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 FITNESS FITNESS 

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HEALTHY LIVINGHEALTHY LIVING

Mountain View News Saturday, June 21, 2025


Michele Silence, M.A. is a 37-year certified fitness 

professional who offers semi-private/virtual fitness 
classes. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit.
com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 
Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness.

CAN'T EXERCISE? 

NEW HOPE IS COMING!


Lori A. Harris

FINDING OUR WAY: TOLERANCE 
IN TROUBLING TIMES

For many people, getting outside for a walk or joining a 
fitness class sounds simple. But for those with health problems 
like Parkinson’s disease, poor eyesight, or limb loss, 
just moving around can feel nearly impossible. Now, scientists 
are finding new ways to help. Thanks to exciting 
advances in medicine and technology, more people may 
soon be able to exercise—even if their bodies once said no.

Start with Parkinson’s disease. This condition affects the 
brain and causes shaking, stiff muscles, and slow movement. 
For years, people with Parkinson’s had limited options. 
But now there’s something called adaptive deep 
brain stimulation (aDBS). Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic 
used this “brain pacemaker” to help a former orchestra 
conductor who couldn’t even lift his baton. After surgery, 
he was able to conduct music again without tremors 
(Cleveland Clinic, 2024). Unlike older versions of brain 
stimulation that run all the time, this new version turns on 
only when needed—like a smart assistant for your brain.

There’s more. Intense exercise, even for people with Parkinson’s, can slow down the disease. 
In one study, people who rode a stationary bike at 80–85% of their top heart rate had fewer 
symptoms and better brain health over time (University of Colorado, 2022). Doctors say that 
exercise may help the brain make more dopamine, a chemical that people with Parkinson’s 
are missing. This means that even without a brain implant, working out could still protect 
the brain.

Poor vision? Having poor eyesight can stop someone from enjoying simple things like a 
walk in the park or joining a fitness class. But science is stepping in here, too. At Massachusetts 
Eye and Ear Hospital, doctors grew new corneas from stem cells taken from a patient’s 
healthy eye. In early tests, 92% of the patients saw their vision improve (Nature Biotechnology, 
2023). That could make a big difference for people who are afraid to go outside because 
they can’t see where they’re going.

Another group of researchers in South Korea found a drug that helps eye nerves grow back, 
giving sight to mice with eye injuries (Science Advances, 2024). Though it’s still being tested, 
this kind of treatment might someday help people with damaged eyes regain enough vision 
to safely move around again.

Some of the most exciting discoveries involve the brain. In 2023, scientists in Switzerland 
created a “brain-spine bridge.” They connected a man’s brain to his spinal cord using special 
implants. This man, who was paralyzed, was able to walk and climb stairs again after years 
of being in a wheelchair (Nature, 2023). Even more amazing—his brain learned to reroute 
signals, so he could still move even when the device was turned off.

These implants work by targeting new parts of the brain that control movement. One patient 
said he felt like his legs were “part of him” again, not just machines responding to commands. 
That’s a big deal because it brings back a natural feeling of motion, not just robotic steps.

Finally, for people who have lost an arm or a leg, new bionic limbs are opening the door 
to exercise again. At MIT, researchers created a special kind of prosthetic leg that connects 
directly to nerves and muscles. One man, who had his leg amputated above the knee, used 
this new limb to climb stairs, walk faster, and even feel the ground beneath him (MIT Media 
Lab, 2023). These legs send messages to the brain, helping the user stay balanced and safe. So 
far, over 100 people have tested them with great results. One woman even returned to hiking 
trails she hadn’t been able to enjoy in years.

Why does this matter? Because when more people can move, more people can exercise. Exercise 
helps the heart, muscles, mood, and brain. It can fight off depression, improve sleep, 
and keep the body working well. But if someone can’t move safely or doesn’t feel confident, 
they may stop trying altogether.

These breakthroughs aren’t just for hospitals or far-off future use. Many are already in human 
trials or being tested in clinics. Some robotic limbs are even covered by insurance now. 
No, not everyone will qualify for these treatments, and some are still years away from being 
used widely. But they offer hope. Especially to older adults, people with long-term illnesses, 
or anyone who feels left out of the fitness world.

