Jo Schneier - combining cognition and emotion to train caregivers for the aging population - LLAMA49

Respect for the elderly knows no bounds.

"It's so easy to look at people and prejudge them and to think, 'I just see an old person.’ I don't see the child, as she was growing up, or the teenager or the woman who got married or the man who got the job promotion or traveled overseas,” says Jo Schneier, CEO at Cognotion. 

In front of us are people whose lives have been beautifully lived, says Jo, whose work focusses on developing digital education programs to train caregivers for aging populations. Based in New York, Cognotion offers interactive learning platforms for a range of jobs, including nurses and home health aides.  In this interview, recorded at the recent TED MED conference in La Quinta, California, Jo explains the philosophy behind a learning technique that combines cognition and emotion; how the company searches out society’s “untapped potential” to work with a “demanding” population; and why he lifts weights, in mid-life, to nurture his own longevity. 

  

Rangan Chatterjee - prescribing a lifestyle for longevity: food, movement, sleep and relaxation

Live Long and Master Aging - Episode 48

Rangan Chatterjee is a medical doctor, best known in the UK as the star of Doctor in the House, the BBC series that helps restore people to optimal health. After two decades of practicing medicine, Dr Chatterjee is on a mission to replace pills with "lifestyle prescriptions. He believes that people are needlessly suffering and that health care professionals should put more emphasis on preventing chronic, lifestyle-related conditions though behavioral changes. The author of The 4 Pillar Plan says the secret to a longer, healthier life lies in relaxation, sleeping, movement and a carefully chosen diet. He also acknowledges that healthy eating has become “incredibly complicated.” In this in-depth interview Dr Chatterjee explains how modern lifestyles are negatively impacting our health; why his personal longevity goal involves the ski slopes of the French Alps and the difference a ’switch-off' routine makes to restful sleep. 

Santino Panico - former football player turns to filmmaking to tell story of broken dreams and rediscovered health as a vegan athlete

Live Long and Master Aging - Episode 47

When Santino Panico, once a rising sports star, realized that he would never achieve his dream of becoming a big-time American football player, he took a close look at his diet.  Poor health had forced him to give up the sport that he loved - including a place on the team for the University of Nebraska - even though he thought he was doing everything right in the kitchen and the gym.  Panico went from devouring copious amounts of steak and eggs to a plant-based diet that bemused and confused his Italian, food-loving parents. Now, as a first-time film-maker, he tells the story of his journey to "rediscover the athlete within,” in the documentary, From The Ground Up. The film features leading athletes talking about their own adherence to a dietary lifestyle that many of their contemporaries shun. In this in-depth interview Panico re-lives the days when he was booed by fans and forced to give up his dreams; he explains how he came to the conclusion that the conventional wisdom about developing a strong body is “nonsense,” and talks, in emotional terms, about achieving "the why" when living for longevity.

Alwyn Cosgrove - embracing New Year energy and creating new exercise habits

Live Long and Master Aging - Episode 45

For many of us, January means a new start, with fresh energy and vigor to live the best life possible. The first few days of the year come with a sense of purpose that helps put our lives into perspective. Fitness coach Alwyn Cosgrove sees it as a “magical” time, when people can change and create new habits.  Alwyn was born in Scotland and initially exposed to fitness training through competitive martial arts.  He went on to study Sports Performance at West Lothian College and achived an honors degree in Sports Science from the University of Liverpool. He is a cancer survivor and the co-owner of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California, which has twice been named one of America’s Top Gyms by Men’s Health Magazine.  In this in-depth interview Alwyn explains his scientific approach to fitness and his insatiable appetite for new, data-driven studies on exercise. He also shares his renewed appreciation for the simple but “amazing” things in life, after being re-born, cancer-free.