Over the past few weeks with guitar and keyboard in hand, we took our “Sheri and Bill Show” on the road.  As part of our healthy aging path, “Side By Side” became our current theme song. We visited with folks at adult living communities, tennis team parties, and senior organizations, where we played music and sang, enjoyed Healthy Aging Trivia, danced, and had fun with several hundred of our newest friends.

Our songs included Americana, folk, love and patriotic favorites. We had just enough variety to spark a few memories, get feet tapping and raise voices in song. It became just the spoonful of “sugar” we needed to help our Healthy Aging “medicine” go down.

Most of us already know the elements to healthy aging: good nutrition, stay fit, stimulate your mind, connect with others and create value…everyone just needs a “nudge” now and then, and we are the perfect duo to share a nudge! Our light-hearted trivia bundle of current information, newest health tips, and common sense was a fun way to think in a positive way about lifestyle choices. And of course the prizes were appreciated too!

Preparing for our performances is part of our personal healthy aging path: We learn new songs, create harmonies, play our instruments, align our songs in ways that tell and share stories, and do the necessary research to set up our trivia questions…so many aspects of learning help stimulate our brains too! The result is just plain fun as we share it with others! Remember this one: “You don’t stop playing because you get old; you get old because you stop playing!

At our last performance, we threw in a bit more “sugar.” We invited some of our senior friends to join us with a few dance demos to pleasure our audience. We then encouraged everyone to join us on the dance floor. Yes, seniors can Sing and Dance! It was happy time for us and our audience, and we plan to do this again soon!

Dance, a highly social activity…improves flexibility, strength, endurance and mood, just to name a few healthy aging benefits! Per the American Council on Exercise, dancing “provides cardiovascular conditioning, which lowers blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, in addition to aiding in weight control. Since dance involves weight bearing, it boosts bone density, along with muscle strength and coordination.”

It seems that both singing and dancing have a positive effect on dementia: In our “Healthy Aging Is Music To Our Ears” we noted that singing even helps dementia patients connect to long forgotten memories. Now, during our recent trivia question research we discovered that dance can actually help prevent dementia because of the mental challenge coupled with physical exercise. More evidence that we should all consider music as part of our healthy aging lifestyle…Healthy Aging Is Music To Our Ears!

Positively singing and dancing,
Sheri & Bill Eppright.

As Photojournalists, Sheri and Bill of Positive Public Image, Inc. publish engaging articles, and colorful images, that champion Healthy Aging, and the value of seniors in America. 

As entertainers and ambassadors of Healthy Aging, Sheri and Bill interact with their audiences using music, dance and multimedia presentations to encourage an Active Positive Lifestyle and connect with fellow Seniors. Please hire us for your next event!  Call 678-672-7310, or by email: Contact Us!

Born With music inside Me – Ray Charles from Positive Public image

“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, My oh my, what a wonderful day!”

Ah…the power of music—doesn’t it just lift your spirits! Boomers have been known to clock events in their lives by what song was playing at the time–first car, first job, getting to first base, first speeding ticket, first love—you get the picture!

We may be older now, but music is just as important today as it was in our youth.  It can soothe our emotions, provoke a lone tear, or put an extra spring in our steps and make everything seem possible.

Health Benefits of Singing – Positive Public Image

Per the Mayo Clinic, “Music has the ability to change moods, soothe nerves and energize your life.”  Playing an instrument can definitely keep your brain active, and you know those melodic outbursts you have in the shower each morning? Well, as per scientists in at the University of Frankfurt, Germany, here are just a few of the health benefits awaiting you:

• Releases endorphins into your system–makes you feel energized and uplifted
• Gives your lungs a workout
• Tones abdominal and intercostal muscles and the diaphragm and stimulates circulation.
• Makes you breathe more deeply, improving aerobic capacity and releases muscle tension
• Relieves stress and improves sleep
• Improves posture
• Clears your sinuses and respiratory tubes
• Increases your confidence

Yep, we love music! Add one guitar, one keyboard, and 2 voices in harmony plus some of our favorite songs; then stir in a few friends and you have the makings of a social symphony! It is a great way for us to connect with others so we have decided to spend more of our time this year sharing our love of music. Feedback we receive from our performances allows us to pick our songs carefully, hoping the songs will evoke good memories and/or get toes tapping and voices singing along.

Music To Our Ears – Sheri & Bill of Positive Public Image performing

We repeated our Valentine’s Day performance (see our blog “Valentines Day 2013 – Share the Love”) at the Evergreen Senior Club February monthly meeting. Singing our favorite love songs from the 50′s and 60′s, we had just as much fun the 2^nd time around, meeting more new folks whom we hope to see again very soon. What we really enjoyed was the number of people who came up to us afterwards and told us how much they enjoyed our performance. We know we aren’t Carnegie Hall material but we have such a good time and enjoy what we are doing, that we are truly gratified when our “gift” is well received!

With our focus on Healthy Aging (check out our blog “An ‘A-P-L a Day’ — Too Much To Ask” ?), we always choose to donate a portion of our musical performance proceeds to Alz.Org, an organization who helps in the research effort around Alzheimers and dementia. Just one more reason we enjoy singing for folks!          

We will be performing at the Duluth FAB (Fifties And Beyond) May meeting, and we’ve already lined up a return visit to Bethesda Park Senior Center on July 1^st for their summer kickoff event. We are working on an Americana/Patriotic theme which we are sure folks will enjoy. When we travel as in our recent trip to Arizona, we try and visit a few senior organizations and facilities and sprinkle a bit of our healthy aging “happy dust, ” and hopefully in the near future those visits will include some of our music. In any event, we would love to see you at our next event.  “Happy trails to you…til we meet again!”  Positively speaking, Sheri & Bill Eppright

As photo journalists, public speakers and seniors, we promote Active Positive Lifestyles and Healthy Aging in America.  If you would like us to speak with your group or organization on Healthy Aging and Active Positive Lifestyles, and/or provide a fun musical presentation, please contact us.   Call 678-672-7310, or to contact us by email: Contact Us!

Valentine’s Day Event at Bethesda Senior Center gave us an opportunity this year to connect with others, an important element of our Active Positive Lifestyle and Healthy Aging philosophy.  We visited with old and new friends, and shared our love of music…Love songs of course!

We were happy to see lots of fruits and veggies being served at the event, since nutrition is the key component to our Healthy Aging philosophy:  it accounts for 80% of our healthy aging process!

Music is one of the ways we choose to connect with each other and create value, another aspect of our Healthy Aging philosophy – do something you love and your passion will keep you motivated. From teenage love, to true love, to lost love to lasting love, with keyboard guitar and voice,  we zipped down memory lane, ending on “Side By Side”,  a favorite that got hips swaying, fingers snapping and toes tapping.

We mixed in some Valentine’s Trivia to “stimulate our minds”…one more aspect of our Healthy Aging  philosophy: “stimulate your mind – keep learning!”

Thanks to Gwinnett Parks and Recreation Dept for the many Senior Centers throughout our Community where Seniors can have fun, stay active and connect with others–and thanks again to Kerri, Anne and Pam at Bethesda Sr Center for inviting us to share the “love” on this Valentine’s Day!   Positively speaking, Sheri & Bill Eppright

As photo journalists, public speakers and seniors, we promote Active Positive Lifestyles and Healthy Aging in America.  If you would like us to speak with your group or organization on Healthy Aging and Active Positive Lifestyles, and/or provide a fun musical presentation, please contact us.  We would love to hear from you!  Call 678-672-7310, or to contact us by email: Contact Us!