Plus: new research reveals how glial cells may slow brain aging, a fatty acid that restored vision in mice, and Indigenous wisdom about balance and harmony.
Hi Friends,
I woke up earlier this week in a mood. One of those gray-cloud days when even coffee wasn’t on my side. So I booked a boxing class. 🥊
Forty-five minutes later, music blasting and sweat dripping, I was smiling again. There’s something about hitting a bag that punches through mental fog. But the next morning, my sore back reminded me of my limits. A few too many right hooks blurred the line between resilience and reckless twisting.
Which is exactly what this week’s Livelong Podcast guest, coach Jack Thompson, talks about: longevity isn’t just muscle, it’s elasticity. As Jack put it, “Healthy stress has recovery built in. Burnout happens when you stop listening to the signals.”
Translation: strength without spring turns into strain.
That balance (between spring and strength) showed up across this week’s science and wisdom news:
🧠 Glial cells — new research shows that when the brain’s support cells stay balanced, neurons thrive.
🌿 Indigenous healing traditions — many traditions teach that health is achieved through harmony with the land rather than dominance over it. Balance is built into the system.
Have a restful weekend!
Spotlight
Bring Back the Spring: Jack Thompson on Fascia, Elasticity, and Recovery
Jack Thompson coaches people 50 and older to move with less pain and more freedom by training the fascia system, the connective tissue web that integrates muscles, bones, vessels, and organs. After years of injuries from wrestling and conventional lifting, Jack found healing through breath-led movement and martial arts principles. What changed? He stopped fighting his body’s tension and learned to recruit its elasticity.
Jack’s three principles:
Spring-Loaded Posture
Create a gentle internal stretch—what Jack calls the “fascia wetsuit,” a metaphor to describe the feeling of light, continuous internal tension, as if you’re wearing a flexible suit under your skin that provides gentle lift and support.
Move From Your Center
Power initiates from the waistline and sternum (think salsa, not robot). It means keeping a gentle, continuous tension in your body like a spring that stays active as you move.Springboard Feet
Wake up your toes and the balls of your feet so that every step feels light, supported, and connected from the ground up.
Why it matters for longevity, Jack says:
Elastic strength protects joints. When elasticity carries load, meaning your body’s natural spring system is doing the heavy lifting, your muscles don’t over-contract, and your joints don’t take the hit.
Balance improves. When your feet are strong and responsive, and your movement starts from your center, you stay more stable and balanced.
Recovery accelerates. Less fight-or-flight tension means better blood flow and faster recovery.
It’s sustainable. You can add muscle with elasticity, you gain strength without losing flexibility or fluid movement.
“The fascia is what bridges strength, flexibility, and recovery. When that system’s working, everything else works better — you get stronger, you heal faster, you move better.” - Jack Thompson
4 Questions
Q: How should someone think about movement as they age?
A: Don’t move like the oak tree that breaks. Move like the willow that bends.
Q: What’s the first thing people notice when they start training their fascia?
A: They feel lighter. It’s like their body finally knows how to work as one piece instead of a bunch of separate parts.
Q: What happens when the fascia system is working well?
A: When that system’s working, everything else works better — you get stronger, you heal faster, you move better.
Q: What’s one simple thing people can do today?
A: Wake up your feet. The toes, the arches, the ball of the foot — that’s your foundation. When your feet are awake, your balance, posture, and everything above starts to organize.
Quick Poll
What helps you build elastic endurance?
This week’s must-reads in longevity
Green tea’s surprising fat-burning secret
New research in Cell Biochemistry & Function found that the antioxidants in green tea activate genes that restore glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, particularly on a high-calorie diet. In mice, it protected muscle and targeted fat without appearing to change lean mass.
Read more →
The fatty acid fix for fading eyes.
Older mice given TPA, a long-chain fatty acid naturally made in the liver and eyes, showed striking improvements in retinal health. Researchers hope a low-dose supplement form could one day protect human vision.
Learn more →
The brain’s hidden healers.
A study published in Science Advances from the University of Miami suggests that adjusting the pH of glial cells, the “glue” that supports and protects brain neurons, could slow aging and protect against neurodegeneration.
Read more →
Purpose protects the brain.
A UC Davis longitudinal study found that having a strong sense of purpose can lower the risk of dementia by 28%, even among people genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s. Purpose may be both protective and predictive—an early marker for cognitive health.
Read more →
Ancient paths to modern longevity.
From sweat lodges to “walking in beauty,” Indigenous healing frames health as inseparable from land and spirit. Science is catching up: spending time in nature lowers inflammation, stress, and even blood pressure.
Read more →
Poll Response
We asked, you answered:
What helps you find more balance in your life?
More than 35% percent of you said it was spending time in nature.
Thanks for reading!
The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.