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Mary Jones wants to help fellow seniors stay healthy by teaching them the art of tai chi.

Jones, 75, believes that tai-chi can make a difference in fall prevention among seniors, and is teaching classes to help enhance breathing and balance.

I started doing tai chi when I moved out here, and I just fell in love with it, she said. Missouri has the highest death rate among seniors from falls in the U.S. The doctors are recommending it now. If you look in the government programs, the CDC and the aging program recommend this tai chi class as an exercise program for senior citizens. Theyre trying to keep us out of the emergency room.

The technique might have saved her life.

In 2013, Jones was having trouble breathing and was airlifted to a hospital. The doctors believed she had a cholesterol blockage and a stent was put in her heart.

But it turned out Jones was misdiagnosed by her cardiologist, and her new cardiologist told her that her aortic valve was collapsing and not allowing oxygen into the body.

I got a letter in the mail, and it said the doctor is no longer at the hospital, she said. These are the cardiologists, you have to call one and make an appointment at your earliest convenience. I called and they said they want you here in the morning at 8 a.m. I knew that wasnt good.

Jones was diagnosed on April 1, 2014, and nine days later she was in the hospital for open heart surgery. Waiting any longer to have the surgery could have been critical.

The doctor told my daughters that when they took out that valve, it fell apart in their hand, Jones said. It was that bad. I probably wouldnt have made it another two months.

Having an active lifestyle could have been what saved Jones.

I believe in exercise, she said. I think you just feel better. I think it made a difference in me being alive. If it hadnt been for the yoga and tai chi and the deep breathing I had done for years, who knows what would have happened.

Within two months, Jones was back teaching tai chi again.

Thats how easy it is, she said. Its gentle. Its slow. It makes you feel good.

Background

Jones was born in Doe Run, Mo. She got married when she was 17 and moved to Tulsa, Okla, where she had three children and lived for 54 years.

Jones worked for an oil company in Oklahoma as an accountant and she owned property.

Ive always been active, she said. The house is a mess, but the yard was always really nice. Im not much for staying inside.

In 2011, Jones moved to Washington to live with her older sister.

The kids were grown and the grandkids were grown and the great-grandkids were coming along, she said. I came up to visit my sister, she was a widow and I had been divorced for years and years and years. We decided that I would come up and live with her.

Jones started doing tai chi at the Senior Center in 2011 and instantly took to it.

Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that has been described as meditation in motion. Its a low impact exercise that is feasible for all fitness levels.

It is exercise you can do standing up or sitting down, Jones said. You move really slow. It improves your balance, it improves your coordination and its extremely good for fall prevention. It teaches you to pay attention to where youre walking and how youre walking and it re-trains your brain to pay attention to where youre at.

Jones said that it takes most people many classes before they feel the benefits of tai chi.

You cant try it one day a week for six weeks and have it work, she said. You have to do it for 2-3 times a week for six weeks, then tell me how you feel. It takes a while before you realize its doing any good. And then all of a sudden you wake up one morning and you think I feel better. You have more energy and you wake up and youre ready to get out of bed instead of laying there. Its amazing the way it works.

Jones teaches classes at Peace Lutheran Church Tuesdays and Fridays and at the Washington Senior Center on Mondays. She had never been a teacher of anything before, but in her 70s Jones found her niche.

Im better at it than I thought I would be, she said. Ive never done it before, but I said I had to get old to do it. Ill do anything I can to help people, because if I can keep one person out of a chair easier, Ive done what Ive set out to do.

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'It Made a Difference in Me Being Alive' - The Missourian

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Brisk Walking May Benefit Some Early-Stage Alzheimer's Patients: Study

Some people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease may benefit from frequent, brisk walks, new research suggests.

Along with improving physical abilities, the walks might also slow the loss of memory and thinking abilities, according the University of Kansas study in the February issue of the journal PLoS One, The New York Times reported.

The study included 70 patients. Some were assigned to a supervised walking program that eventually had them briskly walking for at least 150 minutes a week. Others were assigned to a control group that did stretching and toning classes.

After six months, many participants in both groups showed improvements in physical functioning. Those in the control group showed a slight decline in thinking and memory, and many of the walkers showed declines or no improvement, The Times reported.

