If you come, please donate a toy for a child in need for this holiday season. And if you can't drop it off today, they'll be taking toys to the fire stations until the toy boy in December. So please consider to donate a toy to the fire department's toy drive. There'll be many, many kids in this city that will thank you for it. Three, two, one. Hey y'all, it's your vice mayor Dan Vu. We're here in beautiful Cardinal Run North Park, and we're here today to talk about pickleball. Pickleball as a sport has been around for decades, but it's only been in recent years where it has just blown up. And we here at the city obviously fully support pickleball. We have so many courts in so many of our parks. And today I'm going to show you a few of the basics of how to play pickleball. So first let's talk about the court and the equipment. The court itself is about half the size of a tennis court, and it's laid out sort of similarly. The net is a little bit shorter than a tennis net. The ball is essentially a wiffle ball. And the paddle, kind of a giant ping pong paddle. And like any sport, you want to dress for it. Athletic gear, tennis shoes, or these days pickleball shoes, or you could dress like Mac, I guess. So in recreational play, you play to 11, and you have to win by two. In singles play, one side starts serving. If they score a point, then they continue serving. They have to switch sides to the other side to serve. If the server gets a side out, then the other side starts serving, etc. And you kind of go back and forth until somebody gets to 11 points, win by two. In doubles play, the first server gets to serve one time, and if they keep scoring, they can continue to serve. That side will switch sides. If they get a side out, the other side starts to serve. Server always starts on the right, and they have to serve diagonally to that opponent. To serve the ball, you have to hit it from below your waistline. Can't hit it up here, and no overhead smashes like in tennis. You can do it one of two ways. You can bounce it and then hit it, or you can just hit it straight out of your hand. I usually like to point my opposite foot towards my opponent, and you're always going to be serving diagonally like this. One of the things to remember after you serve is that it has to bounce on your opponent's side, and then when they hit it back to you, it has to bounce again. After that, it can bounce or not bounce. You can hit it out of the air, do whatever you need to do. But for this first serve, it has to bounce and bounce. When you serve the ball, it can't enter the kitchen, and it can't hit the kitchen line. So if Mac is serving to me, and it hits in there, that's a side out and no point for them. If it hits anywhere near the line or on the line, that's also a side out or no point for them. It has to clearly cross that line, and it also has to be in the quadrant diagonal to the server. There are quite a few differences between singles and doubles. Doubles is probably the most popular way you've seen pickleball played. In singles play, I would basically serve to Mac if I get the point. I'm going to go over here to the other side. Mac also goes to the other side. I serve to him again, and I keep serving if I keep scoring. If I get a side out, then it's his turn to serve. In doubles, if I serve and I score, then we switch sides, and I continue serving until we stop scoring. If I serve and get a side out, normally this is after the first serve. If I serve and get a side out, then it's Haley's turn to serve. If she serves and scores, she keeps serving. We switch sides, et cetera. If she gets a side out, now it's their turn. Same thing on that side. Because of the two bounce rule, you want to make sure that your partner, when you're serving, is staying back with you, because when that shot comes back, it needs to bounce. If Haley's all the way up here, it's going to bounce right past her, and she also cannot hit it out of the air. I always like to remember, serve and stay. Whether you're serving or your partner is serving, serve and stay until that third shot comes, then you can advance to the net. Let's talk about position a little bit. Where do you want to be in this game? This is the baseline. Either way, when you serve, you have to be behind the baseline. This is the baseline. This is where you want to be when you hit long shots. Here's another good one. When you're playing next to other people, and a ball comes into your court, they'll be yelling, ball, ball, ball. You might be yelling, ball, ball, ball. The play stops, they get their ball, and then you replay that point because it's interference. This is the kitchen. Most of your game, you want to be playing right here, because you have the advantage of being close to the net, and you can react fast. As you can see, I can reach most of my half of the court. Another thing to remember, we're both right-handed, so forehands are stronger than backhands. If a ball comes to the middle, it is most likely my ball, I can get way more reach on it, see how strong it is. If a ball comes to the middle, I can get way more reach on it, see how short her reach is there versus my reach. Very often, the person on the left, if they're right-handed, they're going to cover that middle piece. This is also called poaching. When it looks like you're taking your partner's shot, it is not necessarily rude, sometimes it's part of the strategy. If you want to play most of your game in the kitchen, it doesn't mean that you run up here as soon as the point begins. You look for opportunities. So if they're hitting deep like that, sometimes it's hard for me to get. All this space in the middle is called the transition zone, sometimes called the dead zone. You don't want to be stuck here. These are bad positions to play. You want to be using the transition zone to transition either from the baseline to the kitchen or back to the baseline. You don't want to live here. You might have heard of something called dinking. All that means is soft hits that are short and most of the time in the kitchen. Looks like this. Here's how you do scoring. You'll hear in doubles, players call out three numbers. We're going to start with zero, zero, start. First number is our score, second number is their score, and the third number is who's serving. Is it the first server or the second server? I'm going to start off by saying start because the first serve, you only get it once. Haley will not get to serve on this first round. So here we go. Zero, zero, start. So that was a side out for me, which means it's now their turn to serve. So it's max serve. When he serves, he's going to say zero, zero, one. Zero is their score. Zero is my score. He's the first to serve. He's going to serve to me. As we're receiving serve, I'm going to be back here at the baseline to expect the serve. Haley, my partner, she can be all the way up at the kitchen line. All right, so they had a side out, so now it's Tyler's turn to serve. The score is now zero, zero, two because he's the second to serve. Haley's going to go back to the baseline to receive the serve. I'm up here at the kitchen ready to go. Now, if the ball doesn't make it over the net or the ball lands in the kitchen, that's a side out and then it goes to the other side. What you want to do is to be in a loose athletic position. You want your feet a little bit apart. You want your knees bent and that way you can bounce. There's a lot of lateral movement in pickleball to do this to cover the court. When you cross like this, it's very unstable and you could fall. So you want to be like this. You want your paddle up in front of your face. That way you're ready for a backhand or a forehand. And you always want to be tracking the ball. Even if the ball goes behind you, you want to track it. Some players like to point their paddle at the ball and that's another way to help them track it so that when it comes, they're ready to react. Let's talk about line calls for a second. Generally, in recreational play, the people on the side where the ball is get to call the ball. We're the ones that are going to see it more easily. Sometimes you get into arguments. To me, it's not worth it. If the ball hits the line, it's in. If you're not sure if it's in or out, you call it in. Sometimes in a friendly game, if people are really, really unsure about it, you can just play the