Gentle exercise, tea, and community

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE

Being gentle with myself

I am trying to transition from a more or less addicted coffee drinker into a tea drinker. I have always associated tea with gentleness and relaxation, while I associate coffee with hard work, both mental and physical. So that’s part of it. Truth to tell, with insomnia still an ongoing health concern, herbal and decaf teas should be my priority.
Exercise is something I have let fall by the wayside and I know I shouldn’t. I know that physical laziness, sometimes quite proud and unashamed, is my default setting, and it’s not helpful for my overall health. Speaking of default setting, another one I was apparently born with is enjoying my own company, otherwise known as solitude, perhaps too much. Severe hearing loss, balance problems, and other typical ailments of older ladies all reinforce these bad habits.

For reasons to be revealed later, I am concentrating on the things I most need to change or incorporate into my own wellness plan. I hope the information will be helpful for you as well.

Finding a forever exercise

In a way, I found this long ago, but my present (almost total lack of) practice would not confirm it. I started learning yoga as a teenager, embraced it passionately in my mid-40s, and still do the odd pose as a stress relief mechanism. But I did learn enough that I know better. As far as being one of the most ancient forms of body discipline, and yet one of the most universal and accessible to everyone and every type of body, it’s my highest recommendation.
Unfortunately, yoga is something of a victim of its success. When I am goofing off in the worst way, playing “brain games” on my phone, the ads I am fed are very often for “Chair Yoga for all my Senior Ladies.” Besides being somewhat offended by the overall tone of this pitch, I am forced to look, however briefly, at grotesque cartoons of “senior ladies” doing repetitive, jerky, movements while seated. Yes, you totally can do yoga seated, you can adapt almost every pose to almost any handicap, but sweet Jesus in Heaven, this is NOT YOGA.

And it’s sad that these ripoffs even exist. If you actually ARE a Senior Lady, and you happen to be a member of AARP, you have access to almost unlimited online exercise classes including honest and true chair yoga, as well as chair Pilates, Tai Chi, Low-impact Aerobics, and many more. This is “free,” i.e. no additional cost to the very low annual membership.
In addition to AARP, I can personally recommend affordable options such as Continuing Education (for which you probably receive a catalog in the mail), the YWCA, and local yoga studios. Also some meditation centers include yoga and/or “moving meditation” options in their groups and classes.
Here is a link to the AARP activities page: tinyurl.com/DKRatSSP-AARP-move.

Some suggestions for local affordable exercise options:
• YMCA, YWCA
• Twin Cities Tai Chi
• Minneapolis Park and Recreation – continuing education
• Yoga Center Retreat
• Big River Yoga
• Live 2B Healthy (for Seniors)
• Solcana Fitness (queer and disabled friendly gym on Minnehaha Avenue)
• Time Out Pilates and Fitness Studio
• Minneapolis Community Education

Tea drinking as indulgence and therapy

Explore tea! It’s an even more varied and interesting world than coffee or alcohol, in my opinion. Even if you just stick to mainstream “tea” – or Camellia sinensis to be exact – there are green, red, black, and white varieties, as well as fermented “dark tea.” There are major taste differences based on terroir (like wine!) so that Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and African grown teas taste very different. (And there is even a tea plantation in Cornwall, UK now! Global warming?)
And then there is the whole alternative universe of herbal teas. A good way to start, if all this is new to you, is with a visit to a real tea shop. Tea, both black/green and herbal, are also sold in co-ops, health food stores, and herbal shops like Present Moment. Even grocery stores will usually offer a basic selection of all or most of the things I have mentioned here.

Some personal favorites to check out: in the black tea world, I had a love affair with Darjeeling tea almost 50 years ago, though it’s not one of the default easy-to-find varieties. I also like Irish Breakfast, and a brand from the UK called Yorkshire Gold. For more exotic varieties, try the “dark tea” Pu’er, in either tea bags or “bricks.” A hybrid tea of green tea, lemon, and ginger is really good. For herbal teas, I am partial to hibiscus. Another one I like is rooibos (redbush.)
If you’re a coffee drinker, and feeling a lot of stress or tension in your daily life, try switching to tea for a month and see if it makes a difference. If you are cultivating a personal meditation practice, reward yourself with a nice cup of tea after each session.

Community can save your life

A real health threat in winter is too much solitude. I kind of dig solitude but even for people like me there are limits. Particularly if you live alone, it pays huge benefits for your health if you can find a healthy, affirming community, and make regular and sustaiAned contact with it. And by the way, although it’s not as powerful health-wise, meeting online counts if you need it to.
If you’re looking to expand your community circles, here are some random ideas from me and some of my friends.
• Join a political advocacy organization for some cause that is important to you
• Have a community around food, meeting regularly to cook, eat, drink and be merry
• Sometimes the above two can overlap! For instance several local vegan and/or animal rights organizations have branched into Meetup.com group dining events

• Become part of an art community, or ramp up one you’re already connected to, whether that is as a creator, a consumer, or both. Community theater, film appreciation clubs, open pottery studios, a chorus, or a band offer possibilities, and if you can’t be a maker or performer, be a superfan and supporter of the art
• Join a religious or spiritual community. The social aspects come free of charge and often other aspects mentioned above (art, food, etc.) are part of the scene
• Take up a new sport or physical activity. Biking and pickleball are both big in these cities, but there are others to explore – skateboarding, dance, training regularly in a small, specialist gym, soccer, rugby, bocce, disc golf, or regular golf are all out there
A last wise thought on wellness, winter and otherwise:
This will be my last Winter Wellness piece. If you enjoy my writing and want to read more of it, I have a substack you can subscribe to (free for now, but even if I turn on paid subscriptions, free ones will remain an option.) Find me at substack.com/@debs52. I did not discuss diet in this article but if you crave some guidance in that direction, I can’t offer anything better than this quote from Michael Pollan that has been my guiding light since 2006:

EAT FOOD. NOT TOO MUCH. MOSTLY PLANTS.

Fare thee well.