Several longtime Body Recall instructors have stepped up to offer their expertise and experience to be Body Recall trainers in 2012.

The trainers have diverse backgrounds and represent decades of Body Recall instruction.

The new trainers and other Body Recall instructors have provided their input into a revised training schedule that provides instructional materials to instructor trainees in advance of a two-and-a-half day onsite training program at Body Recall headquarters.

In designing the new approach, Body Recall also took advantage of the insight of newly Certified Body Recall Instructor Alane Mills, whose career includes physical education as well as developing and leading train-the-trainer programs for other professional educators.

Also providing input were Body Recall board members Dr. T. Brock Symons, a professor at the University of Kentucky Center on Gerontology who specializes in rehabilitation services, and Dr. Jerry Palmer, associate professor and acting program director for the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program at Eastern Kentucky University and a training design expert.

In addition to covering essential concepts, movements and sequences of the Body Recall lifetime fitness program, the new training schedule also covers class set-up, marketing and self-evaluation.

Body Recall has instructor training sessions scheduled for each month of 2012 at Body Recall headquarters in Berea, KY. Other regional trainings will be scheduled based on demand.

“I am convinced that we have a wealth of talent, ability, and passion within our ranks. That ability and passion is at the core of what makes Body Recall so special. Our intention therefore is to create an environment of inclusion and collaboration where we can learn and grow from one another,” Body Recall Executive Director Jeff Rubin said. “I am very pleased with the process that led to our new core of trainers and the approach we used to develop and redesign our new training program. It brought together veterans and new instructors in a free flowing exchange of ideas of what will be needed  to provide greater opportunities for existing instructors, recruit new instructors, and fulfill our mission of reaching and serving more people in the advancement of lifetime fitness.”

The Body Recall trainers are:

Anita Patrick

Anita Patrick of Florence, Ala., has been a Body Recall instructor since 1989. She teaches level 1 and level 2 classes as well as for special populations and has achieved Exemplary Instructor status. She studied physical education at the University of North Alabama.

Anita Patrick

Anita was teaching aerobics and playing competitive softball while also doing some volunteer work for a senior care center. That was where she was first introduced to Body Recall. But it wasn’t until Anita, who has scoliosis, suffered a debilitating back injury while playing softball that she started using Body Recall as part of her rehabilitation. When doctors at Vanderbilt University told her she would need surgery and may never be able to run again, she asked to delay scheduling a surgery while she continued to rehab with Body Recall. By following the Body Recall program, she was able to avoid surgery, amaze the doctors with her recovery and return to the softball diamond.

Patrick has been with Body Recall ever since her recovery.

Carolyn Wallace

Carolyn Wallace has been a Certified Body Recall Instructor since 1985.  She currently holds an Exemplary Teacher Certification, which reflects loyalty, commitment and a high level of leadership skill in all levels of classes.  She has been involved in health fairs, conferences, and workshops, often leading demonstrations with a team of students from her advanced classes.  She is certified as a Trainer of Body Recall for Special Populations, a version of the Body Recall program for those with special needs.

Carolyn Wallace

Her educational background (M.A. – Cultural Anthropology from Arizona State University, 1982) has assisted her ability to visualize and organize projects & trainings that make a difference.  Her interest & passion has always been focused on health improvement.  She has found Body Recall to be an excellent, life-changing program.

Carolyn served on the Board of Directors of Body Recall Inc., from June 2003 through July 2009.  She currently serves on the staff of Body Recall, Inc. as Trainer & Program Coordinator for Special Populations.

Sheila Johnson

Sheila Johnson has been teaching Body Recall since 1989 in Northwest Ohio. She has Exemplary Teacher Certification and became a Special Populations trainer in 1991 and has conducted trainings and workshops in hospitals, long-term care centers, retirement communities, Alzheimer and cancer care centers, and mental health facilities throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Sheila Johnson

Sheila spent a decade as the Resident Activities and Volunteer Director at the Sunset House Retirement Community in Toledo, Ohio, where she was introduced to Body Recall in 1989. She has been a lifelong student and teacher of exercise and modern dance, but feels that she truly became a health educator through Body Recall training and teaching, and has been thrilled to share the benefits of movement, health, and wellness with her students.