So if you or someone you know finds it hard to move, don’t give up. Help is coming. With 
the power of science and a little sweat, more people may soon find themselves back on their 
feet, ready to move, play, and enjoying fitness again.

There will always be difficult times, such as economic downturns, 
political upheavals, or social injustices. When we're in the 
midst of struggle, our challenges feel unique and unprecedented, 
but every generation faces its own hardships. History teaches us 
that what feels insurmountable today has been weathered before. 
We get to practice presence. We can draw on the lessons of the 
past to help us discern who we want to be in this moment, in this 
test of character.

As students of history, we've looked back at community behavior with judgment and moral 
cer-tainty. We assume we would have done better; we tell ourselves we would have made 
the right choices when it mattered most.

We imagine ourselves helping Jesus carry his cross, offering shelter on the Underground 
Rail-road, and standing with the oppressed rather than the oppressor. We hope we would 
have hidden Anne Frank, refused to "just follow orders," and turned away from the horror 
of lynching picnics. We want to believe we would have chosen courage over comfort, 
justice over conformity.

But history's harsh spotlight reveals how ordinary people, folks just like us, can become 
complicit in extraordinary cruelty. The uncomfortable truth is that most of us would have 
been ordinary citizens of our time, shaped by the same forces that shaped others.

The Choice Before Us

So what does this mean for us today? Each of us gets to choose who we will be and how we 
will respond. The questions are immediate and personal:

Do you want to join the protesters or the counter-protesters? Do you want to volunteer at 
your polling place or avoid civic engagement altogether? Do you want to help an immigrant 
family navigate the system or report someone you suspect of being undocumented? 
Do you want to bridge divides or retreat into your own community?

These choices define us. They reveal our values in action, not just in theory.

Navigating with Clarity

Being clear about your core values and maintaining a commitment to them is essential. But 
clarity requires honesty about what we're actually facing. Don't catastrophize everything, 
but don't minimize real challenges either. Can you notice and state the facts with precision? 
Can you sep-arate what you know from what you fear? Can you decide what you want to 
do, and then follow through?

Don't feel guilty about experiencing joy during difficult times. You can care deeply about 
injustice and still find moments of happiness. Being perpetually sorrowful isn't required 
for moral legitima-cy, nor is it particularly helpful. We can hold both grief and gratitude, 
concern and contentment. Being human means embracing this complexity.

Constant complaining—especially the performative kind on social media—rarely moves 
us for-ward. It can become a substitute for action, a way to signal virtue without practicing 
it.

The Practice of Understanding

You may seek understanding, but start right where you are. You don't have to be perfect to 
begin. You don't need to have all the answers to ask better questions.

Be willing to offer the benefit of the doubt, even when it's difficult. This doesn't mean naive 
ac-ceptance of everything, but it does mean approaching others with curiosity rather than 
certainty about their motives. What would be the most generous interpretation of someone's 
behavior? This question can transform how we navigate disagreement and misunderstanding, 
offering hope for a more understanding future.

Tolerance as Strength

True tolerance isn't passive acceptance or moral relativism. It's the active practice of engaging 
with difference while maintaining our own integrity. It's the strength to listen without 
necessarily agreeing, to hold space for complexity without losing our moral center.

In these times, tolerance becomes a radical act, not because it's permissive, but because it's 
disciplined. It requires us to resist the easy comfort of righteous anger and instead do the 
harder work of understanding. It asks us to extend grace while standing firm in our values.

The Long View

History will judge us, just as we judge those who came before. Future generations will look 
back at our choices with the same mixture of understanding and bewilderment that we 
bring to the past. They'll wonder how we could have been so blind to some obvious truths, 
so passionate about issues that seem trivial to them.

But they'll also see something else: the ordinary people who chose to act with kindness, who 
extended grace across divides, who practiced tolerance not as weakness but as strength. 
They'll see those who chose to build bridges rather than walls, who sought understanding 
rather than victory.

The question isn't whether we'll face difficult times; we will. The question is who we'll 
choose to be when those times come. Will we be the ancestors future generations look back 
on with pride, or will we be the ones they struggle to understand?

The choice is ours to make, one decision at a time, one interaction at a time, one moment 
of grace at a time.

Lori Harris is an award-winning transformational coach. You can learn more about her and 
events at LoriAHarris.com.


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