Episode 50: Celebrating women in their 50s on our 50th episode!

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Dr. Sophia ObGyn podcast. I'm an ObGyn practicing for over 15 years in my native New York City. And I love to help women learn about their bodies, empower them, and embrace themselves. On this podcast, we talk openly and with heart about all things affecting women from pregnancy, menopause periods, sexual health, fertility, and so much more. Disclaimer, this is general medical information. Based on my professional opinion and experience. For specific medical advice, please refer to your physician. Hello everyone and welcome to the Dr. Sophia ObGyn podcast.

Today is episode 50. Can you believe that we are now on episode 50?

Touseef Mirza:
50 feels so big and substantial. Like we've arrived at a, like a cornerstone of our evolution as a podcast.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
For sure. I mean, it feels great. I feel like I can't even believe we got here. Because it was like this, it feels like it went so fast. We've been doing this for two years and change, and it's great. It's great to be here.

Touseef Mirza:
It is great to be here. It feels good. And it feels like we have so much more to say. And this is something we don't talk about all the time, but we wanna thank the people also that are behind the scenes that help to make this happen. So thank you so much to Zach, who is our amazing audio engineer that makes us sound so professional.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Luxurious. Yes.

Touseef Mirza:
And thank you so much to Elizabeth, who is our video editor and social media manager. Without both of you, we wouldn't be able to do this the way we do it.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
A big thank you. Big, big, big. Thank you Zach and Elizabeth. Yes. And thank you to all of you, all of you, our listeners, the people who have decided to be a part of the Dr. Sophia ObGyn community, who listen to us every other week as we share our experiences, our knowledge, our questions, our interviews, and just kind of what's on our minds in terms of bringing you what we know from my perspective as an ob, GYN on women's healthcare. Just trying to get as much quality information out. So thank you. Thank you, thank you. To our community, to our listeners.

Touseef Mirza:
Absolutely.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
All right. That deserves a round of applause.

Touseef Mirza:
All right. We can, we can pat a little bit on our backs.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Ah, yes. Well, so in light of our 50th episode, we would like to talk about what it means to be in the fifties.

Touseef Mirza:
And the fifties-

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
And the fifties as a concept.

Touseef Mirza:
Yes. As a woman. So in the 50th episode, women in their fifties, we just thought it had a good ring to it. And just to have an episode dedicated to this lovely group of women.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Definitely. Especially because I'm two years away from 50. It's a little hard to believe, but then at the same time, I'm like, yeah, I've done quite a bit. You know?

Touseef Mirza:
Yeah. Because you don't look in your forties, babe. Like, you do not.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I'll take it.

Touseef Mirza:
People are like, what? She's two years away from 50. Did I hear, did I hear that right?

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I really am. Everybody. I'm really, I really am. I'm two years away from 50. And there's like all these different level of emotions that kind of comes with that because it's like, well, what have I done? And more so, what's to come? What does it mean to get to 50?

Touseef Mirza:
Do you feel it is a milestone or something that signifies what you've achieved?

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yes. I think it gives me permission to some extent. I am a mother of two grown children. And so I'm like, maybe when I get to 50, I'll feel like I could become a grandmother.

Touseef Mirza:
But not before.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Not before.

Touseef Mirza:
No.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Not before. I don't know why. I don't know why. And it's really kind of selfish of me, considering that I made my mother a grandmother in her forties. However, yeah, no, Max and Tyler, this is not giving you any kind of license or anything like that. I'm just saying. These are just my feelings. That's all.

Touseef Mirza:
That's, we're just feeling it through. Yeah.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
But it gives me the sense of, okay, once I get to 50, it's gonna feel like I've arrived. And so it's like, hurry up and do so that when you get to 50, you feel like you've done it.

Touseef Mirza:
So when you say hurry up, is it like, oh, I have so much stuff to do, but I only have two years left to do it.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
There's a definite feeling of that, of-

Touseef Mirza:
Urgency.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I have a sense of urgency right now that kind of is like, girl, what are you doing with your life? Come on.