In addition to her Body Recall classes, Sheila is a certified teacher of Hatha Yoga, and enjoys her role as an assistant teacher of Adapted Dance for children and young adults with Down Syndrome at the Toledo School of Ballet.

Pat Rogers

Pat Rogers has been leading Body Recall classes since 2005 and currently leads the classes taught at headquarters in Berea, KY, as well as other locations. She has her Intermediate Instructors Certification, Smart Moves Certification and Special Populations Certification.

Pat Rogers

Pat was introduced to Body Recall while leading a 4-H group that implemented the Body Recall Smart Moves for Youth program and saw how the program transformed the behavior of some of the students. She later assisted Body Recall founder Dorothy Chrisman in teaching Smart Moves classes.

Pat has been a registered nurse in Kentucky since 1966 and also operates a beef cattle farm.

Alane Mills

Alane Mills brought her background of physical education and training program development to Body Recall in 2011, becoming Certified Instructor and assisting Body Recall with revising and developing its methods of instructor training.

Alane Mills

Alane, of Danville, KY, graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in physical education in 1981 and earned a master’s degree in health administration from EKU in 1983. She taught in alternative education in the Boyle County School District for 15 years, helping to develop the district’s alternative education program. She designed, developed and led a train-the-trainer program for group facilitators within the school district. In 2001, she co-founded a network marketing firm that she and her husband continue to lead. They also operate a cattle farm.

With the start of the new year, Body Recall successfully launched a new approach to instructor training with a two-and-a-half day on-site training session that brought together first-time trainees as well as Certified Instructors for re-training.

The new approach included training materials sent in advance to the trainees, four trainers who brought different areas of expertise, and evening sessions on how to successfully promote themselves and their Body Recall classes.

“Body Recall did an excellent job of selecting trainers,” said Fred Crump, an instructor for 17 years in Richmond, KY, who came in for retraining. “Each one brings their own expertise to the table.”

Trainer Sheila Johnson provides some one-on-one instruction for Joseph Maina.

With the advance materials, the training session covered just as much material as the previous five-day training sessions, while better accommodating people’s schedules.

The training, from Jan. 14-16, attracted new instructors from Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, and, for the first time, Rhode Island.

“It went very well,” said Molly Owen, of Bella Vista, Ark. She has been a Body Recall student for five years and was motivated to become an instructor to ensure the class she has been attending could continue. “I feel younger today than the first day I was here,” Owen said as the session wrapped up.

The four instructors were Anita Patrick of Florence, Ala.; Sheila Johnson of Toledo, Ohio; and Carolyn Wallace and Pat Rogers, both of whom teach at the Body Recall headquarters. Certified Instructor Alane Mills coordinated the new training format that combines both off-site and on-site instruction.

“I was impressed with the trainees,” said Anita Patrick, who came from Alabama to be one of the instructors.

As the training concluded at midday Monday, Patrick said she was “just sort of blown away,” by the enthusiasm, energy and productivity of the training session.

“The beauty of this new training is to show both current and new instructors what is possible through Body Recall. It combines the best of the old, with the thinking of the new, where people are inspired not only to learn but  to share their ideas, creativity, and input,” said Jeff Rubin, Body Recall Executive Director.

The next instructor training session is Feb. 18-20 at the Berea headquarters, with other instructor training sessions scheduled each month in 2012. Rubin is actively recruiting new instructors for Body Recall while encouraging any current instructor eligible for retraining to attend.

Future trainings will use multiple trainers, which provides more time for individual attention and practice teaching than the previous week-long format that was led by one trainer.

“The response to the training was overwhelmingly positive, as evidenced by the smiles on the trainees faces, and their enthusiasm for what they had come to Berea to learn,” Rubin said. “We recognize, however, that we are still a work in progress and lessons learned from our inaugural training will continue to be applied as we grow.”

