L I V I NG FIT
I Do. I Am. “Fitness is anything that helps me to cultivate my physical, emotional, and spiritual self. “
Nancy Coffee, 41 President and CEO New Memphis Institute; wife and mother
I DO an inverted yoga pose every day, plus a full yoga practice three times a week at Evergreen Yoga. I have been practicing yoga with Leah for 10 years. I hike Shelby Forest on weekends and I dance whenever I can! I AM far from a blissed-out Zen master. But when the going gets tough, I shut my office door to log a few minutes in headstand or shoulderstand and emerge able to lead more gracefully and effectively. FITNESS IS anything that helps me to cultivate my physical, emotional, and spiritual self. That’s why I like yoga and being active in nature, because the benefits are for all of me, not just my anatomy. SPEND TIME upside down! It’s great for the complexion, but the physics of reversing the flow of gravity are just part of the anti-aging benefit. In addition, inversions bring changes to my nervous system and my energy that rejuvenate me, body and soul. It’s good to elevate the heart above the head.
Interview by Hailey Thomas. Photo by Sarah McAlexander.
Wayne Simpson, 62
“It’s good to still be able to do things as I get older.”
HEALTH+FITNESS | September 2013
Former banker, teacher, retired from the Memphis Housing Authority; husband
28
I DO cardio five days a week. I run four days a week (3-6 miles) and take Latin Rhythm once a week. I take yoga classes five times a week. I’m also a member of the Tennessee Trails Association, and we hike every Saturday, except in the summer. I AM enjoying yoga more than anything. It provides a lot of what I need as I get older (flexibility, strength, and balance) without making me feel like I’m working particularly hard. I RAN the Boston Marathon in 1992 and 1995. I STARTED regular workouts in 1976 at the age of 25. I hadn’t done
any exercise to speak of since high school, then one day my boss asked me if I’d like to start playing racquetball with him at lunch. This will sound strange, but the sweaty smell of the locker room at the downtown YMCA brought back good memories of school sports. I knew as soon as I walked in that I was going to get started back, and I haven’t stopped since.
IT’S GOOD to still be able to do things as I get older. Interview and photo by Katie Honeycutt.