Touseef Mirza:
Well, you're doing the Dr. Sophia ObGyn podcast. So that's the good thing. Because When I first met Dr. Sophia, she wanted to do this, and it took a while to actually start it. So you can check that off. At least I won't check that part. You've totally, I mean, we're talking about the 50th episode, so you've literally been able to take it and like to run with it.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Okay, fine. I will take it. I will take that as a win for sure. Because like I said, there's a sense of, okay, I'm going to be 50. What have I offered the world? What have I done for my family? Like, how have I poured into my sons? Have they become responsible adults? Have I, have I created good solid adults as far as my work, like my patients? Am I still showing up, you know, the best and-

Touseef Mirza:
And not taking things for granted

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
And definitely not taking things for granted. And I feel like in this phase, like I'm ready to learn more. You know, I just, I feel ready to do more. This feeling reminds me of maybe when I was like 25-

Touseef Mirza:
When you were getting ready for med school newness.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yeah. I had started med school and that's what this feels like. I feel like a new beginning, you know, is coming and I have to prepare for it.

Touseef Mirza:
And the new beginning is starting turning 50. I think the beginning can start a little bit with the pace we're going. It might happen before 50, but yes, yes, of course. That is the direct directionality.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I mean, when I think about like, what's going on with me? The concept of just newness and just like when I get to 50, what is that going to mean for me?

Touseef Mirza:
But are you feeling any apprehension or feeling that that feels old? Or do you have any connotations around them?

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
The difference for me though right now is that I look back when I think about people who were 50, I did think they were old back in the day, for sure. I think I thought my mom was old when she was 50. And for me right now, knowing that fifty's coming under no circumstance do I feel old, so it's so weird. So it's like, so how did they feel back then? I don't know. But for me right now, I still feel 30. You know what I'm saying? Like, I still feel like I just started. So I guess that's part of the reason why it's giving me this sensation of this kind of rebirth or like a coming into myself and I need to kind of get there. I need to do so much. There's a sense of urgency of wanting to do.

Touseef Mirza:
So then when you arrive at 50. I feel like you fully arrived and did what you needed to do.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I feel like I did. I don't know. It's weird. I don't know any 50 year old's feelings like this.

Touseef Mirza:
Well, I'm 53 and I would say I always wanted, well, for the better part of my life, and especially in my forties, I always wanted to have an understanding of being in alignment. That was my biggest thing. Like, how do I align who I am? And because of that, I had to understand, to figure out who I really am versus how I've been conditioned to be, which is a whole process. And to learn about myself and know myself so that I can line up with how I show up in the world and the actions that I take in the world. And when I was in my forties, I'm like, I better get my, my together. because 50 is coming and I gotta figure it out. And eventually around 46, 47, I figured out my alignment. And, and it's not like I was a completely lost soul before, but there's a knowing that happens.

If some of you know what I mean? You, you'll understand. There's a point where you just stop asking yourself questions and things just make sense and you don't have to question things anymore. And for me, that was about going into branding, but from a perspective of really elevating human nature and growth with positive change and positive impact and trying to figure all that out. But when I understood that, I was just like, oh, okay, now. And, and that was, that was a, you know, when you're talking about this newness, for me, it was when I got on there and I was, when I was like 46, 47.

And now that I'm 53 and I've been on that road now for about six years, there's a greater like, groundedness. And it feels lighter as much as 50 could feel heavier because you're older. I feel lighter. I feel that I don't have to think about all the other things that I used to wonder about and try to figure out what to do with it. because those thoughts aren't there anymore.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Is it the kind of like, I don't care, or what is it?

Touseef Mirza:
It's a little bit of, I don't care what people think, but it, for me anyways, because I've been a seeker for the better part of my life, and now that I, and, and now because I know being a seeker and now I'm on, on that path, I'm on the right path, doesn't mean that I will never veer from it. I believe that the more you learn about yourself, the more sometimes you will shift different things. It's not that we change as human, human beings when we evolve, like reinventing yourself. I don't really believe in that. I believe more that the reason why you change is because you're going into deeper layers of yourself.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yeah. I think that that's actually a really great point. That concept of just finding out deeper layers of yourself. I think arriving here kind of feels more like you're willing to do the deep work. Without fear.

Touseef Mirza:
And also, I just am going to say what I think and I'm okay if it doesn't make sense. Or before I had ideas and I would keep into myself. because I was like, well, they might think I'm crazy or they might think, I don't know what I'm talking about. I just don't care anymore. That part, that is true. You asked me, is it because you don't care? I just don't care. I'm just like, well, I'm just gonna say what I think. And if it doesn't land, it doesn't land. But it is true for me at that point in time. Really the reason why I can be this way, because I did a lot of work in my late forties, is I learned to be more gentle with myself.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Okay.