point over. Sometimes the ball could land like this. It's technically out because it's not touching the line. But from our point of view as players from up here, it'll look in. If you're not sure, you call it in. Let's talk about communication for a second. Sometimes balls are going to come in between us and we're not going to know who's supposed to take it. I always just use two words only, either you or me. You mean it's likely to be your ball or it should be your ball. Me means I'm taking the ball. I don't like to say, got it? Because got it sounds like, do I have it? Do you have it? It gets confusing. Communication is really, really important. With all the courts here in our beautiful park system, I'm sure you'll be able to find a place to play near you. We'll see you on the court. Hi, I'm Liz Sheehan, the 5th District Council Member in Lexington. And I'm here today with Co-Executive Director Gail Reese at ITN Bluegrass. And we're going to talk a little bit about the services that they provide to the community. Hi, Gail. Hi, Council Member Liz. Nice to see you. It's so hard not to just call you Liz. I know, we work together in so many different domains. Yes, you do. Can you tell me a little bit about ITN Bluegrass? ITN stands for Independent Transportation Network. And we are part of an affiliate. We're an affiliate of a national organization called ITN America, which started actually 30 years ago. And we became an affiliate 20 years ago. We're the second oldest in the country. And we match volunteers driving their own cars. We're a non-profit with people who need rides. And we operate in Fayette County and northern Jessamine County. We use some paid drivers. We own some cars. We do about 40 to 50 rides a day. Wow. Okay, so that's a pretty big undertaking to organize. To get people scheduled and matched and have all of the locations. So what types of transportation services do you provide? Like, where do you take people? You know, the great thing about this is just because you're not going to drive anymore, it doesn't mean you have to stop living. It's not just medical appointments. I tell you, a really important one is hairdressers and nails. Hairdressers, nails, lunch with a friend, and we do do medical. We do quite a few medical. We are an arm-through-arm, door-through-door service. So that means if someone needs help getting into a medical facility, or they haven't been there before, then our drivers can help them find the right room. This is for people 16 and over or visually impaired adults. So for our visually impaired folks, we can help them also navigate these large centers or any way that they need. Okay, and so you are the Bluegrass Division. So do you operate solely in Fayette County, or do you go to any of the surrounding counties? When Brandon Crossing opened, now we're in northern Jessamine County. So we'll go to Brandon Crossing, but we have so much business in Fayette County that that's where we limit ours. Now, Versailles has something called Woodford Wheels, which is an affiliate of ITN also, which is not an affiliate, a portion of ITN also. Okay, so if someone is a community member and they meet your criteria, so a visual impairment or over 60, how do they get in touch with you to let you know they might need the service? The good part about ITN is for our seniors today, we're still phone-based. You can pick up the phone and call someone. And first, it's a membership organization. So we can mail you a membership application or you can go online because more and more people are getting to the point where they can go online and do stuff because my generation's aging, and we can do that. But once you become a member, once you fill out the application, we learn what your needs are. Like, do you have, like, any physical things we need to know about? Do you have vision problems? Do you have some memory loss? What are your, what are you, our drivers need to know how we can help you. So we have all of that, all that's loaded into the computer. We have emergency contacts for everyone. And the same kind of, our drivers, our volunteer drivers get training in our paid drivers. So they know who they, they're getting a manifest. They know who they're picking up and what their issues are, if they have any issues, where they're taking them. The computer system matches everything. Okay. Well, it matches, we, our ride coordinators put it together, but then they get manifests every day. It's like, what time are you picking up and where you're taking them and what time you should be there, and it calculates all that. And that was developed out of IT in America. So we use their, that software. Are there any particular times of year that you see more ride requests? Or do you, is it pretty steady across the year? You know, it's people, as we get older, and I'm going to say we, as we get older, I mean, if it's raining hard and the weather's bad, people don't like to get out and go. But if you've had a doctor's appointment scheduled for months, you're going to go. Yeah. And the doctors are so, there's so much demand these days that people are struggling to get all the appointments that they need. So we, but we do also drive people for dialysis and things like that. So they go anytime. Okay. And we have drivers who will do that, rain, snow, ice, whatever. And if someone from the community wanted to be a driver to volunteer their time that way, how do they get matched up for that? So we have a brand new program called drivealittlechangealot.com. So you go to that splash page, and then it'll take you to our website, which is currently under redesign, but you can get there or call the office. I tell you what, people find it, especially early retired men, or men when they've just retired, find this a wonderful volunteer activity because you can drive at your own convenience. You can say, okay, I'll do Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings, but I can't do it next week. You know, I, you, it's totally flexible. Whatever someone can do, then we schedule it and let them do it. If you're going on vacation, that's fine. It's no, no big deal. But we accommodate a volunteer's time and availability. So do you have, can you share the website that you use if people want to find out more information? Yes, yes, itinbluegrass.org or drivealittlechangealot.com, both of them. Okay, and then do you know the phone number? Yes. Share that. It is 859-785-2180. Okay, well, that's great. So that's all the information that we need to get in contact with ITN. Thank you. Yes, bye-bye. Thank you, Bill, for joining me today. So I'm here with Bill Goodman, and he is a user of the ITN Bluegrass Service. And I want to talk a little bit about that and what your experience has been. So can you share with us first, like, when did you start using ITN? Liz, I have glaucoma, which is an eye disease that is quite pervasive all over the world. In times when the optic nerve is so damaged that people begin to lose their eyesight. And that occurred to me starting about three years ago. I'd had glaucoma all my life, but I was able to function and I had good eyesight up until about three years ago. And because of the damage to my optic nerve over the many years, I began to lose my eyesight. I had to give up my car and driving. And I know that that's a traumatic incident for many people. But for me, over the course of the last two and a half to three years, I've made as many adjustments as I can to continue to work and be active. And that's how I found out about ITN. Yeah, and I appreciate you sharing your story today with us. And I know we've had several conversations about pedestrian facilities around town and crosswalks and signaling and how to improve that for people who have a visual impairment. But I appreciate you being willing to talk about your experiences. So, where does ITN Bluegrass typically take you? Like, what types of appointments do you think, I should use this for that? I have used ITN in a variety of ways. I have them take me back and forth to my ophthalmologist for my regular checkups. Not too long ago, I had an early morning ride out to the Joseph Beth Booksellers for our Kentucky Book Festival and needed to get transportation out there. I've had other appointments across town that I didn't think I could walk to. I try to walk as much as I possibly can, but sometimes the distance and