About a year ago, a local magazine featured a “timeless” exercise on the cover about staying healthy from your 30s to your 70s and beyond. But when I read the article, I was disappointed. I texted my friend and neighbor, Dorothy, saying, “You should have been in this article!”
Dorothy Brown has lived in Crown Heights most of her life. She grew up on NW 40th and later purchased the house from her mother. Dorothy is 75 and her husband, Bruce, is 84. Dorothy’s daughter and her family also live in the neighborhood.
Dorothy truly believes that activity is the fountain of youth. She and Bruce (her first student) have always been active. They’ve run multiple marathons together and still ski in Colorado every winter. When Dorothy retired from her law practice about seven years ago, she knew what she wanted to do in the next phase of her life: she wanted to help older adults stay active. So she decided to become a certified fitness instructor. After getting her certification, she started classes and recruited a longtime friend (and a neighbor or two) to join. Word of mouth spread.
But Dorothy wasn’t satisfied with just being a fitness instructor, so she got certified in Pilates. The floor exercises in class became Pilates workouts. Still not satisfied, Dorothy became a certified personal trainer. Bruce converted a small building he owned into her training studio.
Dorothy’s focus is on helping seniors stay active and mobile, but each class also works on balance, range of motion and coordination. Aerobics gets the heart rate up. Participants monitor their movements, and Dorothy makes sure they go at their own pace.
Dorothy’s classes are not only great for a full body workout, they’re also fun, and since Dorothy has a dance background and loves music, there’s always great music playing during her workouts.
Like a typical fitness class, hers starts with a warm-up and breathing exercises, then moves on to aerobics, floor exercises, and ends with stretching. The class meets twice a week (once a week in the summer) and is currently held at Vine Community Church (though you may have seen the Pied Piper and her followers in Crown Heights Park).
Dorothy and Bruce are truly inspirational – whether they’re on the ski slopes of Colorado, walking their two German shepherds in their neighborhood, or helping others stay healthy, they show us all that aging gracefully can and should be.
Dorothy’s classes meet every Wednesday at 4:30pm at The Vine. She will also be teaching Pilates classes at the Northside YMCA in the fall. All are welcome to attend.
– Kate Martin Ferguson