Touseef Mirza:
That's where all of this is coming from. I had to learn to just say, if, if I'm not getting it right, it's okay. Why am I supposed to get everything right? Why, why, why are we, why do we put that on our shoulders? Who said that? And so I'm allowed to make mistakes. And, and then I'll say, okay, I made a mistake and I don't like making mistakes. I don't know who likes to, especially like, you know, people who like to just do a lot of things and learn a lot of things and move forward like I am. But we also have to say I'm human. And so that was my whole journey of loving myself. Loving myself for me means that-

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
You can allow yourself to have a mistake and-

Touseef Mirza:
To be gentle. For me, loving myself is about gentleness. That, that is my definition that I've learned to understand about myself.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
And you feel that arriving now you're 53, you've gotten that mastered.

Touseef Mirza:
I notice when I am not being kind to myself and because I am aware of it, I can do something about it. In my forties, I didn't even know I was swimming in it all the time. And so I couldn't even understand, I couldn't, I couldn't fix it because I couldn't locate it. Beause that was part of my default way of being. So you can't, you know, it's like a fish being in a bowl of water. It was so around me that I couldn't see it. And then finally I started to observe it and I practiced that more and more. And whenever I would say, oh, I'm being so hard on myself. Okay, thank you brain for bringing that up. But you know what, I'm just gonna put you aside. because the last thing you wanna do also is say, oh god, here I go again.

Because that's self-loathing. You're beating yourself again by realizing you didn't do the right thing. So you're just replacing one self-loathing thing with another. So instead of what you need to do is actually, okay, I'm observing. You have to literally be like a detective and say, okay, this is what's happening. Okay, alright. Well thank you for that feeling. But I'm gonna decide to go with gentleness. Can we explore that? And slowly, like, almost wean yourself off of it. And it took a long time, but it's really a lot about awareness and repetition. And honestly, what I'm telling all of you right now is a lesson in neuroplasticity. This is not me inventing this . Okay. I've learned I'm a nerd as all of you know, by now. So I read a lot about neuroplasticity and try to figure out what is a kind way for me to brainwash myself in the brain and life that I wanna have versus the brain that has been brainwashed because of living in this society.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I think we need to break it into smaller parts. Okay. So first thing I feel like you were trying to say is basically, you know, how we've been brought up and, and how we live in this society already kind of puts a lot of pressures on us and in terms of how it creates us and how we treat ourselves. And so basically what you did was take real ownership of how you're showing up to yourself, being very aware of yourself, your own feelings, and, and then deciding to take the high road almost. Like it's okay. You're okay. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to show up this way and tell yourself if you've made a mistake that that's okay. You can move on from it. Is that kind of a concept?

Touseef Mirza:
Yes. Kind of the concept, the thing. It's not, because I'm trying to take the high road, the, so that, that concept wasn't there. Okay. It was more, I don't like the way I feel about myself when I don't do something. Right. So what's the way, how do I wanna feel? You know? And I think about my niece, I thought about my niece at that point. She was probably maybe I think seven or eight. And I said to myself, the way that I talk to myself if I don't do something right, or if I mess up or if I, you know, said I was going to like work out every week and I'm not doing it. And I say to myself, well, you can't do anything, blah, blah. I don't do that anymore, by the way. But I used to, I said to myself, I would never say something like that to my niece. No matter how many times she messes up.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
You're gonna tell her, oh, okay, try again. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. You can try again. Let's do this together. Or let's, you know, or try all try. Yeah. The bottom line is try again. And it's coming from a place of love.

Touseef Mirza:
Exactly. That is what love means. Right? I love my niece and so I never want her to feel bad about herself. I understand that she's trying. But then, and I said, why can't I do that for myself? So that's where the notion of loving myself came from. It was really an observation of how I treat other people that I love. Because people say, oh, I love, you know, what does it mean to love yourself? It means something very similar to how you love somebody else. Then how do you then put that on you? And you have to give yourself permission to do that. because a lot of us, you know, we don't, we don't think of ourselves. We just think about others, especially women.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
That's so true.

