The “Dynamic Aging Program” (DAP), on the campus of OLLI at Furman University, begins its Winter term, 2016 on January 12. OLLI brochures have been available since October and course registration began on November 17. The program will be offered in the Herring Center on:

Tuesdays, starting January 12, for 8 weeks:
Time is 10:45am to 3:00pm.

As you know, Course Package Holders have priority in the registration process, so I would recommend investing in a minimum Course Package of six courses – good for the entire year. You will be charged for two courses when you register for the program in the Winter and can then use your remaining package for additional courses at OLLI, or for the DAP in the Spring term, 2016. Purchase of the Course Package will significantly reduce the already extremely low price for taking the program – which is $100/term if you purchase classes separately.

DAP Facts, Logistics, and Requirements

The DAP is the world’s first systemic offering of classes, group work, practices, and other offerings on how to age optimally; utilizing the latest research and theory from multiple scientific disciplines – modern gerontology, cognitive and positive psychology, neuroscience, dynamic systems theory, physiology, sociology, and developmental psychology. The purpose of the DAP is to create for the student an accurate understanding of the most current scientific knowledge about the aging process, and how they can proactively optimize this process in their own lives.

The DAP will be offered in the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms, and will continue each year depending on enrollment. Each term will offer one of three separate program modules – consisting of two classes and a group session one day a week, from 10:45am to 3:00pm. The three different modules do not have to be taken in sequence to achieve their benefits, and each module will offer knowledge and practices valuable to the student even if they don’t continue with the entire program. Also, since each module is non-sequential and a stand-alone set of teachings, students can miss a term due to travel or illness and be able to make up the missed module when it is offered again in the future.

The group session – to be held at lunchtime each week of classes (students must bring their own lunch to class) is mandatory. The purpose of the group is to create a safe and supportive place for each student to share their personal experiences, perspectives, and approaches to their own dynamic aging process – and deepen their understanding of what has been taught in class. A typical class day will consist of the following:
Time /Activity
10:45 – 11:30am: Class Session
11:30 – 11:40: Break
11:40 – 12:15pm: Class Session resumes
12:15 – 12:25: Break
12:25 – 1:00: Group
1:00 – 1:10: Break
1:10 – 1:30: Group resumes
1:30 – 1:40: Break
1:40 – 2:15: Class Session
2:15 – 2:25: Break
2:25 – 2:55: Class Session resumes
2:55 – 3:00: Wrap-up and Homework assignments

As you can see from the schedule, ample breaks will be offered throughout the 4 ¼ hour session, and students can bring seat cushions, blankets, pillows or anything else that will make them more comfortable during classroom activities. Sessions will be highly interactive, so the time will pass quickly. Homework assignments will usually be in preparation for the following week’s classroom activities.

Most classes will be taught by myself, but outside experts will be called in to present certain aspects of the DAP in those areas where my knowledge is limited – such as age appropriate exercise and nutrition, stress management, alternative medicine, etc. We will split into at least two groups at lunchtime so that everyone has a chance to share and enter into the discussion. Participation in class discussion is important to the student’s growth and learning, so we will facilitate an environment that is friendly and open to all personality types.

Those students who attend 70% of the complete day sessions during the term will be assured of a spot in the following term’s registration process over new students. Students missing a term after successfully beginning the DAP will also have priority over completely new students for the first year. There will be an open enrollment in the Fall, but starting in the Winter 2016 term, new students will only be used to fill the difference between returning students and the 36 person class limit.

What is Dynamic Aging?

Modern medical science has added – on the average – an additional 10-20 years to a person’s lifespan. If we keep ourselves in relatively good physical and mental condition, then we can turn this new stage of life into the most important and meaningful experience of our lives. Modern science – across multiple disciplines – tells us there are many things we can do to maintain our cognitive processes and improve our levels of happiness; thereby making these final years as satisfying and productive as possible. The purpose of the DAP is to take this scientific knowledge and make it as understandable as possible, and then reduce this knowledge down to multiple insights and easy-to-learn practices the students can employ in their own lives to age more dynamically.

