Exercise!

Keep moving
by Rebecca Crichton

I was not an athletic kid. I didn’t learn to ride a bike until my teens and I thought mirrors in ballet studios and other venues were put there just to embarrass me. Life in the outfields of my life was spent praying the ball would never come near me. When a mean teen laughed at my dancing, I swore I’d never dance again.

Happily, people stopped dancing together and just did their thing in the early days of rock and roll and I practiced my moves at home before venturing onto a dance floor. I took yoga in my twenties and discovered what feeling centered and fit meant.  

While I never became a good team athlete, I joined gyms, worked with weights, took classes. I got hooked on feeling healthy and active.

In my work in the aging community, I report on research about how to stay engaged and vital as we age. The number one proven way to stay healthy: Exercise!  

Exercise comes in all forms and formats. You can walk or bike, do Pilates or yoga, lift weights or dance. Hopefully, there are several things you like to do that qualify as exercise, things to get your heart pumping and your endorphins flowing.

With gyms and fitness centers closed during the pandemic, there is a proliferation of online opportunities for staying fit. The technology gets easier by the week and no need for embarrassment.

Here a few links to articles and classes to check out for your home workout.