Claire Werner, age 99
Dennis McColly, age 77
Kim Kubsch
Are you stable while standing on one leg for 20 seconds? Are you equally confident to stand on the opposite leg for 20 seconds? If not, be proactive in doing exercises to strengthen your lower body.
A daily balance program for better mobility and stability in and around the house is essential to mature adults maintaining a strong balance. Kim Kubsch, Certified Tai Chi Instructor, Balance Coach, Fall Prevention Advocate and Certified Aging in Place Specialist in Sun Lakes, recently created a video titled Make Your Balance Great Again.
Showcasing Sun Lakes, Chandler and Mesa residents from 60 to 99 years, it features practical exercise applications throughout the house, while mimicking activities of daily living in the world of mature adults. The 12 participants doing the various movements have had hip, shoulder and knee surgeries, arthritis, carpel tunnel, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, sciatica and hearing challenges and one was recently fitted with a prosthesis at age 91. The daily exercises feature balance and posture exercises, whether sitting, standing, on a bike, golf cart or using a walker or a wheelchair. Fitness is a lifelong journey which does not end with the roadblocks of injury, illness or the acquisition of years.
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However, if you would prefer to try Tai Chi instead, this daily balance program video details why daily activities are essential to maintaining good balance, stability, mobility and agility. Kim states “my passion is to show active older adults that they can still maintain and improve their balance, decrease their risk for falls, increase their range of motion and strength through physical exercise and wellness while still maintaining their independence.”
Having taught easy and gentle Tai Chi for the past seven years, Kim finds the most common reason her participants attend her classes is to improve balance. Whether you prefer to do that in a class, at the gym or using her daily balance practice video, she encourages you to get involved and just do it! She references the Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.”
For more information about classes focusing on safe movements, balance, fall prevention and Tai Chi-Qigong by Kim Kubsch, visit www.SafeMovements.com. Tai Chi-Qigong class (mixed levels) is held at Sun Lakes Country Club Mirror Room on Thursdays from 10:45-11:45 a.m. Drop in anytime; all ages and abilities are welcome. The fee is $5.00 per class; wear comfortable clothing and rubber-soled shoes with a back. No class on September 14.
Kim’s balance and Tai Chi-Qigong DVD’s, Hello Tai Chi, Goodbye Stress, Forever Young Tai Chi and Make Your Balance Great Again, can be purchased on her website or at any class. She can be contacted at [email protected] or call 480-392-3436.