Tag Archives: A Matter of Balance

Apr26

Tai Chi And Me

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Tai Chi And Me

I know absolutely nothing about Tai Chi. I’ve heard that it’s a good fit with the SAIL fitness classes I teach and A Matter Of Balance. I recently joined the Senior Center in Wenatchee and Tai Chi is one of the activities offered. Okay, Karen! Here’s your chance to try it.

And I did. I went to my first class yesterday. The instructor has the patience of a saint. He has me in his class. I’m really getting to know my right from my left. And I’m getting into these interesting forms we go through. Weird names. Part The Wild Horse’s Mane. Repulse Monkey. Golden Rooster. Needle To Sea Bottom. Those are just a few. I’m game. I’ll go to another class.

I’m more than halfway through the Suicide Prevention course I’m taking. Still doing Duolingo for Spanish. Two more sessions left in the Boundaries discussion group. I also need to select something to read at Writers’ Group next week. Life group on Zoom. Lots of activities at the Senior Center and at the library that I still need to check out.

Writing mode is diminishing. I think my characters are annoyed that I’ve gotten involved in so many other things now that I’m back in East Wenatchee. I think they may even be a little jealous of the time I’m spending with friends here. They’ll get over it.

Have A Great Wednesday!

Mar22

Last Post From Ags

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Last Post From Ags

It seems like I just did my first post from Ags. But this is my last one. I’m traveling next weekend and won’t post on Sunday. So I’ll be back a week from today.

By the way, no one has correctly guessed the place from my last post. No, it’s not my tree either.

The April calendar is already filling up with activities. I’m looking forward to getting back into SAIL classes and training for A Matter Of Balance. I’m also in an awesome group from The Ripple Foundation and can’t wait to meet everyone in person instead of on Zoom.

My friends here are teasing me because I have not really been a morning person this winter. My first morning back in Wenatchee church is at 9 am and then Monday morning I have a hair appointment in Leavenworth at 9 am. And then there are those morning SAIL classes too. Just for fun we’ll throw in the time change too. Washington moved their clocks and Mexico didn’t.

Yesterday was more goodbyes with friends; today too. Two of my friends are moving over to the Yucatan so that means more places to visit. The other day it was the taco stand and the hamburger stand. I’ll miss my chip guy two doors down. And I still have to stop in at the tienda to say goodbye as well as the bakery.

I decided to tune in to something in English on YouTube and found an old Guiding Light from 1980. Yep. A friend got me hooked on this soap. I was pregnant and needed an excessive amount of bedrest according to my doctor so I needed something to entertain me. Interesting. It’s now 2023 and I’m still using Dawn dishwashing liquid and baking Duncan Hines brownies, two of the too many commercials back then.

So far the snow is staying up in the mountains and it better stay that way. I do have boots and a ski jacket in my closet back home but I sure don’t want to have to use them. I’m traveling back in the warmest thing I have – a light hoodie. I will wear tennis shoes instead of sandals.

I’m listening to Blue Rodeo and am going to switch back to working on my book.

Have a great Wednesday, a great week and I’ll see you back here next Wednesday.

Dec20

2022 Part 1

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2022 Part 1

I have decided to divide the year end review into two parts. Part 1 will cover the first six months of the year.

I woke up January 1st in Jilotsingo where I had celebrated New Years Eve with fifty-nine others. The next day I went back to Angie’s home in Pachuca. I returned to Aguascalientes after King’s Day. The rest of the month was spent getting together with friends and writing blog posts. I also had a SAIL training session on Zoom.

February was an exciting month. My characters started talking to me again and I was finally inspired to continue working on my book of fiction. My granddaughter in Kelowna also celebrated her fourth birthday. And I went to Culiacan to spend time with my Mexican family before heading back up north for the warmer months.

On March 1st I crossed the border at Nogales and headed for Tucson, where I spent a few relaxing days by a pool at a hotel. Then came the rather unusual but interesting Greyhound bus trip to Seattle where I was finally able to pick up an Amtrak into Leavenworth. One of the first things I did was get a Covid booster. I moved around a lot staying in Leavenworth and Dryden and did some pet sitting before finally settling down in East Wenatchee. It was wonderful to be at Sage Hills in person again and to resume teaching SAIL classes.

April was a fun month of garage sales, different from the usual tienguis in Mexico. Life Group resumed and a series of library programs began on Zoom. My characters continued to chatter so it was also a great writing month.

May was a little on the stressful side. The results of a biopsy were not what I’d hoped for and I needed to have a growth removed. On a more positive note I celebrated a birthday and had a delightful day in Lake Chelan. And I also received great news that while the growth indeed had been malignant, there was only healthy tissue left and no further sign of cancer. So no need for more treatment.

I had training in the A Matter Of Balance program during the month of June and I’m looking forward to coaching it when I return to Washington in the spring. And towards the end of the month I found myself on a plane headed for Winnipeg for the first time in five years.

I’m taking a break from blogging so no post this coming Sunday. 2022 Part 2 will be on December 28th.

Merry Christmas!

Jun25

Last Post from Washington

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Last Post from Washington

This is my last post from here for a while. On Monday I take the Wenatchee Valley Shuttle to SeaTac to catch the red eye to Minneapolis. From there it’s on to Winnipeg.

