Old has nothing to do with age, but it has everything to do with health. Unhealthy people can be old at 60; healthy people are still young at 85.
And that’s why COAST focuses so much on health and wellness, and that’s why COAST clients are enjoying the Live Your Adventure program underway at several activity centers.
“We started our first Active Aging Week in August at the Slidell center,” said Alexa Poole, the health coach conducting the program. “Then we went to Covington, Pearl River and Mandeville. We will hit the other centers after the holidays.”
Active Aging Week is five-days full of interesting presentations and fun activities geared to six different areas of health and wellness. Participants learn about physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental and spiritual health. Aging Week introduces clients to a three-month-long health coaching program.
“People who choose to participate in the whole program receive a Self-Care Journal to track their achievements. They also meet with me once a month for coaching,” Poole said.
Poole said coaching sessions are designed for one-on-one guidance, but most of the participants have opted for group sessions. “They are learning from each other,” she said.
One of the most popular Active Aging activities is rock painting, which involves painting a rock and sharing a few sentences about the rock, which the other members in the group need to remember and repeat and then, add a sentence to it. Sounds complicated, but Poole said the clients really enjoy the activity.
Other Active Aging activities include BINGOcize, guided meditation, no-cook healthy recipes, making bath salts, line dancing and many more.
The next Active Aging Weeks are scheduled as follows:
Lacombe Activity Center, 27397 U.S. 190: Jan. 23-27.
Bush Activity Center, 81605 La. 41: Feb. 13-17.
Folsom, Magnolia Park, 13296 La. 40: March 13-17.
In the areas that have already had an Active Aging Week, seniors can still sign up for the health coaching. For more information, call Kristy Livaudais at (985) 0892-0377.
To contact Golden Age columnist Julie Agan, email julie@coastseniors.org or call (985) 892-0377.