Touseef Mirza:
And so it, it really, you really have to start thinking differently. And, what I realized is that by loving myself or what I call being more gentle with myself, I'm actually more, even gentler with other people now because that's just part of my energy. It doesn't mean that I'm just like, ladi da and I'm just like, whatevs. I don't, you know, I just like to go along with whatever. No, I'm not that I am, I'm still like, okay, this is the things I need to do and da da da da. But I'll give you an example. Instead of calling it discipline, I call it devotion. That's the gentleness. Right? Discipline is hard. Okay. But when you're devoted to something, you can have the same amount of focus, intentionality in doing. But it comes from a different place. So I'm still extremely driven, ambitious, but it comes slightly from a different place.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I like that you put the word devotion in there. That's pretty awesome. Because I think you're right. The things that we are devoted to, we feel more of a connection with. And therefore it creates its own sense of motivation with, without it feeling like just an act of responsibility. It definitely gives a connotation of something that comes from a deeper loving, more, you know, intentional place than just the concept of discipline or, or responsibility. Though discipline should not mean something bad. No. And it, and it doesn't. But the way we use it for sure in society, it's like someone who lacks discipline is as if they have no willpower. It's a parent that they may have, like we consider it as issues, right? Whereas if you are able to change the mindset and shift from discipline to devotion where you are judging yourself, I can see how it could potentially be a lot more of a motivator. But also I definitely understand the gentleness of that.

Touseef Mirza:
Either it's a devotion towards yourself. Either it's a devotion towards your craft. Either it's a devotion to your spiritual being however you wanna do it, but there is a deeper more humanistic aspect that's connected to that. And it just feels a little bit less hard versus a gentleness.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I just feel like it takes away a certain amount of judgment. I feel like the word discipline, because the opposite of discipline is perhaps lack of discipline or no discipline. Many reasons or many things can cause that, but it automatically comes from a place of judgment. Whereas when you change it and, and put in the word devotion, it totally gives me a different feeling.

Touseef Mirza:
I think that's the key right there. There's a sensation you feel involved in it versus a discipline can feel something that's separate. But devotion is something that also you decide.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
It's like you've decided to embody. Do you think that approach to your fifties or being in your fifties is what has caused you to have that shift?

Touseef Mirza:
It has helped me, I had to do a lot of changes. And one of them had to do with the gentleness. And so when I say devotion, also, I do not mean that now because just it is devotion that now I'm doing a hundred percent of the time. It just means that my association to what is really important in my life comes from a meaningful place. And I can still screw that up. Okay. Like, you know, it doesn't mean now. Okay. Instead of discipline is devotion. So I do it a hundred percent of the time. No. It means that I'm, I'm allowed to mess up. I can still do about 80 to 90%. And when I don't do the other stuff, I say, alright, you know, I probably should have done it, but it's okay. All right. Tomorrow's another day and we're gonna get back on the horse and it's okay.

Touseef Mirza:
That's what I would say to my niece. So that's, that's sort of like my touchstone all the time. But I think the most critical thing in all of this for it to work is for you to become aware of your thoughts. And that is actually the most difficult part. Because if you don't know, if you're used to talking to yourself in a certain way, you have to observe it in order to even make a change. And again, I'm going back to neuroplasticity, but it's basically the way that your neurons are firing together all the time, and they just form the pathways over the course of time that becomes your default. So you're not even thinking, and they're firing the same way over and over and over again

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
So it's like our brain wiring.

Touseef Mirza:
Correct. It's like our brain wiring.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
And you've rewired-

Touseef Mirza:
I have rewired my brain. That is correct. Okay. Like if I had a whiteboard right now, I would show you the whole thing. Because I don't exercise, I don't know if we've talked about it, but I teach at NYU, personal purpose and personal branding. And so I teach about neuroplasticity, and I teach the students like, you know, with the whiteboard and all that stuff of how do you change from one way of thinking of wiring to another. And it really comes down to attention and repetition.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Well, I'm thinking about my attention and repetition of where I wanna be at 50. That's the bottom line.

Touseef Mirza:
But do you know what that is?

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I mean, it's just a concept right now. I'm really thinking about it. I'm thinking about what's important to me. I'm thinking about what does the future hold for me and how do I land there? How do I get there? I didn't think about it in terms of my self-talk or my thoughts in that sense. You know what I mean? Like, it didn't dawn on me like that.