ArriveCan info is submitted. Have my confirmation. Now if only Delta would recognize it. So much for checking in online.

All my clothes are packed. I love the packing cubes I bought at Marshall’s. I should have got some years ago. So easy to organize everything now.

I will miss the Leavenworth ladies in my SAIL class. We’ve been together for six years. But I’ll be back before I head to Mexico this fall. And I’ll be teaching some new classes here in East Wenatchee.

A Matter of Balance classes ended on Friday. When I return in August I’ll be doing training to coach in the program. I’m looking forward to that as well.

Leavenworth Summer Theater has three productions this summer. My plan is to be back here in August for at least two of them, The Sound Of Music and The Music Man.

Time to sort through documents, the tedious part of traveling. And to pack my carry on. Mainly devices, chargers and meds. No backpack this time. Just a smaller and hopefully lighter bag.

It’s very different packing for a one month trip than a six month trip. Can’t remember the last time I did that. Hmmmmm…..maybe about five years ago, the last time I was in Winnipeg.

Jun19

Countdown

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Countdown

Please tell me another week has not gone by already. I need to start thinking about packing.

Facebook reminded me that on June 17th in 2013 I was having surgery in Winnipeg. Glad it’s now 2022 and I was leading the exercises in fitness training this year instead on June 17th. Even Walmart didn’t annoy me on Friday.

On my commute by bus to Leavenworth to teach SAIL classes on Thursday, I met an activities director of a personal care home. She noticed the shirt I was wearing and asked if I’d consider teaching at their facility. I told her I’d touch base in August when I get back from Canada. I still have more training to do so that I can coach A Matter of Balance.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever envision myself teaching fitness classes at this stage of the game. Add it to more stories to tell my grandkids.

Writing is going well. Actually it’s going so well that I haven’t found time to catch up on reading books in English, usually a favorite pastime when I come up from Mexico every spring. I do go to the library, but it’s mostly to print out documents.

I’ve also given Duolingo a rest. I received an email the other day telling me how sad Duo is because I haven’t been checking in every day. Poor little owl!

I met a guy the other day who is up here from Florida to be in Leavenworth Summer Theater. So happy to hear that I won’t miss all of them when I’m in Canada. My favorite is still Sound of Music. The surrounding woods and the mountains are the most amazing backdrops.

Que tengas un buenisimo domingo!

Jun12

A Matter of Balance

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A Matter of Balance

Anyone who knows me well is quite aware that I am constantly taking courses. I have this thirst for knowledge and have way too many letters that come after my name. Thanks to the internet I have taken courses from Rice, Harvard and several other prestigious American universities. While the majority of these courses have been in the field of psychology, I have also begun delving into the area of health and fitness in more depth.

Back in 2017, I began attending SAIL classes in Leavenworth. No, this has nothing to do with boats or water. SAIL is an acronym for Stay Active and Independent for Life. After a couple of weeks, I was approached and asked if I’d be interested in taking the training to teach these fitness classes. It was a natural fit after teaching water aerobics classes at the YMCA back in Canada.

SAIL is a fitness program for seniors geared towards fall prevention. Classes begin with a warm up followed by an aerobics component. Dynamic and static balance exercises are next, followed by strength exercises for both the upper and lower body. Next are flexibility exercises for the upper and lower body as we cool down. I am now into my sixth year teaching here in Washington.

Always eager to learn more, this month I am taking a course called A Matter of Balance. This is a program based on Fear of Falling: A Matter of Balance offered by Boston University. I have very legitimate concerns regarding the fear of falling, primarily due to the fact that I’ve had two knee replacements. Some cognitive restructuring is in order and this course has been most beneficial to me.

I’ve met some amazing people in this course. The oldest in our class is ninety-one and I’m the baby at seventy. The others are in their seventies and eighties. We are all interested in remaining active and independent. Regular exercise is definitely a part of our daily routine.

As a child, I remember well when my own grandmother turned seventy. I recall thinking that she was old. Well, I’m that age now but I feel healthier than I did when I was in my fifties. And I attribute a lot of that due to the exercise that has become such an important part of my life. I do not feel old.

I look around me at the participants in the SAIL classes I teach. In their eighties and nineties they are a true inspiration to me. And I look forward to sharing with them what I have learned in A Matter of Balance classes.

Falls are a serious concern. The statistics from ERs regarding fall related incidents are staggering, as are those related to hospital admissions.

Most falls are preventable and falls should not be viewed as a natural part of aging.

So SAIL away with me today and perhaps some day I may have the opportunity to coach you in A Matter of Balance. Yes. I think that coaching in this program will be the next step for me.

Jun1

Wednesday Humpday

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Wednesday Humpday

I’m glad it’s Wednesday. I’m not too anxious to relive yesterday. It was a little on the stressful side. And it’s behind me now.

This morning I’m headed to the YMCA for the first class of A Matter of Balance. I’m really looking forward to it. The older I get, the more important fitness becomes.

Walmart is on the horizon for this afternoon. I’ve successfully avoided it for a while so I guess I’m due.

Tonight is another Zoom class sponsored by the library. Wednesday nights have been a series of interesting programs dealing with health issues.

Hope you have a great Wednesday!