The science behind an optimal aging process changes almost continually. The concept of “neuroplasticity” shows us how we can forge new neural pathways in our brain to offset cognitive decline, become more positive in our outlook, and improve our adaptability to all forms of change. We will explore the use of self-directed neuroplasticity to improve the mind’s ability to self-heal, and sculpt itself into anything you want it to be. New technology allows us to better control stress and the inevitable chronic pain associated with the aging process. Through age-appropriate exercise and nutrition we can keep our bodies younger and stronger than ever before. All of these scientific advancements can improve our quality of life, if we make the effort, but it is only by meaningful and mindful interaction with one’s environment that a person can catalyze a growth process leading to greater “wisdom,” freedom, and even “self-actualization.” Dynamic aging is all about positive change, quality of life, personal development, and creating the ability to fluidly adapt to almost any situation life throws at us.

By adopting the practices taught in this program, we will begin to experience an increasingly rapid developmental process that enhances everything we do. We will become more fully and uniquely “alive” – more fully ourselves – even as our aging bodies begin to fail.

The alternative to this more proactive and interactive approach to aging is a faster rate of cognitive and physical decline, gradual loss of personal energy, and a deterioration in our quality of life.

Stability is not an option as we get older.

A proactive and motivated DAP student can expect improvements in some or all of the following areas:
• Quality of life and life satisfaction
• Overall physical and mental health
• Cognitive capabilities
• Happiness levels, optimism, hope
• Ability to control stress and pain
• Relationships
• Self-awareness
• Flexibility and adaptability to changing life conditions
• Energy levels
• Acceptance of self, others, and situations

The DAP is Not for Everyone

The DAP is not for everyone. It involves a significant investment of your own time and the time of your instructors. The most effective students – those who will make the most remarkable positive changes to their aging process – will also be those who are the most motivated to learn, and willing to practice what they learn between class sessions. All students must be computer savvy, having their own computer and email account, know how to find and navigate a website, and have the experience of participating in computer forums (or the capability to learn these skills before class begins).

The DAP is not for passive learners, but for people who want to take charge of their own aging process. True learning requires experiential, reflective, and participative engagement with the subject matter being learned – so we have designed the program in order that students will learn as much from their own and fellow students’ experiences, as they will from the teacher and the scientific knowledge being taught. I have changed my entire style of teaching in order to create an environment where this type of learning can occur and be most effective.

Each person reading this introduction to the DAP must ask their self: “Is it worth it for me to participate in this program?” The choice is yours to make. Some people believe they are already aging in an optimal manner. Some are less adventurous than others. Others will only participate if it is proven to them that they will be successful. Others would not participate in anything so new unless most of their friends were also doing it. And, some people are simply in denial about the eventual declining quality of life they will certainly experience if they don’t start taking a more proactive approach to their own aging process.

A majority of students will probably not choose to participate in this program, at least initially. However, I know there is a small group of adventurous and self-aware older adults who understand deeply what this program represents – a chance to age optimally: with a higher quality of life, more energy and excitement, a minimum of age-related decline, renewed meaning and purpose, and the chance of discovering their unique potential in life. They understand that passivity and inertia around their own aging process will lead to an increasingly rapid decline. They want to take a more proactive approach to their own aging process, but are not knowledgeable of all they can do to help themselves. And finally, these students understand they cannot do it alone – there is a need to find teachers and support for making these types of changes in their lives.

These are the students I want for this program – people who will participate with me in this emerging new field so that we can together discover the keys to optimal aging and change the aging paradigm for millions of older adults. This is my vision, and for those people who choose to fully participate in the DAP, I promise you the experience of your life and a lot of fun in the process. Please contact me personally if you have any questions.

Dudley Tower, Ph.D.