The Wonder of Wellness
I admit it. I love to exercise but that hasn’t always been the case. In high school a friend of mine was a dancer and she invited me to join her rehearsals. I loved the freedom I felt and moving with the music was magical – I was hooked! ” Wellness” hadn’t fully entered the mainstream yet.
But the day I really came to appreciate the wonder of wellness came unexpectedly in September of 2007. I’d just finished teaching a 6 a.m. Body Pump class at the Decatur YMCA. I guess you could say I was at my peak in terms of being fit, healthy and strong. It all changed as I drove out of the YMCA parking lot at 7:30 a.m. and was broadsided by another car.
Before the car accident, my idea of wellness was working out every day at least an hour at a time. After the accident, my view of wellness changed. I learned that wellness- and in this case Physical Wellness is different for each person at different points in their lives. With injuries from the accident, my fitness goals quickly became: to be able to turn my head, stand up straight, get dressed on my own and be free of pain.
Slowly, but surely, I saw improvement by doing the simple exercises my doctor prescribed. As I improved, I began to feel the true wonder of wellness: that feeling of accomplishment, feeling your strength begin to return and the feeling of hope and happiness that comes with being about to move around with greater ease and with more stamina. Luckily, I made a full recovery from the accident and have continued to teach fitness classes along with my Full Time job in senior living services.
I have recently become certified in a few new modes of exercise. One in Parkinson’s and one called “barre” — it uses ballet training as the basis and combines the best of yoga, Pilates and ballet moves to strengthen and tone the body. Doing new movements is so much fun. Just ask my aerobics class here at Lenbrook. The first day I incorporated some barre movements into our class, several ladies called me later in the day to tell me how much fun they had and how it challenged them to work in a new way.
That’s how we view wellness at Lenbrook. We take a holistic approach, striving for enrichment in all areas and offering opportunities for growth, new challenges and deeper connections socially, spiritually, intellectually, occupationally and emotionally…both inside our Lenbrook community and in the greater Atlanta community around us.
And I see lots of joy and wonder in the eyes of our residents here at Lenbrook.
Lisa Kiely is the Director of Enrichment at Lenbrook, where she and her team continually refresh the programs and events provided on campus and out in the community. She is a graduate of Texas Womans University and is a Certified Activities Director, Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Step, Cycle, Parkinson’s and Barre Instructor.