Aging Mastery participants inspired by program speakers

Editor's Note: Vicki Lyons is an Aging Mastery Program® participant at the Aging in Paradise Resource Center on Longboat Key. The Patterson Foundation supported bringing the program, which was created by the National Council on Aging, to three organizations in our region.

My husband and I both signed up to attend the Aging Mastery Program® at the Aging in Paradise Resource Center on Longboat Key. Last week, we completed the third of 10 sessions and want to express our views that the programs have completely exceeded our expectations.

As a volunteer for the Aging in Paradise Resource Center, I attended several of the startup meetings and read the material in the syllabus. The written material was excellent but what made the sessions outstanding were the knowledgeable and professional presenters.

A warm, friendly caregiver and entrepreneur, who engaged the audience from the beginning and instilled a sense of excitement for the upcoming sessions, led the opening session on “Navigating Longer Lives.” The second session on “Exercise and You” was led by two presenters and focused on types of appropriate age-related physical exercises and on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. The presenter on meditation helped the group with different ways to approach meditation and instilled a sense of peacefulness over the group as we practiced quieting our minds and bodies. I was inspired to look into this mind practice in greater depth.

An expert on falls prevention and a practicing ER nurse led our third session on “Falls Prevention.” She engaged the audience with an informative presentation and by asking questions of and encouraging the audience to share experiences and information. Her knowledge was exceptional and she shared it in a warm and engaging manner. So far we are thrilled with our decision to participate in this program and are looking forward to the remaining sessions.