From ICAA  Research Review Newsletter Vol. 12, No. 3

FINDINGS: Cybercycle riders had significantly better executive functions, such as planning, working memory, attention and problem solving compared to those who rode a traditional stationary bike. Cybercyclists experienced a 23% reduction in progression to mild cognitive impairment compared to traditional exercisers.

COMMENT: “We found that for older adults, virtual-reality enhanced interactive exercise, or ‘cybercycling’ two to three times a week for three months, yielded greater cognitive benefit and perhaps added protection against mild cognitive impairment than a similar dose of traditional exercise,” said Cay Anderson-Hanley, assistant professor of psychology at Union College.

SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 42(2):109-119 (February 2012)

I just read the above findings today and recalled my musings from December:

While I was walking International Drive in Orlando during the December conference of the International Council on Active Aging, I noticed many opportunities for simulated experience. From the hotel waterfalls, to the mini golf landscapes, I could be transported in my imagination. The restaurants offered more than cuisine. Whether to Greece, the Bahamas, China, or a Texas ranch, the architecture and music suggested a cultural mini experience. At dinner one night we not only savored tasty Greek food, we danced a grapevine among the tables (and even on top of them) to the music from Zorba the Greek.

Later I took a short helicopter ride, which was real. We were actually up in the air looking down on the amusement parks and hotels. The staff at the heliport took photos of me climbing into the helicopter so I could show friends I “really” did it  (they then sold me the CD of photos for more than the price of the ride). So much emphasis on the appearance, rather than on any real adventure! I noticed I was thinking critical thoughts of this virtual culture, until I let my thoughts flow a little longer.

I recall that there has been plenty of research to show that the brain perceives imaginary experience much like the real thing. Athletes mentally practice their event and then perform better on the actual court or field. Musicians practice in their minds, including the famous doctor Albert Schweitzer, who practiced on a wooden crate in the Congo, then went to Europe to give organ recitals to raise money for his jungle hospital.

And then I thought of the imagery used in Nia class to suggest a way to move and evoke the sensations and emotions of the real experience. In the Rosas’ Nia Technique ®, in Denise Medved’s Ageless Grace®, even my own Chairmasters® program, all employ moves drawn from real life experiences to provide exercise variety and natural, organic ways to move the body. When I teach Nia class, I feel the satisfaction of the kick, even if I do not really close the door with my foot.

Now I’m ready to re-examine my bias against simulated experience. My daughter was urging me to visit Disney World while I was in Orlando for the conference. My first thought was how happy I’d been to see a real tree after being in a convention hall all day. But maybe the artificial baobab tree at the park does have something to offer. Over and over, at the ICAA conference I heard the importance of maintaining and building neural pathways in the brain throughout our lifespan. Do the many simulated experiences offered in some care centers have true value in keeping previously-built pathways connected? I did feel pleasure and rejuvenation  in the hotel-entrance waterfall, recalling tropical waterfalls in the high interior of Tobago, and many visits to the woodsy waterfalls of my beloved Oregon Cascades.

Moving into the season of menu planning for Thanksgiving and later holidays, I hear friends saying they dread the havoc that feast foods play on their otherwise healthy eating habits. Newspapers and magazines are full of recipes intended to mitigate the damage in some way – take out the meat and put in fake food ingredients, take out the sugar and add more fat, take out the fat and add more sugar. They’re all stop-gap damage control. Wait a minute. Are we having fun yet? Celebration is good. My body doesn’t do well eating like it’s a big party every day of the year. My body does like to be happy and playful, enjoy the company of others, savor my food, and feel thankful. Feeling gratitude is not only a mental state. I actually feel taller, lighter, and I start smiling – from the inside out – from how it feels.

This morning I was in a bit of a funk, noticing how many items in my house needed to be put away, how many items on my to-do list were hanging over me, how the spots on my nose had returned. I could see that the spiral was headed downward. And then I remembered a little exercise I’d learned. I grabbed a piece of paper and started listing everything that was good: the paisley shirt I found at the 2^nd hand store yesterday, the taste of the peppermint tea, the things I did right, like eating a carrot instead of a chocolate bar, the triumph of getting the old shed empty, the old letters that survived in the shed that were interesting to read, the realization that now I’ve read them I won’t need the clutter any more, the job I have – and it’s just the size I want, skills I’ve acquired (like this exercise) that help me through life. I remember hearing author Joe Vitale say that when he was stumped for something to spark gratitude, all he could come up with at first was the pencil he was holding. He was fortunate to have something to write with.

I could easily have come up with as many or more things I did wrong, things that were amiss with my life, but choosing to take this turn also turned my morning around and I felt eager to go teach my class.

Let’s get back to planning for Thanksgiving. What are you going to say? How are you going to express your thankfulness? Are there creative ways to make it a topic of conversation? What would change not only the holiday, but the anticipation of it? What do you appreciate about the people you’re with? What have they done for you?  If you find them “difficult,” what are you learning from them? And when the time for feasting comes, or sooner, savor every bite with gratitude.

Thank you to my teachers, trainers, and colleagues at The Nia Technique who have led me to focus on pleasant sensations. Thank you to my coaches and instructors at Prosper, Inc. who have opened the door to continual appreciation.

“I realize how much I can learn from you, your teaching manner, your skills, and the way you make everything fun for the people that are there to take your classes. It is obvious that you have put much time and energy into your profession.” – Lori

Thank you for the validation, Lori. It feels good, doesn’t it?

The clarity: Recognizing that I have spent my time and energy where it matters to me and then finding that it also is valued by others. Brian Tracy suggests recognizing current strengths and putting more into that direction.

At apple moon, filled with the scent of dried grass
and blackberries baked on the bush,
I place one foot in front of  another through seasons,
 while whirling, twirling
through un-ordinary moments.

In a meeting this evening, we were each asked to share something about ourselves that the others did not already know. Sure, I could mention the postcard collection I’ve been building since I was 4 years old, but I hesitated, looking for something with depth and a personal and current charge. “I’m changing my relationship with time,” I bravely said. Brave? Yes, this is a new way for me to act. I tend to prefer sharing my growth after some success. Sharing a work in progress makes me commit before I know the outcome. Ah! There’s something else different here. I know that I really am changing my relationship with time. I know it’s happening, even if I don’t know the details of how it unfolds. I listen to what comes out of my mouth and I’m replacing “I didn’t have enough time to to that” with ” I chose to do something else.”
Others in the meeting were intrigued. One person shared that she had put the Chinese symbol for time on a pendant to remind herself to be mindful in moment-to-moment choices about her use of time. I made a mental note to keep that idea. Another person in the meeting asked for updates and inspiration as I go along. That leads me here. Driving home, I made a further leap, deciding to enter my progress on my website and Facebook page.
Then I turned on the CD I’ve been listening to in the car and there was Earl Nightingale on the Nightingale Conant Insight Guides talking about “thoughts” as the basis of all our actions and directions in life. As I embark on changing many things about my lifestyle and life direction, how I relate to, and think about my use TIME really does make a difference.
I’m looking forward to the adventure. Join me.

Here’s a little Nia for someone who works at the computer:
Look around the room. Look at at least 10 different places. Sense the muscles inside your neck. Sense the skin on the outside. How far down your back and shoulders can you feel the movements of your neck? Explore the exact placement for your head that is the most comfortable. Breathe.

“My physical therapist has been telling me to find something I think is fun so I will be physically active. I think I just found it in your Nia class.”             – Julia