A FOOT HERE AND A FOOT THERE

By now, most of you know that hiking in the mountains is my favorite exercise. In the summer, I have to be on the trail no later than 6 a.m. and home by 7:30 a.m. because, even after a relatively cool evening, the desert heats up fast.

Now, it’s winter in Arizona, and “Yes,” it can get very cold at night—a little freeze here—a little freeze there. Last week, we even had snow on the mountains. Even the rattlesnakes hibernate. So, when I go out to exercise, I layer my clothes; sweatshirt, jacket, scarf, gloves etc. But, what’s with these winter visitors from Wisconsin and Maine? They are out there in shorts and tee-shirts. Forty degrees is not summer! I guess no one told them.

Exercise is most important as one ages, and the senior residence, where I now live (Hacienda at the Canyon) offers all kinds of exercise programs. You could break a sweat and melt away easily if you took every athletic program offered. There are classes in Tai Chi, which show you how to breathe (breathing is very important) and manage your energy flow and balance. I wonder if the Tai Chi teacher could help me balance my checkbook. Now that is an exercise that really involves an energy flow.

After my hike today, I turned on PBS and listened to a beautiful symphony. I think it helped my energy flow. The next program was a lady doing chair exercises so old folks won’t develop blood clots. Since blood flow is as important as breathing, and since I was already sitting in a chair, I decided to follow her instructions. I did a sitting walk, stuck my legs out in every direction and moved  my feet and flapped my arms beautifully. I know the exercise was successful, because I did not fall off of my chair.

Joyful Movement is another class which is offered at Hacienda. It is supposed to unlock ones creative potential. So, creatively, I moved to my filing cabinet to sort my tax folders, so I could present them in logical order to my accountant. I don’t think this exercise unlocked my creative potential other than some colorful language, because taxes are anything but joyful.

So today, I hike, and avoided blood clots by jumping around in a chair (and not falling off) and did some weight lifting of tax files.The exercise room here is filled with all kinds of torture equipment and weights and lifts. Pilate and Yoga are coming.The joint will be jumping, as much as old folks can jump. But, unless we fall over, we will be  healthy.

Tomorrow, someone is leading a discussion on, “How to Improve Your Fitness.” Maybe talking about exercise just might be as good as actually doing it.  OH, NO, THAT JUST CAN’T BE.

Esther Blumenfeld