About the Author
Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in. Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU.
It was a joy to meet Denise Medved in the beautiful community of the Win Win Women multimedia network and have the opportunity to feature her work on my show “On Your Own Terms.” I learned so much from her about how to ward off the cognitive decline that's so prevalent in aging adults around the world. There's good news in her message.
Check it out and spread it around via video, audio podcast, or the written summary – all available here!
Homegrown Denise
My grandmother was born in 1893 and she had some wonderful stories!
Denise was born with a form of Spina Bifida, a condition that affects the development of the spine. She was told at a young age that she would be wheelchair bound by the age of forty if she were “lucky”.
Encouraged by her parents, Denise never let this prognosis hold her back. She was inspired by her mother's love of learning and her father's transformation into a bodybuilder. Their efforts fueled the passion for both physical and cognitive health from a young age.
I was a personal trainer and I taught NIA classes, a combination of martial arts, dance arts and healing arts.
Solution-Focused Denise
I envisioned finding something to help people that would delay cognitive decline. And so, my gut instinct told me that movement may have something to do with that.
My dad, who moved constantly, was sharp as a tack until the day he died.
Denise started digging deeper into what causes cognitive decline. At the time, words like “neuroplasticity” were nowhere to be found on the internet. Still, she did find a study online from Harvard University suggesting that mental puzzles could slow cognitive decline but not prevent it.
Long story short, we had several medical schools and other places test the programs I was designing. We came up with 21 tools, which are games or exercises that you do physically that help restore, prevent, and improve cognitive function or cognitive decline in the body.
Denise's Patchwork
People worldwide and in every culture are concerned about maintaining cognitive health for themselves and those they care about. Denise's Ageless Grace program is accessible to people of all ages, abilities, and challenges. As a universal connector, Ageless Grace unites people across the globe with a shared goal of helping others maintain cognitive function.
Over 50 trainers worldwide now train educators to teach the brain health program, fostering a network of compassionate individuals who genuinely care about making a difference. Denise's vision for Ageless Grace is to reach more countries, places, and younger people, creating a patchwork of brain health advocates.
When one person trains 10 or 15 more, and then those people teach 15 or 20 people in a class, suddenly, exponentially, this message is getting out to the world. That was my vision from the beginning; that it would ripple and multiply.
Cognitive decline affects everyone. In fact, it is the number one health concern in the world right now, above heart disease and cancer. That is why Denise has pushed so hard to train as many people as possible to prevent cognitive decline.
Everyone worries about brain health for themselves or those they care about.
Changemaker Denise
With over 3,600 certified Ageless Grace educators worldwide, the program has become a leading force in addressing cognitive decline. Ageless Grace Brain Health can be practiced at home, with just 10-15 minutes daily making a difference in cognitive function. Seated exercises activate the brain and help create new neural pathways, promoting cognitive reserve and resilience in people of all ages
Ageless Grace has been a significant changemaker in the world of cognitive health. The program dispels fears surrounding genetics and cognitive decline by empowering people to understand they have choices that can positively affect their brain health.
Ageless Grace Brain Health has become a huge success, growing beyond Denise's wildest expectations. As a multiplier, one person trained in Ageless Grace can teach many others, exponentially increasing the program's impact and fostering a healthier, stronger, and more resilient global community.
Her company offers a myriad of resources on her website agelessgrace.com. There you can find handouts, blog articles, and a free class to get yourself started with the physical/mental combo activities that improve brain function. Find Ageless Grace on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram!
Changemakers like Denise are essential to living a healthy life both physically and mentally. That is why her efforts with Ageless Grace Brain Health advance so many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
For starters, Ageless Grace is an institution that advances Goal #3 – Good Health and Well-Being and Goal #4 – Quality Education. But if we zoom out, the effects of her work ripple out much bigger changes. Those ripples advance Goal #10 – Reduced Inequalities, Goal #11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Goal #16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
Get in touch to let us know what YOU and people you know are doing to realize these Global Goals by the year 2030. We can sure do it if we all work together and take our place as Changemakers!
CHECK OUT our CHANGEMAKER YOU course to help you get started today!
Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in. Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU.
