muster the energy.
Teddy Roosevelt once said “let us risk wearing out rather than rusting.”
In other words: use it or lose it, boob.
It’s not hard for me to imagine that Miyazaki’s ability to be an “endless man” is not only due to good genetics (and luck), but also because he has actively chosen to wear out rather than rust.
Reflecting on why he chose to push himself to complete one more 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 doing nothing.” .
Fitness is about more than weight loss
At Nerd Fitness, we encourage all Rebels to think about their “Big Why”:
Why bother with exercise and creating 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 so tempting?
A really strong “Big Why” can help us stay on target, especially when life turns into a dumpster fire or we feel like giving up.
For Miyazaki, he has decided that “getting out what’s in me” is a good use of his time. He found peace and fulfillment in creating things instead of consuming them, which means he needs to take care of his body enough to stay alive long enough to do those things!
For my grammar (who ,I visited the hospital last month,), her purpose is to support her community and help those around her. Staying active allowed her to do well into her 90s!
If you struggle to find a reason to do something…
You can do worse than “Training for my senior body.” This is the only body you get and the only life you get, so today is as good a day as any to start treating your body with a little more respect.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic either. We can start simply:
- We can go for a short daily walk.
- We can stand all day and do motor tasks like squats and arm swings.
- We can ,start strength training, to build strong bones and prevent the need for assistance for as long as possible.
It is up to us to keep our bodies active and wear and tear is better than rust from lack of use.
As a chaotic creator who spends a lot of time in my head, Hayao Miyazaki gave me a lot to think about:
I hope when I’m 80, I’m still 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 much of life is out of my control but I’ll do my best to give myself the best chance to keep creating and wear instead of rust !
I’ll leave you with the final quote from Miyazaki that closes the documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron:
“Stop whining and move.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to train for my old body!
-Steve
PS: The original Japanese title for The boy and the heron it is how do you live. This is a much more interesting (and apt) title for the film. It is truly the encapsulation of his life’s work, those who have 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. ,Click here for more details,.
