Dr. Mario Martinez is the world’s leading researcher and expert in “BioCognition” – the study of how cultural beliefs, mindset, and emotional states affect longevity and health-span. His research source: notably happy and relatively healthy centenarians

Contrary to popular thought, Dr. Mario explained, longevity is not about living in a “blue zone,” adopting a blue zone diet or physical exercise. After all, the diet in blue zones varies from Costa Rica which is meat-heavy, and Okinawa which is fish-heavy. His research says happy longevity is significantly about two things – “embodied mindset” and emotional state.   

A psychologist with an anthropologist’s bent discovered that there are 8 universals common to happy centenarians, no matter where they lived.

These 8 mind qualities have physical repercussions. According to the good doctor, each is anti-inflammatory and anti-stress and therefore nourishes longer life and healthspan. His centenarians show a consistent 20-year gap between their biological age and chronological age. The problem is that culture and language habits can undermine these 8 qualities.

The first 4 qualities comprise how we PERCEIVE ourselves and the world. Specifically, how do we think about time, aging, health and self-valuation?

1. Time Consciousness – simply, slow down. If you are scrambling in the “urgent present,” your body is swimming in cortisol. Slow your nervous system. Don’t grab your iPhone to review your “if it bleeds it leads” news feeds before you get out of bed, which spikes your cortisol for the day. Practice slow walking, and slow breathing. And follow the wisdom of Don Quixote who tells his sidekick, “Sancho dress me slowly, I’m in a hurry.”  
2. Aging consciousness – Dr. Mario encourages us to cultivate a positive and empowered perspective on aging. Culture tells us that aging is ugly, a disease, something to hide away and be ashamed of. See aging as a resource rather than a decline. Age can bring greater wisdom, equanimity, and the ability to enjoy the moment free of the need for status or social achievement. Age can be viewed not only as a pleasure but also as a privilege. A positive consciousness around aging increases self-love, and self-acceptance and tends to encourage a more vibrant, active life and overall physiological well-being 
3. Health consciousness – Rather than fretting over family disease history and disease careening from without, cultivate rather the inner mindset of “I have all the internal resources to fix anything. I am not a victim of family illness.” Emulate those relatives who have been healthy and trust your body to fight for you.
4. Self-valuation – Celebrate yourself. Receive compliments without deflection. He gives the example of a centenarian who is told she is attractive. Rather than saying “Oh, no! You should have seen me 80 years ago, she said, “Oh I know! I’ve always been attractive.” Own your worth. 

Watch Dr. Mario Martinez at METAL

Dr. Mario also explained 4 emotions to cultivate to undergird lifespan and health span.

1. Gratitude – simple gratitude practices produce oxytocin, dopamine, and GABA. Say thank you, enjoy the gifts of life without feeling the stress of having to “give back” for a quid pro quo.   
2. Generosity – no surprise here. Engaging in selfless acts creates positive emotions which enhance the immune system, promoting better health.
3. Admiration – Cultivating admiration and appreciation for others (as well as oneself) fosters positive emotions and a sense of human connection. Both show correlations with a healthier cardiovascular system and can contribute not only to a longer but also a more fulfilling life
4. Curiosity – seek novelty. Alter your routines. Cultivate freshness in your perception - find new ways of seeing, hearing, thinking, and engaging. The default mode of living slowly kills you. The brain is designed to engage with the incomplete, to figure things out. “Mindfulness,” he says, ” is when you find novelty in the environment.”

And there you have it – your 8-part starting menu for your “longevity wellness” – not only a long life but a high quality of life as well.

Oh, and by the way, have I mentioned? You are very attractive.

Your 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Embrace the gifts of aging if you’d like to live longer and happier.
2. Celebrate yourself, the moment, to live longer and happier.
3. Stay alive to the uniqueness of the moment to live longer and happier.

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