Touseef Mirza:
Once you like zero in, at that level, you can literally change all the wiring and if you change all the wiring, you change all your thoughts. And if you change all your thoughts, you can change all your actions. If you change all your actions, you can change how you show up in the world and have different consequences in accordance to that. And you know, this is something that I learned a lot in 45, 46, 47, and I still try to be conscious of them. If I started to do this at 46, it means that from the age of, I don't know, we start to get brainwashed, I think around the age five or six or seven up to 46. That's 40 years of brainwashing. Right. And I just started to become more aware, like really consciously more aware on a regular daily basis for five years. Like, I have to keep it, it's like, it's like muscle. Like, you know, it's a muscle that it's not like, oh, okay, I'm done one time. Goodbye Charlie, I'm good to go. No, it's something that you have to keep going at because, or else you might go back to the previous default.

Touseef Mirza:
So neuroplasticity basically means, as opposed to what was believed like 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago, that you have gray matter. And once you hit 50 or 60, you can't learn everything. You know, you can't-

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
You can't learn anymore.

Touseef Mirza:
Like, you know, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. That is actually completely false. And they've proved that by literally seeing how, depending on if you're learning something new or if you're getting a new habit, that you will start to wire differently. And what you're not using anymore will literally like disconnect the, to the other neuro systems of your brain.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Well, that actually makes tons of sense. It's the reason why even when we think about risks of Alzheimer's and things like that, the concept is you gotta just keep using your brain, whether it's through puzzles and different things as we are aging to continue to keep learning new things in order to kind of ward off. You know, Alzheimer's disease and the concept of constantly staying active and kind of feeding your brain, not just with what we're eating necessarily, is extremely important, but also how we're literally what we're taking in with what we're learning and what we're doing. So I get that. To create new neuro-pathways to create neural pathways.

Touseef Mirza:
So I think the more that you learn and are curious and, and try a new hobby even, you know, or anything like that, that is actually so good for, for brain health as a whole and also keeps life more interesting.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yeah. I mean, I feel like life is just getting more interesting. That's the best way to put it, right? We think about how like, oh, I just wish I were young and, and the reality is, is that I actually, I, I don't, I really love where we're headed, where I'm headed. This part of the journey is way more exciting for this concept of just being confident in who you are, the things that you do know. And my desire right now to learn more is so high, just to be bigger and bigger, to bring more, more to my patients. So that is the thing that I feel is really a driver for me.

Touseef Mirza:
I mean, I love how big it is, let me tell you. And I will say that being in my fifties, it's the best, I, it's even better than the forties. Like, seriously, because there is such a comfort with oneself also, you know, I've been in this body full for a long time and I've seen it go up and down and it's just a really nice feeling. I mean, I'm very lucky because now I've learned how to, how to really be comfortable with myself enjoying myself, and also taking risks and trying something new. And like, I literally started a new company a year and a half ago, and we started this together two and a half, two and-

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
A half-

Touseef Mirza:
Years ago, years ago. And so, you know, you talk about newness, it's all about new. Like for me, I'm completely starting all over again. But in the most, this is the most grounded place from where I'm starting things. And it feels great because I am so blessed to say this, I am so in alignment that when I'm working, I'm not really working. I'm really just doing the work that I've always asked for but didn't know what it was. And now I get to do it.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Just creating, just creating.

Touseef Mirza:
Creating, thinking, strategizing. Like anything, it's not that it's not hard work. Sometimes it is, and sometimes I don't wanna do it, but I know that it's all in alignment considering where I was before. I am very, very content. And this is one thing that I, that I heard that, you know, there's a saying of sometimes you need to stop and smell the roses. If you are, if you are in alignment, you actually don't need to stop and smell the roses because you're smelling the roses all the time. That's what alignment means for me is that you just feel like, okay, like this is great. I don't even know what Saturdays and Sundays mean anymore. You know, before I was just like, I can't wait for the weekend. I don't even know what that means. Because for me, every day is a good day.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Don't we all wish we were Touseef Mirza.

Touseef Mirza:
Listen, keep seeking. Keep seeking. You'll get there. You just have to be a seeker. That's what you have to be.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Well, so our 50th episode, yes. We're talking about me approaching 50 of course Touseef already being in her fifties. Happy that we are sharing this side of getting older, this part of aging, so that people can see that just because we're aging doesn't make us less happy. If anything, I feel I'm happier in my life right now than I've ever been. And the concept that I can continue to get happier is phenomenal. And there's no part of me though. I hope that I don't wrinkle fast or get gray hair.

Touseef Mirza:
I have gray hair.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
And you look fabulous with your gray.