the time is difficult. So, what I have found is that ITN is available to really go anywhere. In fact, the executive director, Gail Reese, gave me a lift one day to another optometrist down in Nicholasville. And we had a great time chatting about ITN and the service. And I've really gotten involved a lot more in what they're doing. And as Gail has said, they really do need volunteer drivers and more drivers as much as they possibly can. That's the campaign that's going on right now. It's such a great service for not only low vision and people who are totally blind, but others that are either disabled or need some support or help, or as Gail also said, to get their hair fixed. Now, I don't have that problem. So, I've not asked for ITN to give me a ride to the barber shop. But it's just such a valuable service for all the citizens in Fayette and in Jessamine County. Yeah, and in Fayette County, we've recently been having conversations around microtransit. And I see this as one version of microtransit to a specialized population. So, as a newer user, what are some of the things that you would want someone to know about this service if they're just getting started and wanting to use it? I think there are a couple of things. First of all, I don't think anyone should hesitate at all to be ashamed or to not have knowledge about a service that's so valuable. It's very easy to book a ride. There have been... I could count on one or two fingers the number of times when I've tried to book a ride. And because they're so busy, I could not get a ride at that particular time. And I just waited patiently. And then I got a call back. And that worked out just fine. I would also say that the drivers are wonderful. They're friendly. They do their best to get you always on time. There's a lovely chatty conversation that goes on. I've learned so much from so many people about their backgrounds. Recently, I had a ride with someone who had just recently retired from Toyota. And he told me all about their... He was a foreman. And how many cars they put out each... It was fascinating. And it took up some of the time that we were going. That day, as a matter of fact, we were... And I've forgotten exactly why, but I was going out to the ice rink. And he was a wonderful guy that gave me... I was meeting somebody out there. So you got a little entertainment on your ride, too. Exactly. Storytelling. Well, they're just... Honestly, I don't know if they go through some kind of personality test. But I've never had one that's not friendly and warm. I could name some names of people that I've gotten to know on a first-name basis. Or I've ridden with them maybe six months ago. And here they come again in my driveway or at my business place. I would think that there are many, many reasons that people need to be aware of ITN. Now, I will have to tell you... And thus the campaign that ITN is underway with right now. I will mention this to some people that don't have transportation, that are low vision and aren't driving anymore. And they don't know about it. So we really do need to get the word out about how valuable a service it is and how beneficial it is to individuals. And I think to the city as a whole, we need to, in Lexington, work on some of these things that you and I have talked about with public transportation and getting from point A to point B. There's no reason at all for someone to sit at home and not get to an appointment or not to get to an entertainment venue if they want. Just because these services are available. And when you want to book a ride, how far in advance do you typically plan for that? One of the things that I've tried to cooperate with ITN on is that they do like 24 hours or as much notice as you can give them. It's not something that you can do immediately like an Uber or a Lyft. But it's much better than, if I can say that, Uber and Lyft. So you just need to give them a little time to notice. They have really wonderful, friendly people who answer the telephone. If you've called more than once or twice, they know exactly who you are. You don't even have to say your last name. They have everything. They have your address and your phone number already registered. It's very simple, very easy. And again, they're always on time. They're always there. They get you to point A and then sometimes they'll bring you back at the same time. They might have another ride in between. But if they can give you 30 minutes or an hour in an appointment of some sort and then bring you back, in my case, to my office, it works out really well. Well, that's great. And the drivers are primarily volunteers. So it is people who want to give back to the community. And this is the way they're spending their time. So it's nice that you're having these warm experiences with the drivers. Well, I've tried to suggest to people that I meet, if they are recently retired or have some means to not be employed all the time, to be a volunteer driver. And I think I've recruited one or two, but we need many more than just one or two to make this service really viable for the entire community. Yeah. Well, thank you again for sharing your story today. And I hope you in the community, if this is a service that you might need to utilize for yourself or you want to volunteer to be a driver, go check out more information at their website, which is itnbluegrass.org. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. history in Lexington. This year Community Paramedicine got a new permanent home. We were there for the ribbon cutting. It is an exciting day in the life of Community Paramedicine program. We are cutting a ribbon to officially open this facility, the program's first offices. These new offices will streamline and support the work of Community Paramedicine, which has transformed how the Lexington Fire Department responds to complex, high-need populations. Community Paramedicine has strengthened the department's efforts, improved patient outcomes, and reduced the burden on frontline apparatus like emergency medical vehicles. As a mayor who is also a registered nurse, I have been a big supporter of Community Paramedicine. I have seen what it can do in our community. We've greatly expanded the program, which began in 2018. It now addresses the unique needs of those struggling with substance use, behavioral health issues, or chronic system involvement. It delivers care that's proactive, not just reactive. Today represents the growth of an incredibly innovative and impactful program for our community. As the mayor mentioned, Community Paramedicine was initially introduced in 2018 to help address the needs of individuals who were slipping through the cracks of our traditional service delivery methods. That mission still exists, and it's known as MIH, or Mobile Integrated Health, and it's now one of the three major pillars of our Community Paramedicine team. Since that time, this team has been able to adapt to the needs of the community. They also provide an integral link to our community's substance use response through their Quick Response Team, and have recently launched a Community Crisis Co-Response Team to provide additional support to those suffering from behavioral health emergencies. I want to take a second to acknowledge the incredible team of the men and women of the Community Paramedicine team. This multidisciplinary group of firefighters, social workers, police officers, mental health clinicians, peer support specialists, and fantastic community partners are some of the most dedicated individuals that I have ever met. Your passion for improving this community is evident each and every day. Thank you. By embracing the Community Paramedicine model, this organization and our community have added the ability to provide proactive service, meeting community needs before they become emergencies. These guys are amazing. They do whatever needs to be done. We got three teams that, you know, they work together every single day just helping people that are in need, right, because the hospital is not always the perfect place for somebody, right? So they go there and figure it out, and that's what we do. We just go to where they are and help them. So these guys are amazing. They do it every single day and got a smile on their face, and like I said, I'm blessed. Are we ready? Yeah. All right. Three, two, one. Yay! Chief Information