“I'm 62 and I feel 62. But I feel my version of 62,” says Lorraine C. Ladish.
Ladish, an author, wellness influencer, and founder and CEO of Viva Fifty, runs an online bilingual community that centers on life over 50, touching on issues from menopause and mental health to medical scares and fitness. Her blog and social media feeds are filled with content documenting a life well-lived – and fitness is a big part of that.
She shares insights about aging with equal parts candor, humor, and grit.
“Even with wrinkles and a body that takes longer to recover than I was when I was younger, I still have way more self-confidence,” she says. “I'm happier; I feel more capable.
Racing Toward Better Health
Ladish started running with her dad when she was a teenager. The runs were less about speed and distance than about connection. Running allowed Ladish and her dad to bond and talk about “hard stuff.” He was also the reason that Ladish started practicing yoga.
“He gave me a book on yoga,” she says. “At the tender age of 13, I was doing yoga every day in my room.”
Running and yoga became the cornerstones of self-care for Ladish as she struggled with depression and an eating disorder. Exercise provided “emotional regulation” and made her feel good even when she was struggling.
When anxious, she would “lace up my running shoes and run out the door,” she says. “I've never been a fast runner. I don't think my body is really made for running; I feel like my legs are made of lead and I'm slow.” But it was her way of coping with life, she says.
Writing was also a coping mechanism for Ladish. She grew up in Madrid, Spain, before moving to the United States and built a career writing for newspapers and authoring books in both English and Spanish. In 2008, Ladish expanded into digital media and launched Viva Fifty.
“I didn't think that turning 50 was a bad thing,” she says. “It was the best time in my life. Of course, now I’m 62 and I think this is the best time in my life!”
Ladish expanded her online presence to include social media, building @LorraineCLadish to more than 56,000 followers on Instagram. As an influencer, she has reached her followers through posts and brand partnerships celebrating health and vitality for older women.
“I can’t believe that I get paid well to share my lifestyle and work with brands that align with who I am and what I believe in,” she says.
Changing Bodies, Changing Content
Around the same time she launched Viva Fifty, Ladish injured her hip while running a half-marathon and decided that her days of hard distance running were over. She returned to her yoga practice. The poses helped heal her hip, and she eventually became a certified yoga instructor. She also rediscovered the positive impact that yoga had on her body.
“It wasn't just regular yoga,” says Ladish, who admits to being a type-A personality. “I started challenging myself with the craziest arm balances where you hold up your whole body weight on your arms. It felt impressive to me, and it was also a way of dealing with life as I entered menopause.”
Her content evolved with her body. Ladish drew in new audiences and sponsors when she began posting about yoga and menopause and was hailed for her positive attitude.
Back then, says Ladish, she was one of the very few people talking publicly about menopause. “And now, everybody talks about menopause and how to deal with aging. I feel like a bit of a pioneer in a way. I don’t have a lot of shame around things; I’m pretty open to talking, and I’m glad I did.”
Ladish celebrates her age – even when things get hard. On every birthday, she posts selfies of “crazy contorted yoga poses” along with balloons announcing her age, and she tries to set new fitness goals for every decade.
But she has also been candid about the changes that come with age.
After tearing her rotator cuff at 58, Ladish struggled with a painful recovery that made it impossible to do a difficult yoga pose and take a photo in honor of her 59th birthday. So she held the balloons and snapped a smiling photo instead.
Age is not “just a number,” she says. “Our bodies have wear and tear on them that ends up giving us certain injuries. But I would have injuries if I didn't move, too.”
Instead of letting injuries and a changing body diminish her passion for health and fitness, Ladish leans into the need to set new goals and try new activities, and she uses her platform to encourage others to do the same.
“If you do one hard thing physically – whatever that is for you – it will spill into the rest of your life and it will help you realize that we're not at the mercy of aging, that we have a certain amount of control over how we do it.”
