Turning on the tunes while you exercise could help you avoid falls, a recent study suggests. A small study from the University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva, detailed in a HealthDay News article, shows that moving to music might actually help older adults with balance and lower their risk of falling down.
The study looked at 134 adults with an average age of 75.5 years. Researchers divided the adults into two groups. One group followed an exercise program focused on multi-tasking with music. The control group did normal exercises.
At the end of a year, people in the music-based program fell fewer times than those who did normal exercises. Researchers found that moving to music did more to improve participants’ gait and balance.
“Our findings suggest that this program may be useful for fall prevention and rehabilitation in community-based settings such as senior centers,” wrote Dr. Andrea Trombetti and her colleagues in a report on the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Wednesday October 20, 2010 at Noon
We will continue our weekly Urge to Emerge Earth/Sky Greenercize sessions this Wednesday at the Yerba Buena Gardens. We meet inf ront of the Urge sculpture for warm-ups then proceed to the other side for the walking meditation forms. The Urge is next to the Carousel on the corner of fourth and Howard.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Wednesday October 15 at noon
Our next Urge to Emerge session will be this Wednesday, October 15 at noon. We will meet in front of the Urge sculpture which is next to the Carousel which is on the corner of Fourth and Howard. After doing warm ups there we will move to another location. Please join us for a moving green meditation.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
THE ART OF WALKING - Bob Marsh
THE ART OF WALKING
“You tell your body to do something, and then you listen” - Anna Halprin
Creativity is born in a dialogue. A combination of speaking and listening. Walking can become an art form when you engage in a dialogue with your body.
When we walk we usually don’t think much about it, how we are doing it or how it could be different. As you are walking along, in this relatively unaware state, perhaps thinking of many different things inside or looking around the outside world at shop windows or trees or what is up ahead, you could tell your body to do something, or maybe ask it a question.
“What would it be like if I came down on my heel in a more pronounced way and sort of rolled through the step?” “Now I’m going to raise my knee a little (or a lot) and come down on the toe and see how that feels.”
Then, as you “listen” to your response to that change of pace you have joined your body and mind. You may find that you like the step pattern just as it is or maybe you feel that you want to adjust it by amplifying or diminishing a certain aspect.
When you reach a level of satisfaction with the footwork, you may ask yourself what your arms want to do. You may want to emphasize an aspect of their natural automatic motion or you may want to add in motions that come from other sources, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Feldenkreis, dance forms, etc. Again, a further period of adjustments could occur. Then enjoy your Art of Walking creation. After a while you may want to morph your walk into something else, perhaps taking it to wild aerobic levels or maybe by making the moves so subtle that no one will notice you are practicing an art form or making weird moves in public.
Enjoy this mind-body connection frequently. Make up a new Art/Walk/Dance each day. Share your favorite creations with others.
“You tell your body to do something, and then you listen” - Anna Halprin
Creativity is born in a dialogue. A combination of speaking and listening. Walking can become an art form when you engage in a dialogue with your body.
When we walk we usually don’t think much about it, how we are doing it or how it could be different. As you are walking along, in this relatively unaware state, perhaps thinking of many different things inside or looking around the outside world at shop windows or trees or what is up ahead, you could tell your body to do something, or maybe ask it a question.
“What would it be like if I came down on my heel in a more pronounced way and sort of rolled through the step?” “Now I’m going to raise my knee a little (or a lot) and come down on the toe and see how that feels.”
Then, as you “listen” to your response to that change of pace you have joined your body and mind. You may find that you like the step pattern just as it is or maybe you feel that you want to adjust it by amplifying or diminishing a certain aspect.
When you reach a level of satisfaction with the footwork, you may ask yourself what your arms want to do. You may want to emphasize an aspect of their natural automatic motion or you may want to add in motions that come from other sources, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Feldenkreis, dance forms, etc. Again, a further period of adjustments could occur. Then enjoy your Art of Walking creation. After a while you may want to morph your walk into something else, perhaps taking it to wild aerobic levels or maybe by making the moves so subtle that no one will notice you are practicing an art form or making weird moves in public.
Enjoy this mind-body connection frequently. Make up a new Art/Walk/Dance each day. Share your favorite creations with others.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Wednesday October 6, 2010
The Urge to Emerge continues to develop movement sequences and timing as well as exploring the different areas of the Yerba Buena Gardens. Please join us this Wednesday at noon for this adventure in green moving meditation. Our goal is to reach a state of energized relaxation and to provide participants with an easily accessible walking vocabulary that can quickly accessed when ever moving from one spot to another.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Next Session
We will meet next Wednesday September 29 at Noon in front of the Urge sculpture. This is close to the Carousel which is on the corner of Fourth and Howard. We will begin there with a warm up and then move to the courtyard in front of the Zeum for movement. We are making progress in refining our movements and timing and would appreciate your feedback. Pictures and video coming soon. We also invite anyone who is interested and able to shoot pix and vids.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Walking Meditation
Walking Meditation is a wonderful way of transforming something that we do every day into a deeply healing, deeply nourishing and enjoyable tool for our well-being. It is a practice found in many cultural traditions. When we mindfully engage in walking meditation, each step of our journey becomes the destination. Worries and tensions decrease, and the body is energized. - Bett Martinez
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Emerging
The URGE TO EMERGE is a series of movement sessions based on ancient and contemporary practices that are open and accessible to everyone. The sessions will combine traditional movements drawn from Qi Gong and Tai Chi and modern masters such as Moshe Feldenkrais with some aspects drawn from contemporary performance art. They will occur every Wednesday at noon time in the Yerba Buena Gardens area for a trial perdiod of six sessions beginning September 15. Participants are encouraged to wear an outfit of one solid color of their choice to create a rainbow of movement. Various area teachers will lead the sessions and there will be a simple drum accompaniment.
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