Mara Leonard has discovered her fountain of youth.
A lithe 71, she is a firm believer in exercise — of the mind as well as the body. She is convinced that being a lifelong musician has kept her mind well-tuned, and leading exercise classes for almost two decades has kept her body well-toned.
“It’s so important to keep moving. It will keep you in good health for so much longer. And it helps avert mental decline. I have had 90-year-olds in my class who have been so inspiring to me, including a woman who I had to keep reminding to slow down,” said Leonard, who teaches classes four times a week through the Park District of Oak Park’s Active Adults program. The classes, each of which average about 14 students, are held Tuesday through Friday mornings at the Dole Center.
A budding ballerina in her youth, Leonard was immersed in exercise until her mid-teens, when she grew too tall (6 feet 2 on toe) and suffered a debilitating injury. Regular exercise wasn’t a part of her life after that, until the late 1990s when she felt things “were going south.” She started taking classes through the park district at Rush Oak Park Hospital and, later, at Dole Library. When the park district needed an instructor for its senior classes, she stepped up — and she hasn’t stopped since.
Leonard intentionally includes cardio with dance steps and arm movements in her classes and incorporates hand weights, stretch bands and body bars of various weights. She focuses on movements that improve posture and offers accommodations for students with injuries or issues related to aging.
Fran Sullivan has been taking Leonard’s class for about 10 years and particularly appreciates how she adapts her routines for aging students.
“I’ve taken classes at other places, but they’ve been more aerobic than I wanted. I could probably keep up, but I’d be crippled by the end. Mara’s classes aren’t competitive and they’re social — it’s fun to exercise with other people,” said Sullivan, who is in her late 80s.
Recently, the group got together at George’s Restaurant to celebrate Rita Williams’ 90th birthday, a tradition that started more than a decade ago. Williams has been taking Leonard’s class for about 15 years.
“We’re kind of a support group for each other,” Williams said. “And you can never have too many support groups as you get older. We follow up on each other’s health and vacations. It’s nice to know people care. Mara is very supportive of our limitations.”
Leonard’s dedication to exercise might only be surpassed by her passion for music. She started playing piano at the age of 5 and picked up the violin at 8 and the cello at 12. At 16, she was drafted by her church to play the organ. But cello is the instrument about which she is most enthusiastic because of its beautiful tone and the opportunity it provides for playing with an ensemble, particularly with chamber groups. She played with her high school orchestra and was second chair with Chicago’s All-City Orchestra.
Although she graduated from North Park University’s music program and earned her master’s degree in cello performance from Roosevelt University, her parents, who emigrated from Latvia just before she was born, harbored hopes she would be a doctor like her mother.
“The closest I came to my mother’s dream was working in the EKG Department at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She was delighted, thinking I was finally headed in the right direction. I lasted two years,” Leonard said, laughing.
She has performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Northwest Indiana Symphony, the Illinois Philharmonic and the Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest. She currently plays the organ and serves as the music director for All Saints Episcopal Church in Western Springs. She is also arranging performance opportunities this spring for her ensemble, “Sterling Quartet.” And she still gives private music lessons.
Leonard, and her intrepid students, are examples of the importance of being active —physically and mentally — as we age. As her student Rita Williams said, “You have to keep the blood going to the right places.”
