Ageless Grace® Fitness Program Certification Event Comes to Pembroke Pines

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. - March 12, 2014 - PRLog -- A two-day Ageless Grace® Educator Certification program will be held on Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23. A four-hour Personal Practice Seminar will be conducted on Saturday, March 22.  Half-hour introductory sessions, open to the public, will be offered on Saturday and Sunday, at no cost. All events will take place at Douglas Gardens, 705 S.W. 88 Avenue, Pembroke Pines.

The cost of the certification program is $325, which includes all materials. The personal practice seminar is $30 if taken in conjunction with the certification program, or $55 if taken alone.

Lana Gelb, a Certified Ageless Grace Educator and Trainer, will conduct the training. Lana is president of Good Vibes Consultants, and is a Wellness and Fitness Consultant and Movement Therapist. A native of South Africa, Lana has been in practice in South Florida for the past 30 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Master’s Degree in Wellness Promotion. She is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, the Kenneth Cooper Institute and by the American Council on Exercise for whom she has been teaching CEC courses since 1992. She also is certified in Pilates, Gyrokinesis, NIA, Kripalu DansKinetics, Journey Dance, and yoga therapy

For more information about the weekend events, contact Sharon Barten at SBarten993@aol.com or phone her at 954-665-8517. For complete details, schedules, and to register, visit www.agelessgrace.com.

North Carolina-based fitness professional Denise Medved created the Ageless Grace® program—21 Simple Tools for Lifelong Comfort and Ease, which is based on the cutting-edge science of neuroplasticity. The movements, which are performed in a chair, focus activating the five functions of the brain and on the 21 physical skills necessary for lifelong optimal function, e.g., joint mobility, spinal flexibility, right-left brain coordination, cognitive function, systemic stimulation, balance, confidence, and playfulness.

Ageless Grace® began when Medved was studying in a graduate program in gerontology. She was stunned to discover that the material in a course called "The Architecture of Aging" meant designing homes and work spaces for people so that when they lost their mobility, they’d be prepared. Being prepared meant having a wheelchair ramp already installed; handrails in the walk-in shower; kitchen counter heights at wheelchair level. Cabinets and shelves should be installed no higher than can be reached without bending down or standing on a step stool.

To watch a video about Ageless Grace, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG5pGFSOeeU



While it’s inevitable that some people will indeed lose their mobility, Medved was appalled at the conventional thinking. She began to think about the possibilities if the focus was shifted away from accommodating physical limitations, to doing everything possible to forestall those limitations, or at least diminish the severity of them. She was convinced that many of the so-called inevitable signs of aging were really not inevitable at all; they were simply "lack of practice" of the skills needed to maintain youthful function.

While she spent many years in the world of advertising and public relations, Medved also has a substantial track record in the fitness industry, so she was familiar with movement and the human body. For nearly 15 years, she was one of 13 Black Belt Nia Technique trainers in the world. She has been teaching Nia for 26 years, and is a certified personal trainer and a tai chi instructor.

Her background enabled her to approach aging with a different mindset. She felt it was time to change the model of aging in the world, beginning with the brain. With this aim in mind, she spent seven years creating Ageless Grace®: 21 Simple Tools for Lifelong Comfort and Ease™, incorporating the latest research in the field of neuroplasticity.

Each tool addresses a primary factor that causes physical aging, and all the tools stimulate and utilize the five functions of the brain—analytic, strategic, kinesthetic learning, memory/recall, and creativity and imagination. From birth through approximately the age of 21, the brain is busy creating a complex web of neural pathways. But functional and cognitive skills that were developed through traditional childhood games, sports and leisure activities are typically no longer practiced in adulthood. Ageless Grace® serves to re-open those pathways, and equally important, stimulates the creation of new ones by having participants perform movements that are novel and creative.

Regardless of the level of someone’s physical condition, performing the tools in a chair activates the core of the body, including the internal organs and systems, such as the respiratory system, endocrine system, and digestive system. Being in a chair also increases stability and range of motion. This allows people of all ages and abilities (including children), to perform the movements. Those with weight and joint issues, diabetes and other challenges such as those in wheelchairs or with other physical limitations, also can practice Ageless Grace® as a wonderful way to get moving.

Medved recommends doing just two or three tools each day - no more than 10 minutes per day. One 10-minute session is all that’s required to get plenty of benefit from the program. No need to go to a gym, no need for special equipment; all that’s needed is a chair.

More than 800 certified Ageless Grace® educators have been trained in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa. Educators are teaching in retirement communities, elementary schools, rehabilitation programs, community centers, churches and synagogues, and in fitness centers.

The Ageless Grace® program is excellent for ALL populations, from children to baby boomers to seniors.  It is also ideal for fitness professionals who work with seniors and special populations, including those with physical limitations.  Occupational Therapists, Nurses, CNAs, Physical Therapists, Counselors, Coaches and Caregivers (professional or family members) who work with these special populations and want to provide ease of movement to their clients and/or loved ones will also find the Ageless Grace® program of special interest.  The seminar shows participants how to practice the program at home on their own, while the certification program prepares educators to teach the Ageless Grace® program in their own communities.