But some of the walkers did show notable improvements in thinking and memory, along with slight increases in the size of their brain's hippocampus, an area affected early in the course of Alzheimer's disease.

The fact that thinking and memory improvements in the walking group were modest and not universal raises questions about how and why exercise may benefit some people with Alzheimer's but not others, The Times reported.

"It seems likely that the right exercise programs could be disease modifying. We just don't know yet what the ideal exercise programs are," study leader Jill Morris, a senior scientist at the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Center, said.

Gene-Modified Potatoes Approved in U.S.

Three varieties of genetically modified potatoes have been approved by U.S. officials.

The Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet and Atlantic potatoes -- designed to resist late blight, the pathogen that caused the 19th century Irish potato famine -- are safe for the environment and safe to eat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration, the Associated Press reported.

The potatoes were previously approved by the Department of Agriculture, and Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co. can now plant the potatoes this spring and sell them in the fall.

The new potatoes contain genes from an Argentine variety of potato that is naturally resistant to late blight. The three varieties contain no DNA from an unrelated organism, according to the company.

There is no evidence that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are unsafe to eat, but some groups oppose changing the genetic code of foods, the AP reported.

The new potatoes do not quality as non-GMO, according to the Non-GMO Project, a Washington state-based organization that is against GMOs and verifies non-GMO food and products.

"There is a growing attempt on the part of biotechnology companies to distance themselves from the consumer rejection of GMOs by claiming that new types of genetic engineering ... are not actually genetic engineering," the group said in a statement, the AP reported.

VA Mistreatment of Patients Causes Uproar

Officials at a Veterans Administration hospital said they've taken action after pictures of patients being ignored were posted on social media and triggered outrage.

Former Marine Stephen McMenamin and his wife Hanna posted photos of two veterans in distress in the waiting room of the Durham VA Medical Center in North Carolina, the Associated Press reported.

The couple said both older men were ignored for hours even though they said they had severe pain. One practically fell out of his wheelchair, and the other man stretched out on the floor after being denied a place to rest.

The McMenamins said they were so shocked by the situation that they felt they had to take pictures and post them on social media, the AP reported.

Thousands of people expressed anger over the plight of the two veterans. An employee involved in the situation has been removed from patient care pending an internal review, according to DeAnne Seekins, head of the medical center.

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Health Highlights: March 1, 2017 - Arizona Daily Star

DECATUR -- Decatur Memorial Hospital registered nurse Julie Sims discovered DMH's nutrition and exercise programs 10 years ago.

Sims needed a lose a few pounds and figured she'd give them a try. A decade later, Sims is 90 pounds lighter.

Sims stopped by an event DMH held on Monday called, "Importance of Exercising," at which her dietitian, Jordan Sheraden, was a part of trying to get people to sign up for orientations for the programs.

"He's helped me sustain it," Sims said of Sheraden. "The key has been good motivation and support."

Sims also uses the DMH Specific Performance Enhancement Center (SPEC) Gym, which includes a turf track, specialty equipment and a therapeutic pool.

In addition to the gym, SPEC also offers CrossFit Enhance, Sports Enhancement, a diabetes education program, running and jumping programs, screenings and activities like zumba, water aerobics and personal training.

SPEC Exercise Specialist Chris Fuiten said potential gym members start with an exercise assessment, which includes body measurements, exercise experience and establishing goals. Individuals choose two options out of: strength, endurance, mobility, improve health and lose weight.

"We try to adjust it by putting in exercises for what the individual is looking for, be it flexibility or strength," Fuiten said.

The weight-loss program is medically managed program using shakes -- including a cinnabun option -- as replacement meals until weight is lost. The program also includes an exercise component -- use of the gym and a personal trainers is free while on the program.

"They see a doc every so many weeks and meet with a dietitian once a week," Sheraden said. "The protein shakes make it easier to manage trying to plan three to five meals a day.

"While you're on the plan, you learn to plan for one meal and a couple of snacks. Then, as you get more comfortable, you taper down to where you're doing fewer shakes and more meals."

Sheraden said the program is personalized and good for diabetics, and people with high cholesterol or who want to lose weight.

Both Fuiten and Sheraden said it's difficult to convince people to begin exercising, and even harder to get them to stick with them.

