We’ve probably all seen the commercial on television – or worse, the parody on ‘Saturday Night Live’ – and chuckled over it: The lady laying on the floor – just out of reach of her telephone, unable to rise to her feet.

    It is actually an advertisement for LifeLine, a device worn around the neck that connects to a person in a distant location who is able to ring for an ambulance if you are able to push the button to alert them. It’s not a bad idea, I know several people who have them. Nearly 1 in 3 seniors living in their own home or the home of adult children caregivers suffers from a serious

fall at least once every year.

    At Meridian Activity Center, we’ve had several conversations about falling. Only because it happens to one or the other of our students, and we find it so upsetting. A fall can easily mean a broken hip or leg, a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist. And, get this, you don’t have to be elderly to have a fall and broken bones. But if you are older, chances are 1 in 4 that you may not get up again! It’s just more of a problem for the elderly as their bones take longer to heal.

    Pat Wilson teaches yoga mornings (9:30 a.m., Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and late afternoons (5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday). She is interested in “compassionate” yoga, as well as basic yoga. She wants to help people get up off the floor. Too many people decide not to take a yoga class when they learn there are floor exercises included in the class; they know they cannot get up off the floor.

    Pat wants to help them with exercises designed to strengthen their muscles and help with balance so they are not so fearful of falling.

    I found one Website after googling, “Why can’t I get up off the floor?” that began by saying our problems began when the upright toilet was invented. We stopped squatting and began sitting. We stopped using our knees, ankles and thighs and they tightened up, making it difficult – if not impossible – to rise from the floor. We attributed the loss of ability to old age and to back and leg pain.

    “The question is whether the knee, hip, or back pain is the reason for the lack of ability or whether the lack of ability is the reason for the knee, hip or back pain. More frequently than is acknowledged, the lack of ability in terms of flexibility and strength is the underlying cause of the pain,” the Website stated.

    So that is one explanation. Remember the “Use It or Lose It” explanation for exercise? Well, there is another about it not being too late to regain your strength. That is what our strength training classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.) are working on. We use the exercises in “Strong Women Stay Young” (guys can use this, too) by Dr. Miriam Nelson. One of our students brought it to us years ago, and we began a class; it made so much sense. I remember the first time my mother fell, smack face down, it was the Parkinson’s Disease. She was terrified of falling again, we had to start using a wheelchair until she regained her confidence.

    Our strength training classes are all about using weights to build bone density and turn fat into muscle; we are not body building. We use small weights, up to 10 pounds at the most. We sit in chairs for upper body work and stand behind them for leg work.

    Another teacher wants to show us various ways of falling. Can you imagine learning a correct way to fall? That is, if you practice falling over and over again, say, rolling onto a shoulder rather than attempting to break the fall with your hand out (which could break a wrist).

    In our Slimnastics Class (4:30 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Friday), Brenda has us throwing punches, uppercut, elbow and straight, as well as kicks as part of our exercise routine. The idea comes from martial arts, repetition makes for reflexive motion. So, I suppose we could learn to fall and roll. In time. We also do some reps with small weights, big balls and stretch bands.

    I see a lot of ladies in our Seated Exercise class with Johnnie Jenkins (9 a.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) who could probably do the strength training class or morning exercise class (8 a.m., Monday, Wednesday, Friday) with Kay Nelson – if they would just try. Oh well. One day at a time. We all have to start somewhere and gain our confidence.

    So, rather than crying for “Help” when you can’t get up, say “Eureka!” I’ve found my strength again!”

    Meridian Activity Center is located at 3300 32nd Ave. in a

residential area between Meridian High School and Northwest Junior High School.

    Phone (601) 485-1812, if you get lost.

    • Barbara Wells is director of Meridian Activity Center. You may e-mail her at mactivitycenter@gmail.com