Discovering NIA, a New, Fun Way to Keep Fit

Rosemary Ganley
The Peterborough Examiner
December 6, 2018

NIA teacher Elizabeth Kiser shares her passion for the fitness progam with local participants each week. METROLAND FILE PHOTO

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This fitness thing is always on our minds. As the evidence piles up that longevity and vitality are closely connected to our moving our bodies in a lifelong commitment, our sense of guilt and unease often increase. The bad news: one third of Canadians are overly heavy and only 20 per cent do the recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week.

I don't have numbers, but I think seniors may be among the least of the participants. I was typical. A modest athlete in high school and college, I entered family life with the attitude that working out is not "ladylike," and I gave up intentional exercise for 30 years. Then, as new knowledge surfaced that we should be active forever, I took up going to a gym.

Now in 2018, in comes NIA for me. Out at the Trent Athletic Centre every morning, as at the other two wellness centres, there are various opportunities for community members (should I say crones and sages) to do something physical. I appear there at any hour that suits me, generally later rather than earlier. There are yoga, treadmills, bikes, strength training, swimming, or just wandering among the machines, taking a quick glance at what the students are doing. (Better, of course to have a personal fitness person teach you.)

One is surrounded by students, who have taken seriously the admonition that exams are best taken and depression is warded off when one is fit. They hardly blink at us white-headed athletes. They hold doors, say "good morning," make small talk. Are they thinking "Grandma among the lions?"
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