"It's not just, 'Oh, I'm going to do the Atkins Diet,' it's making it a lifestyle change -- that's what we try to promote," Fuiten said. "It's not a quick fix, but we believe that's the most successful approach."

Sims changed her lifestyle with the program. Said she felt motivated in the SPEC and weight-loss programs, which Fuiten said the programs have to do to succeed.

"People have to find what works for them -- not everything works for everyone," Fuiten said. "Finding what works and keeping it up four, five months down the road is always the biggest hurdle. It can be a grind and it starts to wear on people.

"That's why we try for our individuals to have focus. It keeps them more interested if they're working toward their goals."

Fuiten said the most common question he hears from potential members is: "Am I going to be sore?"

"At first, yes, you will be sore," Fuiten said, laughing. "If you haven't been training and you've been sitting at a desk job, there's going to be an adjustment period for your body. But it will go away."

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Fitness, weight loss options available at DMH - Herald & Review

The numbers are staggering. Each year 25,000 Canadians are diagnosed with dementia, and by 2030 the number of Canadians living with the disease will be just shy of one million. Finding a cure, or even effective treatment options, is a daunting task, complicated by the fact that researchers dont know what causes dementia in the first place.

With this in mind, a group of Cumming School of Medicine researchers are looking to exercise the only intervention that has been shown to have a disease-modifying effect for answers.

Its clear that exercise is beneficial to maintaining brain health, but the dose of exercise necessary is unclear and I would even say unknown, says study lead Marc Poulin, PhD, a member of the OBrien Institute for Public Health. What were working hard on identifying is how to push that knowledge base further.

The Brain in Motion II study, a followup to Brain in Motion I which was completed in April 2016, will examine the relationship between exercise, cerebral blood flow, and cognition in older adults who are at increased risk of Alzheimer s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

Our hope is that this trial will provide evidence needed to make clinical recommendations for exercise programs in adults at risk for ADRD, with the goal of preventing dementia, Poulin says.

Understanding mechanisms for protective effect of physical activity

Brain in Motion I demonstrated a significant relationship between fitness, vascular regulation and cognition in older adults free of overt disease. But figuring out the why, and the how, will be key in develop strategies to prevent and treat ADRD.

We have well-established guidelines for exercise and cardiovascular health generally, but its unclear if the brain needs as much exercise. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which exercise prevents or slows age-related decline in cognition will be instrumental in informing interventions, says Poulin.

What makes the Brain in Motion II study unique is that the participants will all meet the criteria for having an increased risk of developing ADRD something Poulin says hasnt been studied before in terms of an exercise-modifying effect.

The researchers are looking to recruit 264 older adults who have vascular risk factors, or an immediate relative whos been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimers disease, and seeing the extent to which they can enhance cognitive performance in those individuals through a six-month exercise program.

Several new community partners will also be involved in the study. The exercise intervention is being designed with input from Alberta Health Services, so it can be readily adopted into clinical practice if the trial is successful. Mount Royal Universityand the Westside Recreational Centre will also be providing their exercise facilities for study participant use.

New state-of-the-art research facility advances research on benefits of exercise

The exercise testing for the study will be undertaken in a new, state-of-the-art lab at the Cumming School. The Clinical and Translational Exercise Physiology (CTEP) Laboratory is dedicated to health promotion and wellness by advancing knowledge on the role of exercise in the prevention and management of chronic disease. University researchers interested in measuring or improving physical fitness in any clinical population can use the facility.

Overwhelming scientific evidence from the past three decades tells us that aerobic exercise is beneficial for preventing and managing many chronic conditions, says Lab Co-ordinator Gabrielle Heine, who is also the clinical exercise physiologist for Brain in Motion II. The CTEP Lab provides diverse opportunities to explore the relationship between physical fitness and any clinical condition, and were excited to have researchers come and take advantage of the facility and the services we offer.

If you are interested in participating in the Brain in Motion II study, please contactSamantha Hall, study co-ordinator, at403-210-7315 or by email atbimstudy@ucalgary.ca.

Find out more about the CTEP Lab here.

Marc Poulin is also a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, and professor in the Cumming School of Medicine and theFaculty of Kinesiology.

