This past week I have been the guest leader of our exercise class. Our guru, Lynda, has become a grandma again, and she wanted to have a week with her daughter and grandchildren. I’m always pleased when she asks me to sub. It’s the closest I get to teaching these days. She first asked me to sub three years ago when her parents became seriously ill. She gave me the music for the class, and a list of the exercises she was doing during each song. I spent a long weekend counting out the beats of the music, to determine how many times we needed to repeat the movements. I copied that information onto large sheets of poster board, in what I call my personal “cheat sheets.”
We have upgraded exercise since then. We’re working harder and a little bit faster. Lynda discovered that we old folk are capable of doing more than she expected, so she has added more yoga and balance to the sessions. When I use this older set of exercises, we are all aware that it’s a bit less challenging. I’m at the point where I will have to spend another weekend counting out music and exercises and making another set of cheat sheets to upgrade the level of effort.
I was pleased that Monday’s exercise went well. Wednesday the room was full! Most of the class of forty turned out. Today, I thought we might be lucky to have six or eight people come to class since it was the start of the long holiday weekend. I didn’t stop to count, but I think we may have had about 26 people in class, and they were all there to work!
I feel blessed that my fellow exercisers are willing to have me lead the class, and further blessed that they make it so easy to guide them. I’ve really enjoyed the week. There were a couple of unexpected benefits. I’ve had some knee problems that are just beginning to improve. When I was leading class, I forgot to baby the knee, and I discovered that I could do more than I expected. And, when I lead class, I tend to work harder, so I got more benefit from the exercise than usual. I’ve felt really good all week!
So….Thank you, Lynda, for inviting me to sub for you. It was MY pleasure!