Officer Liz Rogers is here with a look at this weekend's events. Hey there, I'm Liz Rogers, Chief Information Officer for the City of Lexington. Here's some great events coming up this weekend and the first week in January. Monthly Volunteer Day in McConnell Springs hits Saturday, December 27th at 10 a.m. Tasks change each month, but all activities will occur outside, so we ask that participants dress appropriately for working outdoors. Tools and instructions will be provided. Waivers must be signed to participate and can be completed in advance with registration. Come enjoy games of Family Feud at Castlewood Community Center from 6 to 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 30th, and compete for great prizes while finding a new family or strengthening the one you already have. Meet the King's Club Boys Mentorship Program Friday, January 2nd at 6 p.m. Meet with other men and boys from the community for a safe space to discuss everything that being a king in today's society involves. This is a monthly meeting, and all meetings take place on the first Thursday of every month while FGPS is in session. Free food will be provided, and any male under the age of 18 is eligible to attend. Join the outdoor programs for New Year's Hike Saturday, January 3rd at 9.30 a.m. There will be hiking taps to two of the bodies of water at Heifel Farm Park and an approximately two-mile hike that starts a year. Participants should dress for the weather. We recommend dressing in layers to help manage body temperature. Please contact the outdoor programs at 859-455-6075 with any questions. It's full moon hike! Join us for the first full moon hike of the year at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. Take a nighttime winter walk to look and listen for nocturnal wildlife. Online registration and payment are required for all attending participants. The hike will be approximately 1.5 miles and include easy to moderately difficult terrain, with some uneven terrain and elevation gains and losses. Dress for the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes or boots. Please feel free to call ahead for further details about the route and any accessibility concerns. The program is recommended for adults and children ages 8 plus. Please feel free to reach out to us at the Nature Center if you have questions at 859-272-6105. I'm Lynn and those are just some of the things going on this weekend and next week in Lexington and Bay Area counties. For more events and more information, be sure to visit lexingtonky.gov and click the calendar tab at the top. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next week. That's all for now, but as always you can keep up with us on social media, check out the latest traffic updates on X at LexRex or catch our live traffic cams on lexingtonky.gov. Be sure to tune in next week for part two of our look back at 2025. From all of us at LexTV, I'm Neil Noah and that's it for now. Thanks for watching. Transcription by CastingWords When he pulled into the station And he finally shut her down There was a big old celebration Everybody gathered round They passed out towards the girls and boys From miles around Then all at once they heard A mighty whistle blow The crowd started shaking It even shook the mistletoe And then going round the mountain Right through the steam and smoke Pulling sixteen coaches Chatting ho-ho-ho Who needs a sleigh When Santa's got a choo-choo train Ain't no need to fly away Santa's got a choo-choo train Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh Dashing through the snow In a one horse open sleigh O'er the fields we go Laughing all the way Bells on bobtail ring Making spirits bright What fun it is to ride And sing a sleighing song tonight Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . Hey, it's Vagina Co. with another episode of Your Lex PD. I'm kind of excited this month because look, first time I've ever had to wear, get to wear something like this, right? I feel like a champion. We're going to be talking about our PAL program, Police Activities League. Yes, they are under the Bureau of Training and Wellness, under the Community Services section. So who are we going to be talking to today? So we're going to talk to Sergeant Donald Horton. He's over the unit, actually, the PAL part of Community Services. And also we're going to be talking to retired Johnny Washington. Love him. Oh yeah, and Officer Keisha Kopp. Love her too. All right. All right, let's go talk to him. Hey, we are here with Sergeant Donald Horton. Thank you for joining us today. No problem. Glad to be here. So can you tell us how you became in your position? So I joined Lexington Police Department nine years ago. I worked patrol for three years and ended up joining the Detective Bureau. After that, I joined the training section as the wellness coordinator. And when PAL opened up through the Community Services section, I was really encouraged to do it because before I became a cop, my wife was actually the PAL volleyball coach. And I just remember really great memories with him. Working with John Washington, he would travel and take us down to different parts of Tennessee for different tournaments that we engaged in. So I just had a really good time, and I just knew how important it was seeing all those people and how much they loved. Well, that's interesting that you had a vested background in it, that you knew all about it from that. I know PAL goes way back. Obviously, 1917 is kind of when it originally started, officially. And then 1940s, National PAL started. So when did it actually start in Lexington? So, yeah, it came to Lexington in 1985. Roy Modris, the K-9 officer for us, started the PAL Commander's Football Team. Sergeant Walker Webb was its first coach. And so we started with football, and it's grown to so many other things, basketball and softball, e-sports. It's really exploded. Impacted a lot of lives over the years, right? So we're going to be talking with some of your officers today. How many officers actually are working in the PAL program now? So the PAL program, we have a PAL coordinator, but we also have our Explorer coordinator, our DARE coordinator. All of them kind of work together to kind of help with PAL and everything they need to do. So we have four officers, including our CPA officer, Officer Stephanie Ward. And we all kind of chip in and do what we need to do to make it work. Well, I know there's probably over 300 chapters around the United States, but Lexington has always been known nationally as a fantastic PAL program. So, Nicole, let's go find out a little bit more about PAL. All right. Thank you. Dara, we're back with our PALs. We are here with Officer Keisha Compton and Retired Officer John Washington. Thank you for joining us. So can you all tell us how you became involved with PAL, your background and history? Well, I'm going to start off. I got an invitation to go see Chief Berry at the time. He was interested in me coming to community services. And at the time I was on patrol, but I was in a specialized unit called 4th Platoon. So I went to the chief's office, sat down and talked to him. True story now, true story. I sat down and talked to him, and he asked me if I was interested. And I told the chief, Chief, I appreciate you thinking about me, but I'm committed to working patrol and in the streets, just working for the community. So we shook hands and I walked out of the chief's office. But there was a more matured officer, a veteran officer, asked me, he's like, Johnny, did you take the job? I said, no, man, I didn't. So the senior officer, he kind of like grabbed me a little bit and said, man, the chief was not asking you for your opinion. So what you need to do is go back in the room and tell him you're going to take the position. And I did. And I want to tell you something. That's the best decision I ever made in my life as far as the police department. Well, it was obviously a good decision for the police department, too, because you were in that role for how many years? Twenty plus. Yeah, that's what I thought. So you impacted a lot of kids, a lot of kids over those years. Keisha, what about you? So I first joined the police department back in 2013, and shortly after joining I ran into now-retired Sergeant Barry, who asked if I was familiar with the Police Activities League. I told him I