Residents of Covenant Woods enjoy the less strenuous version of Zumba that Judy Fernandez teaches there.


but the principle is the same. “It gives you a good work out,” says


85-year-old Jane Steurer. She started the sessions out of curiosity and says the music sucked her in. Steurer is a cardiac patient and needs to get her heart rate up “My heart knows the difference,” she reports. The U.S. Department of Health and


Human Services, Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention, reports that older adults can benefit from regular physical activity and that it need not be strenu- ous to achieve health benefits. The loss of strength and stamina attributed to aging is in part caused by reduced physical activity. Zumba addresses the need for physi-


cal activity in that it is said to improve cardiovascular


capacity, overall muscu-


lar strength and endurance, bone density, flexibility, balance and coordination. There are also psychological benefits according to practitioners. Tey include: enhanced self esteem and relaxation, increase oppor- tunities for social interaction and reduced depression, stress and anxiety. Some of the Covenant Woods dancers


use walkers to keep their balance, others may hold on to a chair occasionally, and one resident even participates from her wheelchair, but they all move to the music. Jewell Dawson, 86, has arthritis but says


Zumba keeps her limber, and she believes it is one of the best things for her. “She (Fernandez) tells us to let our body tell us what we can do, and she doesn’t push us,” Dawson says.


58 Columbus and the Valley JUNE 2013


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