STAR Shoots At Mind, Body, & Spirit By Jerry A. Chenault, Urban Regional Extension Agent, Lawrence County

Mind, body, and spirit---sounds good, doesn't it? But maintaining a healthy balance between all three seems unlikely in today's hectic world. Usually at least one, if not two or three, suffer because of our choices and life situations. But what can we do?

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Saving Towns Through Asset Revitalization program (STAR) has a plan. STAR explores the affects of green spaces on human intergenerational interaction and recommends incorporating a garden into our lives, then spending some time there in quiet reflection. Research has proven that green spaces like gardens can make some major improvements in the mind and spirit categories, but what about benefits to the body? Sitting in a garden by a tranquil water feature doesn't do much for the biceps and cardiovascular system.

Ancient Chinese wisdom tells us that the development of the mind can only be achieved when the body has been properly disciplined. Undoubtedly, we don't believe that here in the United States, but we know that health is important. Exercise is a big part of good health. Still, most of our population gets minimal exercise. We are a sedentary population and senior citizens are more likely to be less active than the rest of us.

The likelihood of any Extension program curing all of life's problems is highly unlikely; however, there is a new program making strong strides toward resolving the senior citizen health and exercise problem. It's a model that can be easily replicated involving public education, marketing and public relations, and senior action.

The action component of this program involves an ongoing morning exercise targeted specifically toward seniors. The classes are held at The Rock Martial Arts Center in Trinity, Alabama and are continual one-hour classes that meet three times per week.

The participants do stretching, punching, kicking, calisthenics, and Tai chi-like movements. Fees are minimal and participation ranges from 15-20 per class. The class began in October of 2006.

What are the known benefits of this program? Perhaps some benefits are blatantly obvious, yet 75 percent of persons in the United States (ages 50-64) are not getting any exercise whatsoever. There is still more education that needs to be done.

Research from the World Health Organization indicated that older people spend more of their income on health than any other need or activity. That hurts in several ways. Also, a recent study by the HealthPartners Research Foundation (a non-profit group of healthcare providers) has shown that sedentary adults can save (on average) $2,200.00 per year in healthcare costs by simply starting to exercise moderately. And the American Association of Health Plans reports that this lifestyle change can also help with common health conditions that plague our senior adults, such as falls, depression, dementia, and urinary incontinence. But there is hope! We can change this dim outlook and help to reduce the $76.6 billion dollar budget that taxpayers shell out for health care due to living sedentary lifestyles.

Help Urban Affairs to spread the word and to pass on the benefits of senior exercise programs. It helps all of us.

References

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.

Martinson, B. C., Crain, A. L., Pronk, N.P., O'Connor, P. J., and Maciosek, M. V. (October 2003). Changes in physical activity and short-term changes in health care charges: a prospective cohort study of older adults. Preventive Medicine, 37(4), 319-326.

Pratt, M., Macera, C., & Wang, G. (October 2000). Higher direct costs associated with physical inactivity. The Physician and Sportsmedicine Journal, 28(10).

SeniorJournal.com. (November 5, 2003). Senior citizens can increase financial well-being by increasing health well-being. Exercise to Stay Well. Retrieved March 30, 2007.

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