wasn't. He took the time to explain to me what PAL was, the mission of PAL, and he explained all the fun things that they got to do in the unit, and I knew when that spot became available I wanted to apply. So I was on patrol until 2020, and when the spot became available for PAL, I put in for it, and I've been in the unit ever since, and I just love it. It's the best job ever. Well, I've had an opportunity to work with you a lot as well, Johnny, for many, many years, but you for several years, and I know both of you truly care about the kids and do a lot of good work. So when we talk about the kids, what kind of programs do we have? How do we serve them? Because when we think about Police Activities League, I think years ago, wasn't it called Police Athletic League? But that's not the case now, right? Police Activity League. So what kind of programs do we have? The programs we currently offer are basketball, boxing, cheer, football, and karate. Boxing operates out of 1317 Center Parkway. Right here is our boxing ring. Right next door is our karate room, and we have, what, 15 to 20 kids that participate. So our karate program, they just participated in the Bluegrass State Games, and they represented PAL well. Our football team, it's out at Gainesway Park. We currently have an 11U team, and we are very fortunate to have Officer Greg Gerton and Officer Andrew Miller as our coaches. So looking forward to the season. And then with cheer, their season is about to begin. They'll start competitions in September and it'll last until March. Basketball, we have nine teams, and that's kids all across the city. We know you're successful in a lot of these things because you saw our belts at the beginning, right, for the boxing? So, yeah. And when we think of PAL, obviously we do think of some of the athletic programs and all, but you do some other things as well, right, as far as mentoring? Yeah. One time during COVID, you know, everything was kind of like shut down, but we had a good relative of mine who just moved back from New York City, and he brought a program to us. He said, man, I think the kids in the community could benefit from this. And it was called the Stock Market Game. And our kids learned the value of money, like two ways to legally make money. You work for it and your money works for you. So they had a great understanding about the Stock Market Game. We also, within that game, we competed against New York City, and our teams finished in the top 15. That's awesome. That's awesome. And you also do some tutoring too, correct? Yes. So we partnered with U.K. Pharmacy, and they have their students come over sometimes and tutor the kids with whatever they need and whatever subjects. Okay. And also with the tutoring as well, because I have to give a shout out to the U.K. softball team and also the volleyball team. They also come and help with the tutoring. So, Officer Compton, you had mentioned that PAL is for children between the ages of 7 and 17. So after they graduate high school, or for you, what are some success stories or what happens after they graduate? Well, the list goes on. I can't name everybody or everything, but after they graduate, some of them became doctors, professional players, college scholarships or academics. Man, it's like you say, it's just so many. So many people have been involved with the PAL and have been given back. And hopefully some of them may come back to be future officers. Which we do have one, Officer Greg Gerton. He is now our PAL football coach, and he was once a PAL kid. He actually played football for PAL. That's great. Love to see those success stories. Well, I know we appreciate everything that you all do for the community, everything you do for the police department. A lot of success stories. I know that. I've watched you over the years and seen that. So I think it all comes down to what's the motto that you use for PAL? Every kid needs a PAL. That's true, right? And let me tell you this. Once a PAL youth, we are PAL for life. But I also want to mention this now because I can't forget this. Safety Officer Connie Raper has a lot to do with this. She's been around, I think, for the police department since 1993. And she was instrumental in me becoming into PAL, into the unit. So I just want to give a shout out to her. A lot of folks that have committed a lot of years to this program and to this police department. So if someone wants to learn more information about PAL, how do they go about doing that? Well, they can contact us through email, Facebook, or our website. All right. And we've actually got that information on the screen right now and a QR code where you can get in touch and see how to join. Thank you all for joining us today. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. So it was really great talking to the officers with the Police Activities League. They do a lot of good work. And over the years and years and years in Lexington, they've impacted so many lives, helped so many young people. And, you know, the whole philosophy of PAL is that relationship between police officers and young people and deterring crime, deterring, you know, juvenile violence, different things like that. And we know it works in all the success stories. And they just celebrated their 40th anniversary and had a community day last week. Yeah. Yes. 40 years. That's very significant. And you're right. They had a community day. So many folks came out to that. And they looked back to all the people that had been involved over the years, all the officers that had been involved, all the volunteers that had been involved. So, yeah, it was absolutely a great day. Everybody needs a PAL. They do. Absolutely. I've got a PAL. I do too. All right. So what are we going to talk about next episode? All right. So next episode, we're going to be talking about our traffic section, which is also under the Bureau of Special Operations. And they are in charge of so many different things, everything from major events in Lexington, coordinating traffic and so forth, to selective enforcement, writing citations, motorcycles, safety officers, so many different components to that. So next month, we'll take a look at that and all their different functions. And with school coming back into session, we need that information. Absolutely. Talking about how people are driving. And maybe we can ask them some of the things that they see out there that are problems. So join us next month. We'll see you then. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.  ♪ Music Playing ♪ ♪ Music Playing ♪ ♪ How'd you like to stay up late like the islanders do? ♪ ♪ Wait for Santa to sail in with your presents in a canoe. ♪ ♪ If you ever spend Christmas on Christmas Island. ♪ ♪ You will never stray for every day your Christmas dreams come true. ♪ ♪ On Christmas Island, your dreams come true. ♪ ♪ Music Playing ♪ ♪ Merry, Merry Christmas baby. ♪ ♪ Although you're with somebody new. ♪ ♪ Thought I'd send a card to say that I wish this holiday would find me beside you. ♪ ♪ Merry, Merry Christmas baby. ♪ ♪ And a Happy New Year too. ♪ ♪ It was Christmas Eve we met. A holiday I won't forget. ♪ ♪ Cause that's when we fell in love. ♪ ♪ I still remember the gift we gave to each other. ♪ ♪ There's a love I hold within my heart. ♪ ♪ Still grows though we're apart. ♪ ♪ Have a Merry Christmas baby. ♪ ♪ And a Happy New Year too. ♪ ♪ I am hoping that you'll find a love as true as mine. ♪ ♪ Have a Merry Christmas baby. ♪ ♪ It's the time of year when hearts are gay. ♪ ♪ Little children are sent to slay. ♪ ♪ Little children are sent to slay. ♪ ♪ There's a smile on just every face. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the town such a happy place. ♪ ♪ Glistening Christmas trees with joy below. ♪ ♪ Bless the little hearts that pray for snow. ♪ ♪ Seems there's hope for the human race. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the town such a happy place. ♪ ♪ It's a time for joy and laughter. ♪ ♪ Loved ones come from near and far. ♪ ♪ There's a warmness lingering after. ♪ ♪ Or is it light from yonder star? ♪ ♪ Happy holidays, the old good cheer. ♪ ♪ Santa's gonna be on time this year. ♪ ♪ Just as sure as the snow comes down. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the place such a happy town. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the town such a happy place. