It’s that time of year!
We have that wonderful bright sunlight, and some people, including me are thinking about getting in shape for all our exciting upcoming summer activities. I’ve been reading a lot about healthy living, exercise, and improving my eating habits.
People of long ago that lived on the land were strong, and we can be too!
I was just in Eagle, Alaska, teaching music at the school and watching the Yukon Quest and the great canine and human athletes.
I heard about great grandma Eliza, who lived to over 110 years, cooking, cleaning, cutting wood, trapping and walking everywhere until the day she died. And Florence Newman, now in her late 70s, was born near Arctic Village in a tent at 50 degrees below zero. Ten days later, her mom with Florence in her parka got separated from the family group during a big snow storm, so her mom found a dead fall and crawled underneath. The six puppies with them snuggled up next to them and kept Florence and her mom alive until the next day when their family could come back and find them.
Last week, I spent a little time brainstorming with Kelly Weaverling, the former Commodore of the Oil Spill Cleanup and now a Buddhist Priest and leader of the local Zen meditation group, about how we can encourage ourselves and all of Cordova to be healthier.
We are inviting you to be in a little group of Cordovans who get together once a week for the next six weeks. We’ll cook and eat a healthy meal together, learn new recipes, have an informal presentation on health and some light exercise.
Come for one or more sessions. Sample topics include Sleeping Better, Brain Health, Meditation, Yoga, Nutrition, Eight Heavenly Exercises, and Walking (a picnic and field trip to Alaganik Slough). There will also be a time for checking in with each other about how we are doing in setting and meeting our own exercise and nutrition goals.
One tip that really helped me a few years ago when I decided to increase the amount of my exercise was to write down on a calendar the minutes each day that I swam, walked, skied, lifted weights or biked. Then if by Saturday night I reached my goal of an hour and a half average per day, I wrote “Victory!” on the calendar. Yeah!
So, let’s all eat healthier and get exercising with our friends and family.
Please join us on Sunday nights from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 25-April 8 at the Red Dragon for a good, home cooked meal, a presentation on health and some light exercise!
We can all be healthier, Cordova style!
t and rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church here in Cordova. She also travels to Alaskan villages teaching fiddle and guitar with a program called Dancing with the Spirit.
