19 Jan Fitness Is Fun at Mount Vernon Towers with Yoga Teacher Bruce King
Many of the more than 400 residents at Mount Vernon Towers, the senior community for independent living in the heart of Sandy Springs, know Bruce King. He brightens everyone’s day with his boundless energy and joyful smile.
Yoga Teacher
Bruce King is Mount Vernon Towers favorite yoga teacher. As he shared recently: “I have been teaching yoga/fitness since 2003. I was drawn to yoga as a fitness routine in the 1980s because it felt right to my body. It gave me physical strength and spiritual calmness and I was inspired to share this.
“I received my Yoga certification from Peachtree Yoga under the guidance of Graham Fowler,” he continues. “Yoga is an activity that encourages you to focus on how you feel and less on how you look.
“Yoga can be practiced into old age with wonderful results. My core belief is moderation. That being said, we must continue to move. We must remember to balance our activities. Most of us sit too much, so to balance things out, we must do “opposing” movements/stretches.”
Bruce warns: “Once our range of motion is impaired, it is more difficult to move around. We then can become limited in our ability to interact with others and our confidence drops. But, once we get back to moving and stretching and breathing deeply, our physical confidence grows. At that point, we develop better posture. Better posture creates deeper better breaths. Better breath often means a better life.”
Currently, Bruce teaches a variety of classes at Mount Vernon Towers:
Fun with Fitness – This class is a combination of yoga, Chi gong and Thai Chi and aims to address overall fitness. The class focuses on improving strength, breath quality, body awareness (posture) and range of motion.
According to Bruce, “Everyone can participate based on their own ability level. The class last 45 minutes. We get started slowlyto warm up and then continue to build in some weights for the upper body, followed by some standingpostures (yoga) for the lower body.”
All participants are encouraged to do what they can, and are taught to be aware when they need to take a break or not do a particular exercise at all. “There are some sequences that are repeated but change is good for the brain – you have to stay sharp!” says Bruce.
Chair Yoga -This is mostly a gentle seated class but participants do stand up and use the chairs as an aid in balance work. Again good breathing and body alignment are stressed. This class is designed to calm the mind, create gentle strengthening and provide stretching exercises.
Bruce invites all residents at Mount Vernon Towers to attend his classes, and offers these tips:
“Are you hard of hearing? Please sit in the front (no assigned seats so arrive a few minutes early) I am a very loud speaker and I demonstrate all of the exercises so you can see what to do.
“Do you a question or health concern?Please arrive a few minutes early so I can chat with you about it.
“Don’t know what to wear? Please wear comfortable clothing that allow for easy movement. I personally never wear shoes but I encourage active shoes if you balance better in them.”
Bruce notes: “Just try a class once and see if you like it. I assure you it will be beneficial or at least fun. Plus if you are new to Mount Vernon Towers, it is a great way to make new friends. We all are in this life together and the more we support and laugh with each other the better!”
Bruce is also known as the pianist for the Mount Vernon Towers Melodears, the community choir that performs at least four different concerts per year – one for each season. Music is in his veins, and one of his biggest hobbies is collecting vintage sheet music and playing it. Right now, he has ” over 2000 pieces and counting!”
Thank you Bruce, for all you do to bring health and happiness to your friends at Mount Vernon Towers!
To learn more about fitness and wellness while living at Mount Vernon Towers in Sandy Springs, one of Atlanta’s most desirable and convenient cities, please call to schedule a personal tour: 404-255-3534.
The friendly and centrally-located senior living community offers a number of different floor plans, a variety of activities and social events, excellent, healthful dining and 24-hour security, as well as a 28-bed personal care community.
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