Here is what other members had to say about their training:

Mary Kaye Lyon, Muncie, Ind., said she has gone through about seven retrainings: “I think the format is great, I thought the trainers were great. I was totally happy with it.”

Elaine Matthes, Louisville, KY: “We’ve had four different trainers presenting material and that’s a real gift because we get to see how four different people do it. … It’s been like a wealth of information. They give extra ideas how to do the exercises, how to talk about it, how to share this with your participants. It’s just really rich in that way.”

“This helps me see that everybody brings who they are to it, and it’s a gift, and it’s OK to think, this is my gift and this is how I’m going to do it. That’s been really great.

Larry Bernhard, Richmond, KY, on being evaluated for demonstrating the sequences:

“We had to really learn it, not just follow somebody.”

Cathy Trcalek, Jacksonville, FL: “Having never had the pleasure of being in a Body Recall class, I found the practical info provided by each trainer (as it would appear) in a classroom setting to be invaluable.”

Joseph Maina, Richmond, KY: “Starting the day with some fun exercises was fun … All the instructors were excellent.”

Anne Graff, Lexington, KY:  “All four trainers brought a wealth of experience to this retraining. They demonstrated a passion for teaching, an enthusiasm for the benefits of Body Recall and lifetime fitness, and a kindness and supportive spirit that helped energize the participants with both learning the fundamentals better and providing new ideas for teaching.

“The organizational team that compiled the lesson plans, updated the teachers’ manual and re-created the new training format deserve much credit – Body Recall feels like a ‘living stream’ that has moved to provide updated, creative, valuable materials while honoring the source that created this impressive program.”

Front row, left to right: Molly Owen, Anne Graff, Cathy Trcalek, Larry Bernhard, Elaine Matthes. Second row: Fred Crump, Joseph Maina, Tina Perry, Mary Kaye Lyon. Top row: Pat Rogers, Anita Patrick, Jeff Rubin, Carolyn Wallace, Sheila Johnson, Alane Mills.

In remembering Body Recall founder Dorothy Chrisman, the class of Body Recall instructor Mary Kaye Lyon of Muncie, Ind., offered their thoughts on the impact of the Body Recall program. Here are some of their comments:

Lavenna Putman, age 93:
“Exercise has always been an important part of my life. … When I began getting too tired, about three years ago, I joined a class of Body Recall and I found it the most thorough of any exercise I have ever done. Seeing others work with me is encouraging. The socializing regularly is a real help to me since I live alone. Body Recall is extending my life and helping me to enjoy living.”

Marilyn Jones, age 79:
“I’ve only been in Body Recall a little over a year. It’s the only exercise program I have enjoyed and committed to.”

Fred (age 88) and Eva (age 86) Hillmor:
“Not only the exercise we enjoy but also the wonderful people we interact with.These 15 years of Body Recall have been great.”

Harry (age 87) and Rosalie (age 86) Metzger:
“In September 1998, at our doctor’s suggestion, we began Body Recall. It’s been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Thirteen years of excellent exercising has “kept us going,” even though sometimes we’d rather just take it easy and stay home.
We always feel better after we’ve finished the Body Recall class; plus, we’ve made many wonderful friends there, including Linda Beghtel and Mary Kay.”

Mary Kaye Lyon, age 65:
“I have been an instructor for 21 years. I feel it has been one of the best choices in my life. Dorothy was my first trainer — what a privilege! She inspired me with her energy and determination to get people moving. I have loved teaching and associating with the wonderful people who attend our classes. I have seen miracles occur in the lives of many, many people. Hope returns to their lives as they become confident that they can continue to move and remain active.
Dorothy surely lived her life well. I am grateful to have been touched by her determination and inspiration. I am sorry to say good-bye to such a powerful influence for good in the lives of so many.”

Virginia Byer, age 91:
“I’ve enjoyed Body Recall since 1986. I’ve really appreciated this activity and feel it has helped me reach 91 years.

