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Amazing Benefits For Concussion Syndrome • Orthopedic Injuries Wound Healing • Anti-Aging General Wellness Introducing HBOT Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber It's a Santa Cruz thing. Our beloved city has a notorious passion (nay, compulsive obsession!) for identity reinvention. Inspired by our local university -- the self-pro- claimed "Authority on Questioning Authority," which loves to reinvent all aspects of who we are: cultural constructs, gender identification, even entire academic fields of studies (their UCSC majors keep multiplying exponentially like digital rabbits) – our city is famed as a hotbed of "Alternative Everything." Which gives us locals abundant permission to do likewise. Of course, consistency, loyalty and dependability have great value. But if you made it reading this far into The Sentinel, you're probably already enacting those in your own life, heroically making the world better. You do not need me to exhort you in that. Just keep it up! But if there is now some room for a fresh sprout of green growth in your life, if even a sliver of your soul has an inkling of Mid-life, even Old-Life crisis, you may well be questioning authority, even of yourself, on the topic of "Who Am I Now?" Then now dear reader, this January is an excel- lent time to do so. Especially in this, our downhill-coasting phase of life, it's a good time to re-assess our battle-fa- tigued bodies, ignite our personal agency and redirect our life path's next stage. It is time my friends, to REINVENT ourselves. But beware! Our world is full of so many WRONG ways to go -- enticing pathways leading to harm for our families, friendships, careers, health. (shudder) Evaluate carefully! Steer clear of dangerous directions. Instead… take your next BIG steps on good path- ways that leads to health and satisfaction. Safety first. Instead of finding the New You via a new hobby of solo parachute-bungee jump- ing, try something low altitude, (both physically and metaphorically) with friendly partners surrounding you to will catch you safely in their arms. For many of us, there is no better place to do this than on the dance floor. Our favorite living American sage Garrison Keillor agrees. "When you take on a noble cause that's a steep uphill climb and that brings you into conflict with bullies and bureaucrats who will make you question your faith in human goodness, you need to protect your own soul … and what I recommend is that you take up dancing, particu- larly Latin dancing. QUESTION —C'mon, it is REALLY possible to renovate my identity just moving my same old six body parts: two arms, two feet one torso and a head? What more could I possibly invent with those? Can't I just spend a big wad of cash on something REALLY BIG to transform myself: a Pe- leton bike, Golden Door health spa membership, Gucci designer ward- robe, musical light-show Tesla, bargain-discount oligarch-used yacht? Wouldn't one of those work better? ANSWER — Admitted- ly, that yacht would feel great (witness opening scenes of "Loot" on Apple+), but only for a few moments (ok, maybe months/years). But the problem is. . . IT WON'T BE ENOUGH! They're not NEARLY BIG enough . . . for long- term soul satisfaction that is. (Especially once you get the monthly bills... emotional crash & burn) No, no. Much more important is what comes from INSIDE YOU. It's not the bike that creates the new YOU. It's your own willful choices you make and actions you take. Your brain's neurons crackling, your muscles moving, your heart pumping -- those all add up to your own CHARACTER (as in MLK's sermon "the content of …") Gadgets (large or small) may aid you, of course, but your most powerful sup- port for such growth can be found right in the room beside you. It's the kind touch of other people. Yes, the positive physical contact with your dance partners is an even richer treasure achieving your new you than that oli- garch's yacht. OH MY ACHING ___! (fill in blank) Admittedly, health issues can often hamper all this. Joint pain is one such com- mon ailment. It's hard to ratchet up into Transformer Mode if every movement ouches. To relieve pain in ankles, knees, hips, and shoulder joints, Harvard Medical School advises doing the RIGHT kind of careful ex- ercise using correct form, repetitions, tempo, inten- sity, and modifying for strength. Recommended walking and joint workouts can "help control the pain, increase flexibility, range of motion, and get amazing relief." Happily, we do all that in social dancing too. With partners safely holding you up from stumbling. To mu- sic. A great package deal. Even at age 80, Keillor still advises partner dancing. "After a day of beating your head against the world's indifference … you'll find that your body in sync with the music can bring you delight." Renewal of body, soul With an audience of one (at a time) every new song with a new partner is a fresh start to be a new improved dancer. And the best part is---on the dance floor, you are becoming whoever you want to be. SOoooo… who do you WANT to be? (more on that NEXT MONTH: "How to Choose a Social Dance Nickname" where I reveal my own secret dance name) The ancient sage, King Solomon, wrote 3,000 years ago "For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven— a time to be born a time to die." Goodness knows that last item will come wayyyyyy too soon. So let us make the most of that first, better, time for a new, happier iteration of YOU. We must balance our "time to grieve," wrote Solomon, with "a time to dance." Start now. Move your feet. Shuffle, stroll or jump across the dance hall threshold. Best of all you'll be surrounded by a fellowship of (soon-to-be) dance friends reinventing themselves too . . . just like you. Welcome aboard. Now is your time. By Peggy Pollard, Santa Cruz Waltz & Swing www.Peggy- Dance.weebly.com It's Time to Re-Invent Yourself… on the Dance Floor Bigstock Photo

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