Sit down for this one.

Jackie Schneider leads a yoga class at the Activity & Recreation Center with a bit of a twist. For an hour every Tuesday and Thursday morning, Schneider leads as many as 60 attendees through exercises designed to stretch and strengthen core muscles while improving leg strength and balance. The movements are low-impact and controlled.

A sea of chairs in the room serves a purpose. If students begin to lose their balance during the exercises, chairs are nearby to steady them. Schneider also reins in students with suggestions to �listen to your body� and �don�t overdo.� Participants range in age from 60s to 80s, with about one man for every four women.

The hour is split in half between seated exercises and standing exercises. New Age music quietly hums in the background as Schneider demonstrates her motions.

�As we get older, whatever we do is OK,� said Schneider, who is 69.

One stretching exercise � participants reach their arms skyward before bending their elbows until their palms touch their backs � literally pats class members on the back for showing up.

�Showing up is good,� she said.

Balance and coordination involve thinking, learning, memory and response time. As those skills decline with age or neurological conditions, balance can be compromised. Unsteady balance can lead to falls, with one in three older Americans experiencing a spill every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WORKING WITH LIMITATIONS

The classes are intended for people who have various limitations, Schneider said.

It is �more comfortable, more manageable for them than others,� she said. �We�re living longer, and with that comes more limitations.�

The conditions include arthritis, Parkinson�s disease, multiple sclerosis, vertigo and fibromyalgia. Ailments are not limited to physical woes, Schneider said, as the class can help mend broken hearts for people who have sick or dying family members.

�The class is a way to escape from caregiving, to have that hour,� she said. �People realize they�re not alone. The sharing goes a long way; we�re another resource instead of going it alone.�

Schneider, who holds a master�s degree in education from the University of Missouri, has worked as a wellness coach for 16 years. She has taught chair yoga for eight years.

�But just because you�re limited, why should that limit you more?� she asks. �If we want to maintain our independence, this is a way to go.�

Attending an exercise class is positive from a number of perspectives. Participants are able to maintain muscular strength and range of motion while catching up with friends and acquaintances.

During the first half of class, exercises focus on hips, back, neck, shoulder and arm flexibility. The second half of every class tests balance and builds spine and leg endurance through standing movements. Moves often call for multitasking, requiring class members to integrate their minds and bodies.

Classes also involve a few eye exercises. Schneider said one exercise involves imagining a clock on the wall.

With their eyes in sync, she instructed class members to move their eyes from 12 to 6, from 9 to 3 and from 11 to 5 multiple times. Once that was done, she encouraged participants to rub their hands together.

�When they feel warm, cup your hands over the eyes to calm mind, body and come back to center,� she said.

STAYING MOTIVATED

Betty Carpenter, 83, stays active by walking, doing yardwork and tending to her flowers. She also regularly attends chair yoga classes. The classes are �the only formal exercise I get,� she said. After having both a hip and knee replaced, Carpenter said she has been attending the classes for about two years.

�I feel like it helps,� she said. �I don�t do these chair exercises by myself.�

Winifred Krause, 70, has known Schneider since the 1970s. Krause helped make two videos about her, �Chair Yoga with Jackie� and �Chair Yoga with Jackie 2.� Both are sold on Amazon.

The exercises look easy, Krause said, �but you�re really working your muscles.�

After the class, �I feel better in general,� she said. �Plus, the class is time to focus on yourself.�

Krause said she has made several friends from attending the classes, noting �they expect you to come.�

One of those friends is Gail Garey, 73. Garey said the stretching and deep breathing of yoga help her feel better.

�The exercises here help me get my balance,� she said. �I�ve got a new group of really close friends. I cherish those girls.�

A HELPING HAND

Schneider aims her exercise program toward older residents in part to honor her mother. She said her mom didn�t get the adequate care she needed in a nursing home before she died.

�I�m paying it forward for what my mother didn�t get, and helping as many people as I can stay healthy,� she said.

She likes to quote Ram Dass, an American spiritual teacher and author of the seminal book �Be Here Now.�

When Dass was awarded the Peace Abbey Foundation�s Courage of Conscience Award in 1991, he famously quipped, �I help people as a way to work on myself, and I work on myself to help people.�

Schneider helps people through her yoga classes.

�We�re all just walking each other home,� she said, quoting Dass again.