Marty Raisor, age 74:
“I’ve been coming to Body Recall ever since I retired- 2 ½ yrs. I enjoy it very much and am convinced I feel better because of it.”

Carol Love:
“My Mom participated in Body Recall for 17 years. She was convinced that Body Recall kept her walking and out of a wheelchair. Thanks, Body Recall!!”

Vera, age 91:
“It gets me up and going. I can turn my head and body much better; also better coordination. My balance is also better. I’m 91 and have been coming over a year.”

Carol Casazza, age 69:
“Body Recall has kept me moving for the past 9 years. I look forward to exercising with friends. It gets me going and I feel better when I do it.”

Betty Kendall, age 95:
“I have been in Linda’s class for about 12 years. I am able to do about everything I wish to do.

Joe and Kathy Bush:
To Dorothy,
Thank you for an amazing legacy. Without you and your program- many of us would be in much worse physical condition. You Are A Saint!”

Body Recall founder Dorothy Chrisman was remembered as a woman of faith and an inspiring and demanding leader in adult fitness, enriching the lives of thousands of participants in the Body Recall program.

A memorial service for Chrisman was held on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Berea, KY, where she and husband John taught at Berea College, raised their family, and created a pioneering program of adult fitness. Dorothy Chrisman passed away on Nov. 14 in Berea at age 86. John Chrisman, 90, preceded her in death just five short months earlier.

Dorothy and John, who were married for 59 years, “made beautiful music together,” said Bill Ramsay, a former administrator at Berea College and a longtime friend of the Chrisman family. John, a music professor at Berea College, provided the music for the Body Recall exercise program that Dorothy developed in 1978 while a physical education instructor at the college.

“She considered it her mission,” Ramsay said.

That mission included creating Body Recall Inc., the non-profit organization that trained hundreds of teachers in the pain-free, practical and possible methods developed by Dorothy. As part of that mission, she assembled a demonstration team to travel the country in a van to recruit instructors and students to the Body Recall program.

Joan Bates became a member of the travel team after joining a Body Recall class in 1989.

“Dorothy was special to me – so full of energy and ideas,” Bates wrote in a collection of memories about Dorothy during a gathering at Body Recall headquarters in Berea the day before the memorial service.

Lisa Meredith of Louisiana and Julie Ward of South Carolina were longtime Body Recall trainers who recalled the rigorous training required to become a Body Recall instructor.

“We also learned to persevere,” Meredith said. “She wanted us to be excellent.”

Meredith recalled that Dorothy told the Body Recall instructors that they were not doing anybody any favors by letting them get by with anything less than their best.

“She gave us her all,” Meredith said.

Ward met Dorothy in 1987 and remembered being struck by her “passion and vitality.”

Dorothy’s passion for fitness included an emphasis on fall prevention and fall recovery to ensure people could live independently as they age.

“Exercise was not just for the classroom, but for living,” Ward said.

Pat Rogers is an instructor at the Body Recall headquarters that Dorothy helped establish.

“I still see miracles of Body Recall movements in each session, and all our lives are changed for the better,” Rogers wrote at the memorial.

Dorothy Currier was born in Big Bend, Ore., on Aug. 27, 1925. Her life included teaching physical education, dance and choreography. Among the many awards and recognitions she received included being named the Berea Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year in 1980 and being given the Berea College Service Award in 1997.

Said Ruth Ann Barr, Dorothy’s niece, “she was a dynamic woman with a pioneering spirit and visionary wisdom. Our lives are richer because we knew her.”

Jeff Rubin, Executive Director of Body Recall said Dorothy impressed him as a “pioneer and visionary” whose program was “ahead of its time.” As an aging society we’re just catching up to the mission and message that Dorothy and Body Recall espoused, Rubin said. “The best way we can honor her legacy is to continue to train more instructors and make Body Recall’s message of health and wellness available to today’s and tomorrow’s generations.”

