Island Senior: A Clear Message to Get Moving

A Beach Walk with Flossie Mullis – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

If like me, you work (and play) at a computer, if you spend even more sitting time driving (luckily we do not have long commutes here on the island), or watching television, you are being warned. Especially as we get older, we need to move more or be at risk for a host of diseases and losing our mobility as we age.

In a study recently featured on NPR, epidemiologist Loretta DiPietro and her colleagues warn, “those who tended to sit the most and move the least had more than three times the risk of difficulty walking by the end of the study, when compared to their more active counterparts.” The antidote is to “shake a leg.” Getting up every half hour and moving for as little as 2 minutes, they say, would be “phenomenal, to mobility and be at least a start toward heart health, too.” 

This message to move must be in the zeitgeist right now. On Wednesday September 13 at 7:00 pm Katy Bowman author of Don’t Just Sit There, Movement Matters and Dynamic Aging, will explain why it’s so important to keep moving in our all-too-often sedentary lives. “Bowman explores the difference between exercise and movement, and delves into the idea of sedentarism, what enables us to live in a sedentary culture, and how our personal movement can change more than our physical health—it can change the world.” Explore Bowman’s ideas further on her blog, Nutritious Movement.

Delphina Liles – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

You don’t have to run a marathon to move in ways that are beneficial. Even “puttering” around can be an antidote to too much sitting. Of course here in our island paradise we have beaches and trails to walk. Finding something you enjoy enough to do regularly is key.

At the Mullis Center keeping seniors moving is a priority. On Fridays at 10:00 am join Delphina Liles for Chair Yoga. Yoga has long been valued for how even the subtlest of movements can be very beneficial. On Thursdays at 1:00 pm there is a Balance Group and the first Friday of the month is Swing Dance with instruction offered as needed.

At this point, right now, I think I have been sitting for longer than a half and hour writing this article. It will take some retraining to insert movement into my computer time. Maybe I can program one of those irresistible rock and roll songs to come on every half-hour reminding me to move or like we did in pre-school, stand up and “shake my willies out”. The message is clear. It is time to get moving. 

You can support the San Juan Update by doing business with our loyal advertisers, and by making a one-time contribution or a recurring donation.