Island Senior Resources Fitness Volunteer Spotlight: Pat Nagata Tchang 

By Sharon Heiber, Freelance Writer

Island Senior Resources (ISR) offers free fitness classes that help seniors increase strength and flexibility, prevent falls, and make new friends. Volunteer Pat Nagata Tchang, who teaches classes at ISR Bayview in Langley and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Harbor, talks about her classes and her passion for senior fitness in this interview.

How did you get interested in teaching senior fitness classes?

I’ve always enjoyed physical exercise, including doing Taekwondo, kickboxing, and Zumba.

I was inspired to work with seniors after seeing my mother struggle with a rare, debilitating neurological disorder. She couldn’t stand, but she could move her arms and legs. Trying to find activities for her made me realize how few opportunities there are for people with limited mobility to exercise.

In 2015, I started teaching fitness classes—Zumba, Zumba Gold, and senior fitness—for people of varying abilities in assisted living facilities, senior centers, and other organizations where we lived in California. At one point, I was teaching nine classes each week! When I moved to Whidbey Island last year, volunteering at ISR seemed like a perfect fit.

Island Senior Resources holds three group fitness classes per week, online and in-person. Why is it important for older adults to exercise—and to do it together?

Exercising and socializing help to combat the natural aging process. As people get older, they tend to sit more and move less. They’re afraid of falling, can become isolated, and may begin to feel vulnerable. People think they are physically diminishing and cannot do anything about it. I saw that happen with my own parents.

In my classes, I encourage seniors to believe I’m not as young as I used to be, but I’m still able to get out and move!  I try to create a sense of community. We introduce ourselves. We chit-chat a bit between exercises. We often laugh. Sometimes people go out to lunch after class.

Can you describe the format of your “Let’s Move Together” class?

In “Let’s Move Together,” we do a variety of exercises that build balance, strength, stamina, and flexibility. People can exercise while standing or sitting. I mix it up by using a variety of equipment—soft rubber balls, TheraBands, and ribbons that bring out a child-like exuberance in people.

Every class has a theme and a music playlist that supports that theme.  I invite people to identify the playlist theme. The theme could be springtime or weddings or just about anything! The point is to engage people mentally and physically—to have fun, enjoy the music, and hopefully forget that they are exercising!

What other classes are you teaching at ISR?

This spring, I’ll be working on getting certified to teach S.A.I.L.—Staying Active and Independent for Life classes. It’s an evidence-based exercise program that studies show decreases falls by improving strength, balance, and fitness. ISR offers SAIL classes in Langley, Freeland, and online, and is planning to expand the offerings.

You’ve been teaching senior fitness classes for 10 years. What keeps you doing it? 

It’s gratifying and humbling when people tell me that exercising has changed their lives. 

That change doesn’t have to be dramatic. It can be as simple as someone telling me that they were at their storage unit and stumbled but didn’t fall. Or that they recovered quickly from a broken wrist because the class had made them stronger. 

What keeps me teaching senior fitness is connecting with people and seeing people as old as 90 keep coming back—and maybe even bring a friend.