The gentle, meditative, paced movements of Tai Chi hold promise as a path of restorative exercise for those struggling with mobility challenges. A widely practiced Chinese martial art, Tai Chi improves balance, aids in stress relief, and promotes circulation of the "chi" (energy) - a therapeutic effect common in eastern healing modalities yielding balance in the body. The Arthritis Foundation sponsors a unique Tai Chi program, Sun Style,  created by Dr. Paul Lam. This program is composed of a series of movements tailored to the needs of persons diagnosed with arthritis.

Falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults. Falls can be traumatic, both practically and emotionally. When such an incident happens, seek medical care, as the fall could be a sign of changes in your mobility or an underlying health issue. Fall prevention training is a holistic model of intervention involving three areas: balance training/adaptive exercise, medical management, and home modifications. 

The Fall Prevention Center for Excellence is a health advocacy  organization seeking to raise public awareness of the incidence of falls and the importance of Fall Prevention education. If you are concerned about a loved one, StopFalls.org offers several educational resources for support.

Each day, we humans participate in a common activity—the ancient craft of storytelling. Reading the daily paper, watching movies, or catching up with friends—sharing or listening to stories is at the heart of our nature. But can telling your story have benefits for your health? “Yes, most definitely,” says Paul Browde, actor, psychiatrist, and narrative therapist, “it made all the difference to my health and life."

Sharing the healing power of storytelling is a narrative exercise that Browde and his fellow actor Murray Nossel, an academy-nominated documentary filmmaker, have engaged audiences in for the last 14 years through Two Men Talking, a live unscripted performance that has been  showcased to acclaim in New York, London, and South Africa. On stage, the two men explore a variety of stories: growing up  white, Jewish, and gay  under apartheid in South Africa; homophobia; racism; AIDS; and most importantly,  their friendship and the passage of time.

The world of hand control driving technology for persons with disabilities is not a widely known area of accessibility. Three years ago, when I transitioned to hand controls, I embarked on a new learning curve that I had  little familiarity with. I reached out to my former teacher, Beth Rolland, an  occupational therapist, driver rehabilitation specialist, and tri-athlete at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, to gather advice for  people who may be thinking of taking this step. 

Claudia Glaser-Mussen, the sassy singer-accordionist of the Grammy- nominated  children's rock band, Brady  Rymer and The Little Band That Could, has a lot to say about her muse, “I can feel my mother's presence on stage, when I perform; she inspires me and I'm able to  convey that energy to the audience.” A thread of music runs through  Glaser-Mussen’s life, "I grew up in a home where music was a part of our  experience,” she says. Music never became more important for Glaser-Mussen  than it did in the final stages of her mother’s life, when she was coping with Alzheimer’s disease. In this telling, WNYC radio interview, Opera Mom,  Glaser-Mussen and her brother, violinist Matt Glaser, reflected on the role that music had in the  care of their mother, Jeanette Glaser-Taubin, a professional opera singer.