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the place such a happy town. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the town such a happy place. ♪ ♪ Christmas makes the place such a happy town. ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays. ♪ ♪ But no matter how far away you roam. ♪ ♪ When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze. ♪ ♪ For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home. ♪ ♪ I met a man who lives in Tennessee. ♪ ♪ And he was heading for Pennsylvania. ♪ ♪ And some homemade pumpkin pie. ♪ ♪ From Pennsylvania, folks are traveling. ♪ ♪ Down to Dixie's sunny shore. ♪ ♪ From Atlantic to Pacific. ♪ ♪ Gee, the traffic is terrific. ♪ ♪ Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays. ♪ ♪ But no matter how far away you roam. ♪ ♪ If you want to be happy in a million ways. ♪ ♪ For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home. ♪ ♪ Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays. ♪ ♪ When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly day. ♪ ♪ I met a man who lives in Tennessee. ♪ ♪ And he was heading for Pennsylvania. ♪ ♪ And some homemade pumpkin pie. ♪ ♪ From Pennsylvania folks are traveling down to Dixie's sunny shore. ♪ ♪ From Atlantic to Pacific. ♪ ♪ Gee, the traffic is terrific. ♪ ♪ Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays. ♪ ♪ But no matter how far away you roam. ♪ ♪ If you want to be happy in a million ways. ♪ ♪ For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home. ♪ ♪ For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home. ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah. ♪ ♪ Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock. ♪ ♪ Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring. ♪ ♪ Snowing and blowing our bustles of fun. ♪ ♪ Now the jingle hop has begun. ♪ ♪ Oh, jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock. ♪ ♪ Jingle bells chime and jingle bell time. ♪ ♪ Dancing and prancing in jingle bell squares. ♪ ♪ In the frosty air. ♪ ♪ For the right time, it's the right time. ♪ ♪ To rock the night away. ♪ ♪ Jingle bell time is a swell time. ♪ ♪ To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh. ♪ ♪ Oh, giddy up, jingle horse, pick up your feet. ♪ ♪ Jingle all around the clock. ♪ ♪ Mix and a-mingle in the jingle and beat. ♪ ♪ That's the jingle bell rock. ♪ ♪ Hey, oh. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh. ♪ ♪ Do what, do what, dance for the night away. ♪ ♪ Do what, do what, do what. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh. ♪ ♪ Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock. ♪ ♪ Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time. ♪ ♪ Dancing and prancing in jingle bell square. ♪ ♪ In the frosty air. ♪ ♪ What a bright time, it's the right time. ♪ ♪ To ride the night away. ♪ ♪ Jingle bell time is a swell time. ♪ ♪ To go riding in a one-horse sleigh. ♪ ♪ Oh, giddy up, jingle horse, pick up your feet. ♪ ♪ Jingle all around the clock. ♪ ♪ Mix and a-mingle in the jingle and beat. ♪ ♪ That's the jingle bell, that's the jingle bell. ♪ ♪ That's the jingle bell ride. ♪ Show you. ♪ I'd give anything to see a little Christmas tree. ♪ ♪ And to hear the laughter of children playing in the snow. ♪ ♪ To kiss my baby underneath mistletoe. ♪ ♪ But I can't promise my eyes the time. ♪ ♪ Unless they stop the clock. ♪ ♪ Cause I'm up in the hall. ♪ ♪ Lying here in my cell. ♪ ♪ Hoping my family is well. ♪ ♪ Wish they wouldn't worry so much about me. ♪ ♪ Just right to give us hope. ♪ ♪ Inside was a Christmas tree. ♪ ♪ Oh, yes sir. ♪ ♪ Oh, I want to see snowflakes fall. ♪ ♪ Oh, I want to see Santa come. ♪ ♪ Oh, I want to see Jingle Bells ring. ♪ ♪ Oh, but I can't promise my eyes the time. ♪ ♪ Oh, unless, unless they stop the clock. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh. ♪ ♪ Won't you turn the Latin one up? ♪ ♪ Shine the holy grace on your little girl. ♪ Shine the holy grace on your little girl. Shine the holy grace on your little girl. Oh, oh, oh baby. Oh, I want to see this snowflake fall. I want to see this snowflake fall. Oh, I want to hear the jingle bells ringing. Oh, I want to hear the jingle bells ringing. Oh, I want to see this snowflake fall. I want to see this snowflake fall. I want to see this snowflake fall. Oh, I want to see this snowflake fall. I want to see this snowflake fall. Oh, I want to hear the jingle bells ringing. Oh, I want to hear the jingle bells ringing. I'll be home, I'll be home, I'll be home, I'll be home. I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me. Trees have snow, and mistletoe, and presents on the tree. Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve. Welcome to Yoga 101. I am Danica here with the Lexington Senior Center, and I'm going to teach a chair yoga class with a little bit of standing, but we've got options all the way throughout. So before we get started, go ahead and find a sturdy chair. So not a recliner, not a rocking chair, find a nice sturdy chair, maybe something, maybe your dining room chair. And beyond that, you may find it useful today if you have a yoga strap, that's cool, but we could also use a belt, a dish towel, hand towel. And beyond that, if you're perhaps a bit shorter, maybe you grab some yoga blocks or a couple of dictionaries that are about the same height and put them just underneath your feet to bring your knees up a little higher if you feel like you've got to reach to reach the floor. So a couple items that may be of help for your practice today. Take the time to grab that and then meet me in a seat. Whenever I get started, I like to just kind of root around. Notice how I'm feeling. How are my shoulders feeling? How are my hips feeling? How's your neck and your back? How's it feeling? Did we sleep okay? And if not, that's okay. Just know to be ginger with those areas of the body as we proceed. So to arrive right here, let's take three big breaths. Big inhale. Open the chest. Fill up the belly. Big exhale. Sigh of relief. All you've got to do is follow along. You can almost turn your brain off, kind of. Two more breaths just like that. Big breath in. Big breath out. Relax the shoulders. Relax the jaw. One more lovely breath just like that. And we'll go right into a nice, easy warm-up, starting right here in the neck. Let's just slowly shake our head no. Side to side. Not necessarily pushing too much, just working with the range of motion that we currently have. And keeping the shoulders nice and relaxed. And keeping in mind that if I suggest any movements that you don't like or your body doesn't like, you can say no. You can take a little break, just take a sip of water and catch me on the next movement. Bring your head to the center. And slowly shake your head yes. So I'm going to tuck my chin down, but I'm really not going to lift my chin too high. I might put too much stress on the back of the neck. Dropping the chin. Lifting gently. Saying yes to this yoga class, because you already have. Saying yes to any movements that feel good today. One more little neck stretch. Drop the chin. We're just going to let the head rock side to side so it looks something like this. Left to right while keeping the chin low. When you're satisfied, bring the head right back up to where we started. Moving into the shoulders. If we're really tight today, start off with just some easy shrugs. And then bring the head back up. But if we have a little flexibility, maybe it feels nice to go ahead and move backwards here. Drawing big circles behind us. Maybe we can move with the breath. Inhale to lift the shoulders. Exhale, pull them behind you and drop. Inhale to lift. Exhale to pull back. Inhale to lift. Exhale to pull. So just kind of working out all of the tightness. Maybe your shoulders are a little noisy. Mine usually are. As long as it's not hurting, that's all right. And of course, if we have, say, one good side and one less good side, work with one at a time. Nothing wrong with that. Good. Once you're satisfied, we'll take a few the opposite directions. So still shoulder circles. We're just going forward. I'll even send my elbows wide, and we're just going to take the stretch into the middle of the back there. Maybe still moving with our breath if we can. Good. And we'll let that rest. Take up a little bit of space. Sweep up the arms. Big stretch out. And as you reach overhead, just reach really high as if you were getting