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Blog archive

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Walk With Ease, 2024

By Edward A. Rinderle
Posted: 01/24/2024
Tags:

The Walk With Ease program, 2024 version, is off and running! But it’s not too late to join in!

Walk With Ease is a program designed to help people develop a walking routine, sometimes from scratch. The program is a service offered by the Arthritis Foundation, but it is not limited to those who have arthritis. Participants can start off at any level and increase their walking distance over a span of six weeks.

For more than a year now, Priyanka Kumar, the Membership Services and Volunteer Coordinator at Pasadena Village, has led the effort to make Walk With Ease available to the Pasadena community. Under her guidance, the program has completed four six-week sessions since its inception early last year. The program is completely free to all participants due to the generous funding from Pasadena Community Foundation, Rotary Club of Pasadena, and Rotary Club of San Marino. The walks have been held at several local parks, namely Michillinda, Lacy, Brenner, and Hamilton. A total of 50 walkers have participated.

Participation in the program includes a copy of the Walk With Ease workbook. The workbook stresses a basic five-step pattern: warming up; gently stretching; walking at “normal” speed; cooling down; and gently stretching again. The book also contains forms that the walker can use to track progress.

Following the workbook's guidelines, Priyanka begins each session by talking a bit about a portion of the workbook's content. Then she leads us on a warm-up stroll followed by some simple stretches. The next step is to walk at “normal” speed, as each participant walks at their own pace for a given amount of time, monitored by Priyanka. The session then shifts to a short cool-down walk, ending with another set of simple stretches. The parks provide a pleasant environment not only to exercise but also to chat with other participants.

Occasionally, a session includes a “special event.” For example, one walk featured a podiatrist who gave a presentation on proper footwear. At another, Meg Maryan, a Home Care Consultant from Home Instead, brought a balance scale that enables walkers to assess their risk of falling. Once the current session has ended, Priyanka plans to begin another six-week Walk With Ease program later this year. Keep reading the Voice of the Village for more information.

Walk With Ease leader Priyanka says of her experience: “Walk With Ease has given me a sense of fulfillment that I did not anticipate. As an avid walker, I appreciate that the program connects me with my roots. It also helps me grow by teaching me so much about good body posture, stretching, etc. And it brings me joy when I see someone, who could do just one lap at the session's beginning, become able to do two or more laps by the session's end. What a privilege!”

 “I have learned that the most important thing in walking and in life is to take it easy and go at your own pace,” Priyanka adds. “Neither walking nor life is a competition. I also learned that keeping a positive attitude helps, because each day will be different. I fully believe in the Latin phrase solvitur ambulando (learned from our Board President Sue Kujawa). The expression translates to 'it is solved by walking.' Walking with small steps towards goals has solved most of my problems!”

So come and join the Walk With Ease group to rediscover the benefits of walking. If you can't join in the current session, you can sign up for the next one. Whether you are a Villager or not, you can expect a warm welcome.

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