Body & Mind

This 5-minute routine ensures that you live longer

By Wieke Veenboer | #!31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:002231#31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:00-4Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam202331 15pm31pm-31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:004Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam2023312023Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +02003043010pmSunday=9#!31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam10#10-15-2023#!31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:002231#/31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:00-4Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam202331#!31Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:30:22 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam10#

You probably know the saying ‘an apple a day, keeps the doctor away’. Now apples are of course healthy for you, but the saying should actually go like this: ‘if you do this five minutes a day you keep the doctor away’, but I must admit that sounds a lot less catchy. And yet it is true: a simple routine of five minutes a day would ensure that you live longer.

The longest-living people in the world personally recommend it. They live in Japan and do radio taiso every day. Never heard of it? Neither have I, but this is an exercise that has been popular in Japan for years and is done by people of all ages, from young to (very) old.

According to the authors of the book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, even people do these exercises when they are in a wheelchair. They spoke to over a hundred of the oldest people in Japan, and one by one they swore by this exercise. Fun fact: this exercise is named so because it was first broadcast on the radio in 1929 and it is still broadcast every morning at half past six.

Well, we all want to live long, right? And what is five minutes in your day? Starting today, I am going to do this every day. And how you do that is demonstrated in this video.

Image: @imaanhammam