taller. We'll bring one arm down and reach straight up with the other and then find a big side stretch. Maybe lift up and look towards the ceiling if you want a little extra, a little extra stretch there. Inhale to come back to your center and all the way down, right into the other side. Sweep up both arms again, reaching up nice and tall. This time, leaving the opposite arm up, bringing one arm down. Big side stretch. Maybe you're holding onto the chair for security here. Anything that keeps us safe and stable. Maybe a little twist upwards. And then inhale all the way back to your center. Next, we're going to do our first little twist of the day, and that's going to really focus in on our core. So our pelvic floor, our abdomen, our sides and our back. So for a moment, as you inhale, get up a little taller as if someone was pulling you from the crown of your head. As you exhale, draw the belly in. That's just setting up all these muscles in a really stable way. Do that once more. Inhale nice and tall. Exhale, draw in. Now we're going to twist, maybe taking the hands to the side. Maybe taking the hands to the heart. Twisting to one direction. Inhale, come back to your center. Exhale, twist the other direction. Still using these strong muscles. One more each way. Inhale, center. Exhale, twist. Inhale, center. Exhale, twist. Come on back. Let the arms rest and place them down in your lap. Next we're going to find a sitting cat-cow. It's a big move in yoga that's just so good for the spine. If it's new to you, that's all good. We'll walk through it. So we'll start with just a nice, tall, neutral posture. And as we inhale, we're going to lift our chest towards the ceilings. Inhaling to lift our chest. Lift the chin a little. And as you exhale, I want you to start in the belly. Draw the belly back. Pull the belly button back to the spine. Round in the shoulders and let the back of the neck stretch out. Use an inhale to come out to that first position. So this is the cow portion of cat-cow. And as you exhale, rounding in the back. Continue with that. I'm going to turn so you can see what I'm doing perhaps a bit better. Inhaling to open. So we find the arch in the back there. Exhale. Pull the belly back. Round in the back. Round in the upper back. Head hanks. Two more. One more. Good. Press back up to a good tall posture. And we use that same thought but just kind of change it. Let's bring the hands to the back of the neck. And we're going to find that same curvature but just side to side. So nice tall posture to begin. Even exhale to draw the belly and that's going to keep our core nice and strong and stable. And perhaps as we exhale, we just bring one elbow down. Inhale, center. Exhale. Go the other way. Inhale, center. Exhale. Drop an elbow. Inhale, center. Exhale. Drop the other elbow. One more in each direction. Come all the way back up to that good tall posture. Hands can come down to our sides once again. We'll get the hips a little warmed up. First fold of the day. So we'll just reach forward and then just bend from the hips. Do your best to keep a nice flat back when you do this. So just walking the hands down towards the feet. Maybe it touches the floor. Maybe not. Not important here. Lovely way to stretch out the back. It's also calming to the nervous system. As we breathe, our bellies press into our legs and our legs kind of press back, tricking the nervous system into being a bit more calm. Feel free to let your head hang here. You don't have to look up the way I am. Maybe we just add a bit more here. Take one arm and just reach towards the opposite side of the body, just across the body here, and then back to the center. Other arm, reaching across the body towards that opposite foot. Just a little extra stretch for the different sides of the back. One more each way. Bring the hands to the thighs. Use your strong arms to press yourself up. Back up to a nice, tall posture. Let's get the blood flowing a little bit with some bigger movements. Inhale, reach up towards the sky. Exhale, fold all the way down again. We're just not going to hang out too long there. Inhale, all the way up. Exhale, fold all the way down. Inhale, up. Exhale, to come down. Let's just do one more. Inhale, all the way up. Exhale, come on down. And then sweep up to return to our tall posture. Feel free to take a moment if you need to. Take a little sip of water. Catch your breath if you lost it. That's okay. You always can find it again. And then from there, we're going to give a little focus to our hands. So just for a moment, no matter how stiff or flexible the hands are feeling right now, just start by opening and closing the hands. You don't have to hold them high. They can stay right here in the lap. Just sensing how that hand is feeling Just sensing how the hands are feeling today. Maybe we can create a little bit of independent movement by wiggling the thumb, wiggling the index finger, the middle, the ring finger, and the pinky finger. Might not be perfect circles all the way through, but really just trying to make that mind to muscle connection. It's a little challenge for the brain. Maybe move the hands about as if you were playing a piano. And then we'll work into the wrists here. So you can make a light fist and just move the wrist up and down. And side to side. Maybe we can do some circles in here. Great way to get the blood flowing. Also a good way to wake yourself up. I'll do this in the afternoons as opposed to having a little caffeine instead. And it'll just get my blood flowing, get my brain going. Good. Relax that. And we'll focus in on the next joint in the body, the elbow. So perhaps as if we're a big, strong weight lifter, let's just act as if we were holding weights in our hands and squeeze the arms up to the top, stretching them out long and even taking them behind us a little. Squeezing the muscles in. You can really create a lot of strength here without any weight at all. If you want more work out of it, just squeeze the muscles more up here and then relax the arms. Even stretch back a little. We'll do three more of those. Squeezing at the top, stretching at the bottom. Two more. Good. Relax the arms. And we're going to take one arm across the body and literally just give ourselves a little massage. So maybe start by just kind of poking around, see if the muscles feel kind of tight today. Maybe we can clamp down on that meaty part right by the neck. Just kind of squeeze around a little bit. Notice if you notice if you can find any tight, tender spots. And when you're ready, switching to the other side. Taking the arm across the body, just kind of poking around. Maybe clamping down on that strong muscle next to the neck. Squeezing about. And just create a little warm. Any and all of that is good. Relax the arms. Just for a moment. Catch your breath. The arms are getting a little tired. We don't have too much more before we move on to another portion of the body. Let's bring the hands to the shoulders here. And just kind of let your fingertips touch. And our focus here is we're going to move our elbows in and out. So maybe starting with the elbows as close to the face as we can do. Inhale to open. Exhale to close. Inhale to open. Exhale to close. Inhale to open the arms. Exhale close. Inhale open. And close. Inhale open. And close. I'm going to change directions, lifting the elbows up and down. So maybe inhale to lift. Exhale to lower. Inhale to lift the elbows, stretching these muscles right here, even feeling it in our belly a little. Exhale to lower. Inhale to lift. Exhale to lower. These are a little tougher than the other ones. One more. Inhale high. Exhale lower. Those elbows all the way down. Maybe shake it out if you felt the need. And sometimes that's just kind of fun to create a little free movement. We're going to find some similar shapes. Stretch the arms out. This time making almost like a stop if you're trying to stop someone, stop hands. And we're going to try the wrist one more time here by just dropping the hands down, coming back up to stop hands, taking the hands down, and back up just a couple times there. And then we'll leave them back up to palms facing out. Inhale lift high. Exhale bring the arms down in front of your face. Inhale lift high. Exhale arms up. Bring the arms down. Inhale. Exhale to bring them down. Inhale to lift. Exhale to bring them down. And