Touseef Mirza:
Thank you. Thank you. I try to rock it. I try to rock it with my hair.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yeah, you're doing an amazing job with your gray hair. Thank you. And the interesting thing is, naturally, I don't dye my hair. So I do, I feel exceptionally, exceptionally blessed. I get that, I think from my dad's side of the family. So it's not to say that I'm rushing that side of things in terms of the aging process, but if it happens, I am welcoming it. I feel like we need to talk more about this concept of aging happier.

Touseef Mirza:
I hope that by, you know, the conversation we're having right now, the only thing that has come out, like really like over indexing, is really how amazing it is to approach 50 and be in their fifties. You know? Yes. I wish I had more, honestly, I wish I had more voices like these when I was in my twenties, but also maybe the women at that time were more brainwashed. You know, we're talked about brainwashing before. That's true. You know, and so that's, they really were in a mold way more than we are.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yes. Because right now we're like this, like I know when I talk to my patients as they're aging, and I'm just like, well, how can I help you to live a more vital life? And the concept of vitality is so important to me. And it just means that I can age in a way that my body feels stronger. I can age in a way that my body is healthier. I can age in a way that my spiritual growth is growing. I can age in a way that I feel smarter, you know? And I don't think that that was the way we thought about getting older.

Touseef Mirza:
No. Because as women we were basically supposed to just have babies.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Then once you stop having babies, you're useless.

Touseef Mirza:
Correct. And therefore at that point you're older. And so then all bets are off while now it is like a whole other ball game, in which you can do whatever the hell you want, which is your life.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
It just, in terms of new connections, this is a time, I know for me, I just got married and it's been really amazing to have this new connection in this new relationship. And I feel so much better, just even in my body to be able to love even harder and stronger now.

Touseef Mirza:
And you feel more grounded in who you are

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
In the relationship. Oh, 100%. 100%.

Touseef Mirza:
You're not trying to be somebody else.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I don't have to be any, I'm showing up exactly as Sophia every single day.

Touseef Mirza:
I literally have told her, I said, you look even more grounded now. I mean you were pretty grounded before, but now it's even more.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
I don't know if it's just because now it's the reflection of the love that I have. That I'm able to really share with my husband now. It's like, I definitely feel there is more to life. There's more we need to experience. And so that's what I'm really looking forward to. And so I don't have this fear or this idea of, oh, I'm getting old. My body's getting weaker. I'm getting weaker. I'm not gonna be able to go outside. I'm not gonna be able to travel. I'm not going to be able to make new friends. I'm not gonna be able to learn new things. It's quite the contrary. I feel so emboldened with all this new energy. So that's what getting towards 50 is actually doing for me. And even when I make the concept or the, the comment of becoming a grandma for me. I am blessed to say that I have women in my family. I have an aunt 102 right now. She's 102 years old.

Touseef Mirza:
That's like 50 times two.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yeah, that's so true. And the woman still will pick up the phone and call you and, and tell you about your business. And she still cooks for herself. And she actually lives alone. She has an aide, but she takes care of herself. And she has all of her faculties. She doesn't forget anything. And I am now looking at her and looking at what longevity really is in such a different way. In such a different way because she's not ill. She's got a little touch of blood pressure. She doesn't hear as well, you gotta talk a little louder. That's it. And I remember for her hundredth birthday, she was on the dance floor. People were taking turns to dance with her and remembering that right now just is, it's just life is for living. And so we can't wallow in this. We're getting old, oh my God, what are we gonna do? Da da da. We're gonna just, you know, kind of shrivel up, but instead re bloom.

Touseef Mirza:
A new beginning.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Yeah.

Touseef Mirza:
A grounded new beginning. That's what the fifties can be.

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
Oh my gosh.

Touseef Mirza:
Yes, Sophia,

Dr. Sophia, ObGyn:
How nice it is that A, we have each other B, that we have each other at this time in our lives, and we get to bring you All right along with us. I don't even know how to close out today's session because it's like, I could keep going, but if anything, it's to say thank you, number 50, our 50th episode for showing us that 50 is like having a new beginning. Thank you so much for listening to the Dr. Sophia OB GYN podcast. Always, always, always embrace your body. Embrace yourself ageless. Goodbye for now. Bye. This is General Medical information based on my professional opinion and experience. For specific medical advice, please refer to your physician. Until next time, embrace your body. Embrace yourself.