Dare to Be Fit and Have Fun Doing It!

Lifelong Fitness Alliance will be holding our Annual Fitness Weekend, Dare To Be Fit! and Have Fun Doing It on the Stanford University Campus on May 31-June 1, 2008. The conference, health fair and food tasting's will be held on Saturday, May 31st at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center. On Sunday, June 1st, there’s fun for the whole family to engage in physical activity, with the Annual 8K Race, 50+ Race and 5K Community Walk (use the coupon and walk for free) through the beautiful Stanford Campus. For a printable weekend schedule click here and for those who would like to check out the 8K course we have a route map. We hope you will join us in celebration of this wonderful event. And be sure and review and visit the many wonderfulsponsors of the Weekend.

The speakers for the Conference are an exciting and diverse group of thinkers and authors on physical, emotional, and intellectual fitness. You can look forward to seeing Dr. John Ratey, "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain", Fred Luskin PhD , "Forgive For Love", Sam Keen, author many times over and PBS co-producer of "Faces of the Enemy", Dr. Walter Bortz, author and expert on aging, and Jeffrey Zimman, CEO of Posit Science which focus on brain fitness.

We have set up working groups to put the event together. The groups focus on logistics, sponsorships and community partnerships, program, PR/Marketing, Volunteer, race, and exhibitions. We rely on help from numerous sources to make this event an annual success. So, if you have an interest in helping in any of these areas please contact us at (650) 361-8282 or send an email to dare@lifelongfitnessalliance.org

Speakers

John Ratey"

Think of exercise as medication,” says John Ratey, M.D., an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author of the recently released book, Spark, which is igniting the country. Seven or eight years ago, studies offered mixed results on the question of whether exercise can boost brain function in children and adolescents. “There’s sort of no question about it now,” said Ratey. “The exercise itself doesn’t make you smarter, but it puts the brain of the learners in the optimal position for them to learn.” Ratey, who is also the author of, A Users Guide to the Brain, which paves the way for understanding how the brain affects who we really are, now posits that exercise is a master key to brain functioning. His research shows how even moderate exercise will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking, enhance memory, and much more. Ratey will be discussing this exciting and simple, yet powerful message. His presentation will forever change the way you think about your exercise routine – or for that matter, simply the way you think.

Sam Keen

Sam Keen was, in his words, "overeducated at Harvard and Princeton" and was a professor of philosophy and religion at "various legitimate institutions" and a contributing editor of Psychology Today for 20 years before becoming a free-lance thinker, lecturer, seminar leader and consultant. He is the author of a baker's dozen books, and a co-producer of an award winning PBS documentary, Faces of the Enemy. His work was the subject of a 60 minute PBS Bill Moyers special--Your Mythic Journey with Sam Keen. When not writing or traveling around the world lecturing and doing seminars on a wide range of topics on which he claims he is "not necessarily an expert but a skilled explorer," he cuts wood, tends to his farm in the hills above Sonoma, takes long hikes and practices the flying trapeze, which he took up at age 60. For Keen, the practice of philosophy is a way of life that results from falling in love with questions---the great mythic questions that can never be given definitive answers. Keen’s discussion will focus on an exploration of questions, such as the following: How can I find a meaning, purpose, vocation in my life? What can I know? What ought I to do? For what may I hope? Is there life beyond death? Whom do I love? Who loves me? What curtails my freedom? How can we create a more just and peaceful world?

Frederic Luskin

Dr. Luskin holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Health Psychology from Stanford University. He is the Co-Director of the Stanford-Northern Ireland HOPE Project, an ongoing series of workshops and research projects that investigate the effectiveness of his forgiveness methods on the victims of political violence. He served as the Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, the largest research project to date on the training and measurement of a forgiveness intervention. He currently works as a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation. To earn his doctorate in counseling and health psychology from Stanford in 1997, Fred Luskin had to write a dissertation. At the time, Luskin was furious with a friend. To complete his graduation requirement and to cope with the pain, Luskin researched and wrote about forgiveness. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t forgive,” he said. “I was badly hurt by a friend of mine and it threw my world upside down.” Dr. Luskin, the author of two best selling books, Forgive for Good, and Forgive for Love, presents lectures, workshops, seminars and trainings throughout the United States on the importance, health benefits and training of forgiveness. His presentation will introduce an exploration of the HEAL process of forgiveness that, when learned, can lead to enhanced well-being through self-care.

Posit Science

Have you ever heard the adage “Use it, or Lose it?” At Lifelong Fitness Alliance, we put forth that message often, as one of the many incentives to maintain a healthy body. Well, the same applies to your brain. Jeffrey Zimman, CEO of Posit Science, will discuss some of the fundamental changes that occur over time in the adult brain. He will present research on the changes in the processing speed and accuracy of information in our brains, as well as transitions in the release of neuromodulators, which help us to record information for future retrieval. He will present ways to improve cognitive function in adults, which engage the brain’s neuroplasticity,-- its natural ability to change. He will be discussing Posit Science’s Brain Fitness programs, which have been designed by a global team of leading brain scientists and specialists to speed up the brain function, improve accuracy and strengthen recording. Scientific studies have shown that the use of Posit Science programs improves memory by an average of 10 years. Zimman will present information in a humorous and interactive style, and he will provide tips which, if put into use, will begin to optimize your brain power!

Race and Walk

Come join Lifelong Fitness Alliance (formerly 50 Plus Lifelong Fitness) at our 25th Annual, Silver Celebration, 8K Paul Spangler Run (for Runners Fifty and Over), the 8K All Ages Run and for other friends and family wishing to join in the Fun, the 5K Community Walk led by Joanie Greggains. All events will take place on Sunday, June 1st 2008, beginning at PAC 10 Plaza and winding through the beautiful Stanford Campus. Please note these races are part of the Palo Alto Grand Prix Series! Register before May 15 and receive reduced rates.