Dorothy Chrisman

During October and November, Body Recall has been working with a number of its instructors to revamp its new instructor training program and set the stage for expansion of its lifetime fitness program.

“The restructuring was long overdue,” said Jeff Rubin, Executive Director of Body Recall, “to meet the growing demand for more Body Recall instructors and accommodate the need for flexible scheduling.” It still will take 40 hours to become a Certified Body Recall Instructor, but training will be restructured to reflect advance preparation as well as 2½ days of on-site training and follow-up support for new instructors.

Body Recall has scheduled a new instructor training session at its Berea headquarters each month in 2012, with the first session Jan. 14-16. The new schedule also will allow trainees from outside the area more opportunity to experience all that Berea has to offer.

Body Recall has been a leader in adult fitness for more than 30 years with nearly 300 instructors in more than 30 states. Rubin and a team of Body Recall instructors traveled to Rhode Island in November at the invitation of three groups in that state to demonstrate the Body Recall program.

“With rising health care costs, increases in chronic illness, and alarming concerns over obesity and the lack of general fitness among people of all ages, the need for Body Recall is greater now than ever before,” Rubin says.

Body Recall is out to reach those people who are uncomfortable in other exercise programs and are not inclined to lift weights or use machines, but can benefit from Body Recall’s “any place, any time, any age” approach. The benefits include better flexibility, balance, strength, and movement necessary for lifetime fitness and independent living.

The revamped training will cover Body Recall’s philosophy and unique approach to fitness training, places emphasis on demonstrating proficiency in exercise form and lesson planning. It also will cover business development and marketing opportunities for starting and expanding Body Recall classes.

The ultimate goal is fulfilling Body Recall’s mission of encouraging lifetime fitness.

Anybody with a love for fitness and a willingness to promote the Body Recall mission can become a Certified Body Recall Instructor. If you or someone you know would make a good instructor, contact Body Recall at info@bodyrecall.org or call 859-986-2181.

Dorothy Chrisman, a pioneer of adult fitness and founder of the Body Recall exercise program, died Monday, Nov. 14. She was 86.

Chrisman created the Body Recall program while she was a physical education instructor at Berea College in Kentucky. She was given the challenge of creating an exercise program for adults at a time when there were no such programs. She drew on her education experience and background in ballet and dance to introduce Body Recall through the college’s Continuing Education Department in the fall of 1979.

She became a champion of adult fitness, traveling across the country to demonstrate a program she called “pain-free, practical and possible.” She founded the Body Recall not-for-profit organization, which grew to include more than 300 fitness instructors in 32 states.

“…No single effort can help more in lowering medical bills, preventing hospitalization, depression and stress, and giving purposeful momentum to people than to get them moving and help them keep physically active. This hope for all is the force behind Body Recall,” Chrisman said.

The program used simple movement, incorporating music played by her husband, John Chrisman, a Berea College music professor.

Dorothy Chrisman would later write that “I named the program Body Recall because that is what I observed in the students. (Detroit was recalling automobiles for the first time the year I began this program.)  The name fit right in with the times.  I designed a T-shirt with the words, ‘This body has been recalled,’ which served to let people know we were achieving fitness.  Our little Appalachian town of Berea, Kentucky, was a front-runner in the move of adult fitness.”

Dorothy Chrisman’s work in fitness earned her numerous awards, including the Outstanding Woman of the Year from the Berea Chamber of Commerce and the Berea College Service Award.

“Body Recall exercises are not new.  They are simply natural motion performed thoughtfully and specifically controlled to maximize potential range of motion, strength, coordination, balance and agility, all of which influence body maneuverability and freedom throughout the day,” Chrisman said.

Dorothy Currier Chrisman was born on Aug. 27, 1925, in Big Bend, Ore.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from the University of Oregon in 1947. She married John Chrisman on May 31, 1952.

John Chrisman passed away in July 2011. They are survived by five children, Martha Riley (David), Richard (Shirley), Charles (Garnet), James (Cheryl) and John (Jillian); five grandchildren, Daniel Chrisman, Jennifer Faulkner, David Chrisman, Jessica Riley and Emily Riley; and a great-grandson.

