I thought it would be enjoyable to start the weekend by revisiting this gentle session that Drew connects to the healing power of nature. And what a perfect setting for it! He shares center stage with his little buddies who are frolicking about trying to steal the show, which vibes perfectly with Drew’s message for this session as well. Enjoy your Saturday. https://youtu.be/2mNSDEdRwWE?is=_LZvKycO9prG7Cg-

Good morning! I thought today would be a good day for Drew’s challenging 102 sit-to-stand session that Kris suggested. I believe many of us have a tendency to ease off a bit on Fridays as we look forward to that precious weekend. Yet we best serve ourselves and others when we continue to give our best effort. I hope we are all here at age 102. That said, it occurred to me that this session may place too much strain on some members with hip, knee, or ankle issues. So I’ve also included a second, gentler session from Drew’s Norway trip below that may be more suitable for you at this time. As Drew often reminds us, do what works best for you. https://youtu.be/jAdBrcg7GxY?is=6mIDbyxKUniCljGS

My dear friends, It’s going to be a bit much :) A little something about therapeutic ornithology—a subject close to my heart, both through my passion and my work. I am sharing some scientific research regarding one of my mentors and his work on the impact of birdwatching on the brain and heart function, as well as its influence on neurotransmission. Therapeutic ornithology goes beyond merely improving mental well-being. "A recently published study in the *Journal of Neuroscience* (Wing et al., 2026) reveals something fascinating regarding nature observation: developing a specialized skill—such as identifying bird species—leads to measurable changes in brain structure and function. Researchers compared bird identification experts with novices using neuroimaging techniques (MRI). They found that individuals who had cultivated this skill over years exhibited a more complex, "denser" neural tissue structure in various brain regions, as well as heightened functional activity during species identification. These changes affected regions responsible for: ~ visual perception ~ selective attention ~ pattern recognition ~ semantic memory The researchers termed this phenomenon the "tuned cortex." This implies that the brain gradually fine-tunes its structure and function to the information it processes most frequently. Even more interestingly, in older adults deeply engaged in this activity, the brain changes persisted despite advancing age, and the decline in structural brain parameters was slower. This is strongly linked to the concept of cognitive reserve—the brain's ability to better cope with the aging process." my mentor ;) https://naturallybalanced.org/en/author/slawomirmurawiec/ https://www.termedia.pl/Teaching-bird-species-recognition-may-improve-clinicians-ability-to-accurately-analyse-ECG-recordings,35,55667,0,1.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawSwodBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBkZWlrV09waEVFNmJXa05Vc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnUkYC4K-4azuu5UDDeMfvG7Jjt9wyZIV9kTWgZe4yVSxIj4rm8zZLoukUuA_aem_k_IGupxTGqzBi6oAVo6Ycw

Here’s one of Drew’s cardio sessions that introduces the Finnish concept of sisu—the inner strength to keep going when we really want to quit. Great motivation for a Wednesday morning. https://youtu.be/qljpsq4N3j0?is=8uJwd90KoEHP6vLD

I wanted to continue to enjoy Drew’s daily sessions while he takes a well-deserved digital break. I’m posting one of his previous sessions here for Wed., July 15th in case anyone in the group would like to join in and keep our community interaction alive. And, of course, this mobility session ends with one of Drew’s ever-positive reminders: “it’s a great day for a great day.” https://youtu.be/sXd1OViEtlc?is=CAY2zcUwzeT8o9aM