now out and in. Inhale to open. Squeezing the shoulder blades behind you. Exhale to close. Inhale to open. Exhale to close. Inhale to open the arms nice and wide, as wide as you can go. Exhale just bring them back in front of you. Let's do two more. Inhale open. Exhale close. Let the arms come down. Shake it out. And then we'll move on to another part of the body. Take a moment to look down at our awesome feet. They've gotten us everywhere thus far. I imagine they'll continue to do so. So let's give a little gratitude and just kind of look down at our feet and create some movement. Maybe just rocking back and forth on the feet. Really good way to get the arches of the feet going. Maybe side to side. I'll stretch out the sides of the ankles. Maybe just taking a moment to open and close the toes. Kind of crunch them closed. Stretch them out. Crunch them close. Stretch them out. All these are great ways for getting into all the joints that are located in the feet there. So just take a moment to do any of the things I just said. Or if you got another move that feels good, we're just getting the feet going here. Just taking a moment to get the feet working. Waking them up. And then once you feel nice and supple in your feet, just kind of let them sink right back into the floor here or into your shoes, if you're wearing shoes. And we're going to stretch out our ankles. So we're just going to stretch out our foot. It doesn't have to be too high off the ground, but if you really want a little extra challenge, sit up nice and tall and keep that foot high. But you don't have to. You can keep it low if you want. And just start by maybe pointing and flexing the foot. Pointing and flexing. Pointing like a ballerina. Flexing like you're wearing a boot. Maybe from there, we can draw some circles one direction, then the other. Also really good for blood flow. Go ahead and set that foot down. We'll do the exact same thing on the other side. So we're pointing the foot and flexing the foot. You decide how high that foot is off the ground. Point and flex. Point and flex. Just a couple more. Maybe move into those circles we did on the other side. Go both directions. Set that foot down. From here, go ahead and grab for your yoga strap or your dish towel or your belt, whatever we're using. And just start by pointing the foot and flexing the foot. Whatever we're using. And it doesn't have to be too specific, but this can just help us reach our body. So from here, you may find you don't need it and we can just hold the leg up. But if for whatever reason the arms don't feel long enough, we'll go for this strap. Bring it underneath one leg. Come up to that good posture. Exhale, draw the belly in. We're going to lift this foot off the ground. So with or without the strap, you may find, as I said, you may not need it. But it's nice to have and not need as opposed to the other way around. So we've got this knee in the air just a little bit and we're just going to find some nice knee slings here. Just getting the knees warmed up. Getting the muscles around the knees warmed up. Just gently kicking the leg out. Drawing back in. Kicking the leg out. Drawing back in. We'll set that side down. Go right to the other side with or without our prop here. Lifting that knee high. Remembering to find our nice tall posture and stretch that leg out. Bring it back. Stretch that leg out. Bring it back. Stretch and draw in. Stretch and draw in. Let's do one more. And we'll set that side down. Keeping the prop nearby. Let's just stretch out one foot here. Doesn't matter which foot and we want pretty much to go straight out. And from here, if we're using the strap, we're going to try and get that around the bottom of the foot to some degree. You may find that your dish towel is not quite long enough for this, but of course, if we inhale nice and tall and reach forward, maybe it could work. From here, just stretching, pulling that foot towards you. Maybe stretching that leg out all the way. Maybe there's a slight bend in the knee. Either way, whatever feels best in your body. And another option all together is to set that aside and just reach towards your foot. So you can decide how you want to go about that. Remembering to take big, deep breaths. Inhale all the way up. Same thing other side. You decide if the prop was helpful or not. Sometimes they can get in the way if we're overusing them, but it is nice to have them around often. So maybe looping that foot and maybe just reaching towards that foot. We've got the legs stretched out, reaching our arms and then holding from the hips. Big stretch behind the leg. Release the prop. Set it off to the side. Sit up all the way. And let's come back to a little more quicker movement. Let's get our blood flowing again a little faster. So from here, come back to that good, tall posture all the way up. And we're going to step each foot out and get the brain going by doing opposites. So following along, one step out to the side. Other side. Big step out. Step out. You decide how big these steps are. Your hips will decide that. If the hips are feeling tight, they're not going to want to go very wide and that's all right. So maybe they're just going to feel like they're doing two steps. But we're getting our hips warmed up, using them from a side to side motion, making them stronger. And maybe you've got a bit more energy and you are just clipping along. Maybe you're going twice the pace I am. And that's awesome if you want to do that. Or maybe we're moving right at this nice, steady pace. One side, then the other. One side, then the other. Two more each way. Good. Bring both feet back in. And this time, we're going to keep that movement going. This time it's like we're taking a walk, but we're sitting right here. So pick up one leg, then the other. Maybe get the arms going. Maybe we can do opposites. So opposite arm, opposite leg. Sometimes my brain wants to do the same, though. So maybe you pretty quickly started doing this. And that's OK, too. Either are good. Either are helpful for the body. Just one might be a little more challenging for the brain. And by doing these opposite sides, we're getting our hips warmed up and by doing these opposite sides of the body, we are connecting the two sides of the brain and getting a little bit stronger in our coordination. Creating a sharper mind. It's helpful for memory. And just having a bit more clarity. Good. Pick up the pace with me for just a short little bit as we finish up. One and two and one and two and one and two and one and two. Relax. Set the feet back down. Catch your breath if you lost it. Take a sip of water. Take a moment if you need. When you're ready, just sit a little bit back in your chair. It's going to give us a bit more stability for our next move. And from here, we're going to come back to the idea of kicking, but we're going to alternate. So kick one leg out and then the other. Keeping our good posture. If you find that you're slouching, that's okay. Just mindfully come back. You know how to sit up tall. Exhale. Draw the belly in. It's going to make it a little easier to sit up tall. So kicking out. Alternating legs. Maybe if we can kick a little higher, we can reach below and do a little clap. So maybe clapping underneath the knee or just touching fingertips. Another good coordination move. Kick as high as you can and reach. Kick as high as you can and reach on each side. One more each way. You're doing great. Good. Let that relax just for a moment. Letting the legs take a little mini break. Coming back up to our good posture and maybe scooting away from the backs of our chair a little. I'm going to find some big twists. So let's reach the arms up nice and high. And as we exhale, let's twist towards one direction, bringing one arm in front and one arm in back. Inhale. Reach high. Exhale. Twist the other way, leading with the opposite arm. Inhale. Reach up. Exhale to twist. Inhale. Reach up. Exhale. Twist. Inhale. High. Exhale. Twist. Inhale. High. Exhale. Twist. One more each way. Move with your breath. Come back to the center. And the hands come down. So we're going to find a couple of poses that are typically done standing, but we're going to do the sitting variation for this next little segment. So let's find Mountain Pose. And that is just a really intentional way of isolating the way of either standing or sitting.