Lexington, KY - When Jeff Rubin first saw a group of senior citizens, some of them in their 90s, stretching and exercising at the headquarters of Body Recall in Berea, "I knew that they were a pretty special organization," Rubin said.
Now Rubin is the executive director of that nonprofit organization, which has more than 300 teachers leading exercise classes in 31 states. Body Recall is an organization that has been around for more than 30 years, but it is not widely known, even in Kentucky.
As the Body Recall leader, he sees his task as being to "reinvigorate the organization and reposition it on the national stage where it belongs."
What makes the organization so special and why it needs to be on the national stage, he said, is its track record of helping elders and others with special needs remain independent, a mission magnified by the 78 million Baby Boomers in the United States who are at or near retirement age.
"If we're not out there exercising Ö we self-impose on ourselves a homebound situation," Rubin said.
More specifically, Rubin sees Body Recall as being able to address three big problems in Kentucky and the rest of the country: obesity, diabetes and injuries from falls.
Those problems don't just affect individuals or one segment of the population. They affect the whole economy, in the form of higher health care costs and insurance rates and lost productivity, either when an individual still in the work force is affected or when they have take time off to care for a family member.
Noah Campbell is an example of the positive impact Body Recall can have. The Rockcastle County farmer had never been part of a regular exercise program, but less than six months after joining his wife at a Body Recall class at the Berea headquarters, he had lost 20 pounds and no longer needed to use insulin to control his diabetes. He now has lost 35 pounds.
Kentucky's ranking for youth obesity (fourth worst) is even poorer than its adult obesity ranking (seventh worst). Body Recall is trying to raise awareness of its Smart Moves program for youth and more intergenerational exercise classes, as well as special needs groups.
"It's not just for us old-timers," said Campbell, 71. "Kids in this day and age need more exercise, too."
Rubin said the goal of Body Recall founder Dorothy Chrisman was a program "that could be affectively applied to people of all ages."
Chrisman was a Berea College professor with a background in ballet and dance when she started Body Recall. It was created to provide a program of lifetime fitness and run counter to the "no pain, no gain" mantra that was popular with athletes. It also was developed when automobile recalls were in the headlines. If cars could be recalled to fix problems, why not human bodies? Thus, the name Body Recall.
Body Recall was not designed for athletes, but instead for anybody who wants to improve his or her level of fitness. It doesn't use weights and is not a high-intensity aerobic workout, but emphasizes flexibility and balance, as well as maintaining strength and good posture.
All are important in helping prevent falls among senior citizens, who need to break the mindset of doing less as they get older and living in fear of falling.
"If you have a fear of falling, you begin limiting your activity and it becomes self-defeating," Rubin said.
After creating the Body Recall program, Chrisman spread the word largely by getting in a van with students
and doing demonstrations across the country. As the grass-roots organization grew, so did its Berea headquarters. Body Recall brings its teachers to the headquarters for initial training and for recertification at least once every three years. Teachers, or sometimes a sponsoring organization, pay for the training. Then the teachers market themselves, charging students a small fee to attend a class that meets three times a week for 10 weeks.
One of Rubin's top goals is to strengthen the infrastructure of the organization, recruiting more teachers and providing them more support.
Many teachers have a background as a nurse or physical or occupational therapist, but Rubin said a health or fitness background is not necessary. "Anyone who has a desire could become a Body Recall teacher," he said.
Rubin himself didn't come to Body Recall with a background as a fitness instructor, but instead with expertise on aging issues, coming from a job with the National Council on Aging in Colorado.
He is putting that experience to work to build relationships for Body Recall at the local, state and national level. Since arriving in Kentucky in May, he has been putting on the miles to speak to seniors groups and government officials. He has been working at strengthening connections to Berea College and Eastern Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky and University of Tennessee.
University research proving the effectiveness of the Body Recall program would help the organization as it pursues grant money, something else that is new for the nonprofit group.
Other connections Rubin has established are with the Bluegrass Area Agency Development District and the Kentucky Safe Aging Coalition.
Rubin said he wants to hear from any agency, organization or business with an interest in the health and well-being of their members, clients or employees. Together, he said, they can help people remain healthy and independent longer and not add more stress to America's already creaking health care system.
"Body Recall wants people to live well, well into their 80s and beyond," Rubin said, "and we've shown how to do that for the last 30 years."