More:
Study aims to advance knowledge of relationship between exercise and brain health - UCalgary News

Clinical Advisor

Exercise may improve cognitive function after stroke Clinical Advisor (HealthDay News) A structured exercise program can help stroke survivors recover not only physically but cognitively as well, according to research presented at the annual American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference, held from ...

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Exercise may improve cognitive function after stroke - Clinical Advisor

New York Times

To Court Millennials, Hotels Are Rolling Out the Yoga Mat New York Times A 2016 survey by the travel and hospitality firm MMGY Global found that nearly half of millennials said a premium fitness center with options for on- or off-site exercise classes was influential when they chose a hotel, as opposed to more than a third ...

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To Court Millennials, Hotels Are Rolling Out the Yoga Mat - New York Times

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People that go to the gym expect to see the results of their workouts right away, but what happens when the results aren't exactly what they expect? Have they done something wrong, or maybe they're just not trying hard enough?

Lakeshore Fitness Center at Muskegon Community College says that the key to seeing results at the gym is to set a routine in place, and that's where a personal trainers like Jeff Lee come into play.

Jeff Lee works with individuals and tried to create a program specifically for them; the program has routines and exercises that will help members work on their fitness goals and where they want to make progress.

Lakeshore Fitness Center has multiple trainers each with their own area of expertise, so gym members can be paired up with a trainer based on their fitness goals.

Not 100 percent convinced about getting a trainer but don't want to ramp up the workout routine? There are plenty of other ways to see results by joining one of Lakeshore Fitness Center many group exercise classes!

Lakeshore Fitness Center has 85 group exercise classes per week starting at 6 a.m. and go all the way until after 7 p.m. With classes ranging from gentle yoga to high intensity training, there's a class for everyone to enjoy.

The exercise classes aren't just for adults, Lakeshore Fitness Center also has fitness classes where the kids can participate like swimming and Zumba.

Trainers and employees at Lakeshore Fitness Center know how important accountability can be when exercising. They find that when people commit to any type of group exercise, they come in more often and more consistently. Also, they same people tend to take the same classes, so everyone in the class gets to know each other and make sure they show up to class.

Lakeshore Fitness Center is located at 900 West Western Avenue in Downtown Muskegon. For more details on their programs and hours, call (231) 722-9322.

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Personal trainers design workout plans to reach your fitness goals at Lakeshore Fitness Center - Fox17

Clinical Advisor

Exercise may improve cognitive function ater stroke Clinical Advisor (HealthDay News) A structured exercise program can help stroke survivors recover not only physically but cognitively as well, according to research presented at the annual American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference, held from ...

Go here to read the rest:
Exercise may improve cognitive function ater stroke - Clinical Advisor

Patch.com

Palm Desert Aquatic Center Offering New Programs Patch.com While the water exercise classes have grown in popularity, there is now spin class cycling on the pool deck as well as Sunrise Yoga, offering a unique outdoor experience in a beautiful setting. Swim lesson sign-ups are also now open, as well as sign ...

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Palm Desert Aquatic Center Offering New Programs - Patch.com

Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Centers community wellness program, Wellness U, now offers tai chi classes for all ages and levels and will kick off another 16-week National Diabetes Prevention Program on Feb. 28.

Tai chi classes are scheduled throughout the week in Salida and at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort. A beginner class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon, while an intermediate class meets from 10-11 a.m.

Both classes are held at Yoga Olas, 1548 G Street, Salida. Cost is $80 for 12 weeks.

All levels are welcome to attend tai chi at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort. Sessions are held on Fridays from 10:30-11:30 a.m. and include a 30-minute soak following class. Cost is $108 for 12 weeks.

The 16-week National Diabetes Prevention Program will be offered every Tuesday, Feb. 28-June 13, from 5:15-6:15 p.m. This healthy eating and exercise program is taught by certified instructors and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The goal of the program is to help people lose five percent of their body weight and increase daily exercise. Classes will be held in HRRMCs second-floor conference rooms, 1000 Rush Dr., Salida. Cost is $50, which is fully refundable after attending 60 percent of the classes.

If you have questions about any Wellness U classes or programs or would like to register for any of the programs above, contact HRRMC Wellness Supervisor Jon Fritz at 530-2057. Info is also available at hrrmc.com.

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Wellness U offers tai chi, diabetes education - Chaffee County Times

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