The Pringle Plan: Hula

The Art of Hula at Hawaii's Merrie Monarch
Festival

When your hobbies are reading, and writing, And you're retired, And it's winter in Connecticut, it can be hard to be remember to get up and move from time to time. Aching joints and the accompanying stiffness are the enemy! So, I've put some real effort into devising some motivating exercise strategies. On a bright green index card, I created 3 columns: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. In each column I listed a choice of exercises: shoulders, core, lower body, stretch, walk, carpal tunnel, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, garden, or Ping Pong. At the top, I wrote "Choose a 15 minute exercise after each meal." Then I propped the card up in front of my place mat, so I wouldn't miss it. You know what I chose? I chose to ignore it!

Then I moved the card to my computer area, so I would see the reminder to exercise before I started typing. Know what happened? Yep, buried it behind all the art exhibit postcards I forget to look at. But then last year, I over extended my thoracic nerve bundle - from tilting my head down while reading. Very painful. So, once I healed, I was determined to get serious again.

I bought a bouncy ball, to use while I'm working at my computer, to strengthen my core. I use it, alternating with my chair, but I've discovered I can slouch on the bouncy ball as easy as I can in the chair. Next, I bought a dual timer. I set the top timer for 30 minutes, get up, walk around the house, look out a few windows, stretch a bit, make a cup of tea, and back to work for another 30 minutes. The bottom timer I set for 2 hours, at which time I try to choose an exercise from a set of exercise cards I made a while back. The idea was to be sure I had variety and didn't get bored. It worked for a while, but .....

Then I resorted to the strenuous effort of moving furniture around so I could fit my treadmill near a window with a view of the woods. I decided I would do 15 minutes on the treadmill after dinner. I'm a little inconsistent on that one, but improving. Unfortunately, that doesn't address the tendency to stiffen during the day.

Fortunately, my Hawaiian friend, Lorna, likes to post hula videos on Facebook. The dancers look so graceful and serene, and the movements seem so gentle. I started looking for easy beginner videos on my own, and found that when my 2 hour timer went off, it was easy to stand in front of my computer, and dance along! I even found this winter hula - perfect on a snowy day!

Winter Wonderland Hula - Halau Hula 'o Hokulani

How to Hula Dance

So, am I any good at hula? No. It doesn't matter, I'm not planning a performance. I'm just enjoying the sunny locale, the Hawaiian music, and the gentle sway. Here are a few more videos - Just For Fun!