There are many reasons that people desire to get taller. For some, it is a social stigma to be shorter than average, for others, they may feel that they need to become taller in order to effectively perform at their chosen career, still others view height as a status symbol, and an expression of power over those shorter. Wherever the desire springs from, it is important to have a realistic view of the possibilities available in pursuit of the goal.
One of the most important things to be aware of in the pursuit of height is the limit of one’s genetic background. For instance, if one is from an Asian country, a perfectly respectable height may be considered short in stature when compared with a person hailing from Minnesota or Scandinavia. These restrictions may be largely due to the types and quantities of food available in the country of origin, the mother’s nutrition, and also the evolutionary as adaptation of a particular people group to a particular locale.
The next factor to consider is age. Most young people have many growth spurts throughout the course of their teen years, and in order to become taller, it might be as simple of a matter as waiting a few months for the next growth spurt to kick in. Though these children might be in a hurry to get taller, height and age are somewhat proportionally linked, and it would be wise to counsel patience in these circumstances, rather than rush to pander to an adolescent’s insecurities.
On the other end of the spectrum, the elderly population might be seeking to become taller as a means to combat the very real effects of osteoarthritis, which bend and bow the back, creating that shrunken look that so many of the senior population exhibits. In this case, time is the enemy, as these conditions are cumulative. The golden population might find it beneficial to engage in a simple yoga or Pilates program geared towards their specific frailties, as a means of strengthening and lengthening their muscles, improving their posture, and enhancing the appearance of youth through their straight stature.
If one is a member of the normal adult population who wishes to get taller, there are several options to consider. The yoga and Pilates route is of course probably the most easily accessible way to become taller- it certainly requires the least amount of time and monetary commitment, not to mention being the most painless and, inevitably the best for one’s health. There is also the more drastic surgical route of lengthening the bones of the femur, in search for the elusive inches that are so drastically desired. Somewhere in between these two options there is the option of wearing ‘lifts’- shoes specifically designed to raise the height of an individual to a desired level, without being overtly noticeable.
If an individual wishes to become taller, they have the options addressed above- that of waiting for a growth spurt, if an adolescent, or being from a country that has the essential nutrient density to support individual height, or if in the elderly population, pursuing a course of exercise such as yoga or pilates, or even the surgical route. Perhaps the more helpful approach, though would be to speak with a person who desires to become taller one- on- one in a clinical setting, to determine the origins of their particular desires. Is it for healthy reasons that they want to become taller, or simply a stroke to an overdeveloped ego? Is being shorter intrinsically wrong, and is one practicing a form of bigotry by assuming that being shorter is less desirable a characteristic than being taller? Perhaps if we evaluated and addressed the troubled areas of the mind which propose ‘getting taller’ as the cure-all for any areas in life which are of a personal disappointment, that would serve to curb the desperate desire to become taller.
We might also view the known limitations as discussed above, and gently assure the person that getting taller is not feasible in their particular circumstances, or that in order to become taller there are certain steps that they may take, which are also outlined above. Hopefully after some discussion that deals with the root of the desire, a person would learn to love themselves as is, at the height that they were intended to be, and see that they are more than just the sum of their inches, but that they have very valuable assets to contribute to a community, rather than wasting time on self-loathing on a quality that might be impossible to change.
