Finding Bliss in Water Fitness

PICTURED: Carole Hebb and Kristen Hoffman.

Group exercise produces positively invigorating ripple effect.

By Jake Ten Pas

MAC’s community and club offerings are so deep that even members of more than 50 years can find fresh ways to float their boats by diving into something new. Ships setting sail on the seas might encounter all kinds of unexpected weather impediments, and the same can be said for humans embarking on new phases of their life journeys.

When just such a member, Carole Hebb, moved from a house she’d designed herself near Oaks Park to The Springs Living, where she resides independently but still in different fashion than she had previously experienced, a troubling mist began to take shape.

“I thought the transition was really easy on the surface, but I realized later it was one hell of a move because it’s just not something I had done before,” Hebb explains. “One habit was the same. I’d get up in the morning and make myself presentable in order to go downstairs to breakfast, but everything was different. I just rolled with it, but there was a kind of brain fog. Usually, I didn’t have that. I was using the pool at our facility, and I realized I couldn’t remember all of the exercises.

“Two or three months ago, I discovered this class with Kristen [Hoffman], and here are all these gals. There are about 15 of them who have been swimming together for years and years, and they’re all really close buddies. They’ve been so gracious to me! You don’t think you can, or even try, to break into this sort of thing. So, you just join it and see what happens.”

Hebb started attending Hoffman’s 7 a.m. Deep/Shallow Water Fitness class in the Sun Deck Pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “I leave The Springs at 6:30 a.m. to get there, and by the time I come out, my brain fog is gone,” Hebb reports. “I feel alive again, like there’s a reason to get up in the morning. I’ve had to miss a couple of times and, boy, those are not good weeks when I miss her class. She is such a pro, and she tells you every muscle you’re using. She’s just marvelous at what she does, and it’s made an absolute difference in my life.”

Hoffman is happy to hear it, and similarly cherishes her time with members: “The Tuesday/Thursday water fitness pool pals create a warm, welcoming community where members can belong and be known. They are a dedicated group who show up consistently not only for the classes but each other as well. We are truly a family, and what makes this group so special is the way I have seen them care for each other during seasons of joy and challenges. It is a pleasure to teach the class and work with each of them to see the happiness that healthy habits can bring. Group exercise can enhance the benefits because they’re enjoying it together.”

Beneficial human bonds are nothing new to Hebb, but that doesn’t make discovering new ones any less powerful. Whether raising two sons with late husband and creative entrepreneur Paul Hebb, whom Carole describes as “the love of my life and a gem of a gentleman’s gentleman,” or sharing meals with newfound friends at The Springs, Hebb knows how to forge relationships. Once upon a time, she pedaled ready-to-wear fashions and fabrics including Harris Tweed and Scottish tartans from shops she started called Traveler’s Choice and A Yard at a Tyme. The inventory of the latter was filled with materials supplied by folks she met during extensive travels with her family when Paul was on the Economic Development Council of Oregon.

No matter how full the early acts of one’s life are, there’s still room for packing in more motivating experiences, Hebb says. “It’s really been quite a wonderful life, but this class has done more for me recently than anything else.

I felt like I was sinking into old age, and I’m too ornery to go there! You have to keep the body moving, or it won’t, you know.”

“She’s also worked extensively with MAC Physical Therapist Jay Jensen, and credits him with helping her to recover after kneereplacement surgery. He is kind, considerate, compassionate, and tough at the same time. He really knows his work.”

Hebb also puts in her own work. She exercises on the floor at home any morning she’s not at the club, and does her best to walk two miles every day. “I was just reading The Winged M, and saw this class that pertains to seniors and keeping them moving, so I’m going to call and try to get in there, too.”

Even the feistiest of spirits faced the specter of malaise over the past year and a half, as COVID kept everyone home, and isolated some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Hebb recounts that, while she’d never before considered resigning her membership, the possibility did occur to her during the pandemic. “Do I stick it out?,” she remembers asking herself.

“Yeah. I’m not giving up the club because it’s too important to me to have this place to come to.” Hebb has made many friends at MAC over the years, from current second- year trustee Marilyn Whitaker, who helped Hebb sell her home, to Patty and Bobby Burke, a couple she met during her time on the Walking & Hiking Committee who also walked Hebb’s beloved dog Peanut after the aforementioned knee surgery.

Like the muscles of the body, the metaphorical heart requires use to keep working, and Hebb takes her exercises seriously. “I don’t mind my own company, but I need friends. I love to meet new people, and I believe if you just give somebody a smile, it goes a long way for their day.

“This class brings me outside, and I’ve been able to see some of my old friends here. I couldn’t have a better situation for independent living, but you sever so many connections when you move into a new place. You have to reach out to keep things alive. It’s just very stimulating for me to get out and about, and part of it is coming to the club, my home away from home.” WM