Baltimore County, MD Time of Your LIfe, 3 May 2017

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From YouTube: Reimagine Aging: A Snapshot Of Two Adults

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Carol Castle – Liberty Senior Center
Albert Muehlberger – Essex Senior Center

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Welcome back to the time of your life., I'm your host, ethel rasmussen., our next segment, showcases, two individuals who have reimagined aging by challenging the stereotypes of age.

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And living life to the fullest. with us today are carol castle, a member of the liberty, senior center,.

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And al muehlberger,, a member of the essex senior center., welcome to the show, carol and al. thank you.. Thank you for having us., as both of you, know, , reimagine aging represents bcda's campaign.

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To change societal perceptions about aging, along with showcasing individuals like yourselves, who are an example of that change.. Let's begin with carol. carol,, please share how you have reimagined aging through volunteerism, fitness,, and really an overall lifestyle commitment.

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For me, age is a just a number.

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I teach a 6:00am to 7:00am class at the randallstown y.

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It's a high impact water, aerobics class, where I have people in the pool from ages--.

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All the way up to age, 83 years of age.

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My class promotes endurance, strength, cognitive skills,.

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Along with long-lasting relationships., when we get in the pool in the morning, magic happens for us.

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I'm belting out what instructions for them to do.

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And they're following. and it's a great class., I'm very passionate about water aerobics..

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It builds you,, it strengthens you.

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It's just everything to me.

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and I didn't used to be a fitness instructor.

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I was-- I had problems with my knees.

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And my doctor suggested that I would take water aerobics,.

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So I did, and I took the arthritis class,, which are the slower classes.

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And I got stronger and I started taking the classes twice, a week.

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And then I went to the randallstown y.

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And they had a lot of music,, they had a lot of classes,.

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And a lot of high impact classes,, along with the arthritis classes.

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So,, I would stay in the pool for three hours a day.

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With the high impact classes.

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and then after that,, I started working out on my own.

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And people started following me. and they'd, be following me and they'd follow me.

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And then next thing I know I started teaching.

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and that's where we are today: -- water, aerobics instructor for the y.

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And I love it,, you know., it builds a lot, and I touch a lot of lives,.

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A lot of different people, and you hear them.

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When I really feel it in my heart is when I hear them come to me,.

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And say that it's all because of you.

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one lady just texted me today and she said, "I swam a mile today... all because of you.".

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That must make you feel good. grateful., yes, yes.

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Al,, like carol,, you are always on the go..

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Can you talk about how you have reimagined aging through changing careers, teaching,, as well as many other activities that you're involved in?.

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After 40 years of managing and directing large organizations,.

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I got tired of being that separated from people directly.

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And I said all right, I'm going to make a change at age 60 in life.

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And I thought all right, now what do I do, right?? I was a little bit anxious and nervous about that,, but I remember something that dr. patch adams said once,.

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That's "stop whining., all you need in life is a bowl of soup and a friend.", so I had no problem finding the bowl of soup or a friend,, and I said, "all right,, I'm going to make a change." and I wanted to get into healthcare somehow and I couldn't do it, maybe getting into med school,.

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So I took a class in massage therapy and I became a licensed massage therapist.

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And I haven't looked back in the last 17 years doing that.

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With that management background,, I was hired to implement,.

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Design and implement the massage therapy degree program.

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At the community college of baltimore county.

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did that for a couple of years, developed my practice, and then didn't want to be in an academic environment like that,.

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But I found my skill in teaching., so I left that job and became an adjunct. Instructor teaching holistic health at that community college.

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But now that I have more time on my hands and tried to stay away.

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From the massage therapy, not doing so much,.

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I ended up being able to rekindle my photography, hobby,.

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Get out and hike, play more tennis,. Do the travel.

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I became a volunteer at the american cancer society,, where I now do. Massages for cancer patients and caregivers,.

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And I'm also a zoo guide at the maryland zoo in baltimore,.

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And on top of that I like to get back into--, I have gotten back in traveling,.

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I'm writing, and I'm also learning -- or have learned to play african drums,.

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So I do that with drum circles in the baltimore area.

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And on top of that, I'm also a non-denominational minister,.

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So I marry people and I also help with funeral services,.

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And I'm doing all that just for the health of it.

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That's amazing., it's hard to imagine the impact that both of you are having in the community.

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As well as how you're living examples of , reimagine, aging.,.

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Thank you for being here with us, today. you're welcome. thank you.

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We're going to take a short break and when we return.

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We will talk about senior box, office, senior travel,.

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And what's happening at your local senior center.

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