Aging experts predict that one out of 26 Baby Boomers will celebrate their 101th birthday. That’s because we are all living about 20 years longer than our parents and grandparents. To help older adults make the most of these extra years, On Lok presents the Aging Mastery Program (AMP), a 10-week virtual workshop developed by the National Council on Aging.
AMP is part of On Lok's WELL offerings for active older adults. With AMP, adults 55 and over can learn real skills for navigating older lives. We have asked two AMP participants and one of the many aging experts who teach AMP to tell us more about their experience with the workshop.
Mark Denton, AMP participant:
"AMP brings in experts renowned in their field but full of practical advice. During the weekly classes I make a list of action items, any of which will improve my life, such as increasing my amount of exercise from 30-60 minutes to 75-90 minutes per week. They go from small things that can make a huge difference in my health to more complicated and thought-provoking topics, such as medical directives. My classmates bring a breadth of experience and perspective and are all accomplished in their own right. I am still active professionally but will begin to taper off in the next few years. AMP is helping me think about and define what the next chapter of my life will be."
Sandy Nakamura, AMP Participant and Community Ambassador:
"The program gives me a strong sense of my community.Through AMP, I reconnected with old friends and met new people who live right in my neighborhood. The program taught me how to embrace the aging process and focus on what is really important as I get older: my health and well-being. The speakers are excellent. You don’t get to hear experts of this caliber, unless you attend a conference. Instead, the setting of the workshop is very intimate and comfortable. I incorporate what I have learned into my daily activities. When I wake up, I ask myself: Did I sleep well? Will I eat a healthy breakfast today? Will I engage with someone in my community? Will I take a walk? It helps me improve my life and stay positive about my own aging."
Dr. Patrick Arbore, Director and Founder of Elderly Suicide Prevention & Grief Related Services at the Institute on Aging:
"I am very proud to be an AMP faculty member. The workshop is a beautiful way for people to connect and have meaningful discussions about what it means to grow old. It allows older adults to learn new things and also to get validated for what they already know—what they have learned through the process of aging. I love the diversity of AMP participants and staff, not only in terms of race or sexual orientation, but also age. My class on facilitating healthy relationships is designed to help participants strengthen existing relationships but also provides space to talk about loss. We are in an age-denying, grief-denying, death-denying society. Ageism is more insidious than many othe -isms because it is so normalized, people don’t realize they are practicing it. At AMP, our support makes people feel confident to participate. We model what we are teaching by valuing what our participants have to say. We are demonstrating to older adults that they matter."
For additional information or questions about AMP, please contact Valorie Villela at 415-439-9364 / valorie@onlok.org
Learn more about AMP and upcoming Aging Mastery Program Workshops.