Dorothy Chrisman

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. in Berea Baptist Church. Lakes Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

From its headquarters at 590 Mount Vernon Road in Berea, Body Recall trains instructors and students in the methods developed by Chrisman. It continues to fulfill the mission set forth by Chrisman: “To offer all people a better quality of life through responsible movement that is pain-free and possible: to assist, inform, teach, and train people in the practice of lifetime fitness.”

Special honors:

Commissioned as a member of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness

Commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel for her work with the aging population

Named Outstanding Woman of the Year in 1980 by the Berea Chamber of Commerce

Named Citizen of the Year by the Berea Lions Club

Named as a Woman of Achievement in 1981 by the Berea Business and Professional Women’s Club

Cited by the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of Aging in Albany, NY

Cited by the Kentucky Recreation and Parks Society for outstanding contributions to the leisure profession

Given the Applaudit Award from the National Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Association

Given the Berea College Service Award in 1997

Publications:

Body Recall: A Program of Physical Fitness for the Adult, 1980, currently in its 9^th edition

Teacher’s Guide to Accompany Body Recall: A Program of Physical Fitness for the Adult, 1980

Monthly column in NEW Day, The Magazine for Well-Seasoned Kentuckians

“Badminton at 65 and Older,” National Journal of Physical Education and Recreation, 1978

“Badminton Warm-Ups,” Kentucky Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation Journal

Audio, video productions:

Instructional audio tape to accompany Body Recall: A Program of Physical Fitness for the Adult, 1986

Video, Body Recall Exercises by Dorothy Chrisman, 1987

Video, Falls and Recovery From the Floor, 1993

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, is the first day of Fall and National Falls Prevention Awareness Day. Here is Body Recall Executive Director Jeff Rubin and Teacher Carolyn Wallace discussing how the Body Recall program addresses falls and Dr. Everett Schaeffer demonstrating one way to get back up after a fall.

The video is from WKYT NewsFirst at Noon which aired Sept. 19, 2011, all across Kentucky.

VIEW VIDEO

A fleece vest and a cinch bag-backpack are among the most recent additions to the Body Recall store.

In addition to clothing, you can also purchase the essentials for Body Recall classes at our Shop page.

Pictured to your left are some of the new items now being offered for sale to teachers, students and other friends of Body Recall.  The clothing line being modeled here includes new short sleeve and long sleeve t-shirts, a sample of our new polo shirts and an embroidered fleece vest with the Body Recall name. Not featured here is a newly designed fitness bag, and Body Recall pants which will be available shortly.

The clothing line goes along with our new logo which was created in conjunction with well known Berea artist, Alfredo Escobar, www.alfredoescobar.com to provide a more contemporary look to Body Recall and more readily convey our message of lifetime fitness.

While we are now featuring our new clothing line to reflect our new logo, the original “official” Body Recall line of t-shirts, sweat-shirts and mock turtleneck will still be available for sale.

New Logo Chosen for Body Recall

 The results are in. In response to our request for your feedback on a choice of a new logo for Body Recall the overwhelming majority of our teachers (87% of you) chose . . . the new design to our left.

 The logo was created in conjunction with well known Berea artist, Alfredo Escobar, www.alfredoescobar.com to provide a more contemporary look to Body Recall and more readily convey our message of lifetime fitness. Selected after consultation with teachers, staff, and friends of Body Recall the new logo offers us options to merchandise and market our programs in ways that were not available to Body Recall before.  It will usher in a new line of clothing and accessories that will be added to our merchandise page shortly. That new line will include short sleeve and long sleeve t-shirts and polo shirts.  A fleece vest with an embroidered Body Recall name, a newly designed fitness bag, as well as, pants.

 While we will be transitioning to our new logo, the original logo will still be available as part of our “official” Body Recall line of t-shirts, sweat-shirts and mock turtleneck.