Atlanta Lenbrook Community Leads Way in Active Aging
Brain Fitness is one of nearly a dozen wellness classes offered at Lenbrook, Atlanta’s only accredited continuing care retirement community. The senior living community will celebrate Active Aging Week Sept. 23-29 with Tai Chi, Pilates and more.
Sep 18, 2012 – We all can say our “ABCs.” But who can say them backwards? Lenbrook residents can quite easily now that they’ve started the new Brain Fitness class offered this month in the Lenbrook senior living community in Buckhead.
The cognitive exercise class is just one of nearly a dozen group classes Lenbrook’s Wellness Program offers to its residents on a regular basis. “Exercising our brain is just as important as exercising our bodies if we want to improve the way we age,” said Kasey Partus, Wellness Director at Lenbrook. “And the way we age is largely determined by the lifestyle we live,” she added.
Partus designed the four-week Brain Fitness series to specifically challenge her Lenbrook residents’ “neuroplasticity,” the ability of the brain and nervous system to change and respond to outside factors. Held every Thursday this month in Lenbrook’s 5,000-square-foot event center, “We’re challenging our brain to do things it normally doesn’t do in the course of a day. That helps to strengthen mental fitness,” Partus said.
“Today it’s not about age, it’s about function,” said Colin Milner, CEO of International Council on Active Aging. “Older adults have longer lifespans and can choose lifestyles that support better health—physical and mental.” Active aging is the philosophy that people can live life to the fullest at every age and can optimize their physical, social and mental well-being throughout their lives. “Active Aging Week is the annual event that reinforces the tremendous opportunities available to today’s aging population,” said Milner. ICAA sponsors the annual event which takes place Sept. 23-29 this year. The association has adopted a seven-dimension model for wellness in active adults: physical, intellectual, social, vocational, spiritual, emotional, and environmental.
The Lenbrook community of 425 residents will host a series of special events during Active Aging Week, each specifically designed to engage at least one of the seven dimensions of wellness: a 50’s style dance (social and physical), wine and cheese tasting (social interaction), a speaker on meditation (spiritual) and Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates in the gardens (spiritual and physical).
About Lenbrook
Lenbrook is Atlanta’s first and only nationally accredited not-for-profit continuing care retirement community. Founded in 1983 and doubling its size in 2008, the Lenbrook senior living community in Buckhead enables its residents to enjoy the gifts of independence, good health and personal fulfillment through engaging programs and services. Its state-of-the-art facilities offer ample amenities and activities, along with the security and convenience of excellent on-site healthcare services – providing the full continuum of care as needed. Call 404-233-3000 for more information.
Media Contact: Kathy Hart, 404-271-1489, [email protected]