From Salsa to the Side Plank, W.Va. Lawmakers Find Ways to Fit Exercise into Busy Schedules

When a person takes on a role, it's hard to see that person step outside the box, from teachers to clergymen.

But legislators have lives outside the Capitol dome, and for some, they involve dancing and downward facing dog.

Legislative Zen

"You pretty much totally forget everything that's going on down here," said Delegate John Ellem, R-Wood, an avid fan of yoga. "It gives you a nice break, and it makes you feel good, and I think it improves my work — that's a side benefit.

"It helps calm your mind, relieve stress, and I think that makes me a better delegate in the long run."

Ellem, a tall, sturdy legislator in his 40s, has been doing yoga since 2000, and he encourages anyone to try it.

"Due to some back problems, I returned to it this past year and started doing it more consistently," Ellem said. "I wanted to continue doing that while I was in session to make sure I didn't lose anything; plus, it's just good for reducing stress and improving your posture."

Ellem said a regular fitness break helps keep him sane, and said the Charleston studio he attends, The Folded Leaf, offers several different classes that fit his schedule. He said he attends classes at the YMCA when he's at home in Parkersburg, and has even gotten his wife hooked on the hobby.

Ellem said he has run into some lobbyists while at the studio, but they don't talk business.

"You'd be amazed at how it calms you and relieves stress," Ellem said.

And his favorite position?

"The one that's most challenging for me is down dog," he said. "It works so many different things, that's probably my favorite position."

Outrunning Stress

Delegate Richard Iaquinta, D-Harrison, said running is a part of his regular routine, and that doesn't change during the 60-day legislative session.

"I feel that it's like anything else, if it's important to you, you'll fit it in, and you'll find a place in your schedule to work it out," Iaquinta said. "I go up to the Y quite a bit, and we have treadmills at the facilities, so there are plenty of places to exercise.

"Along the Boulevard is a great place, and Laidley Field, I've been over there a few times; there's plenty of good places to exercise in the Kanawha Valley."

Iaquinta said a person's health is like any other project that needs time put into it.

Dance the Day Away

Delegate Meshea Poore, D-Kanawha, gets fitness in any way she can. But she has one preferred method.

"I love Zumba," Poore said. "Once you've had a hard time at session, and you've debated a lot of issues, to be able to go and just know that you're having fun and you're being fit … that's always good."

Zumba fitness is a Latin-inspired fitness program with dancing and aerobics. Poore said her instructors and her class at M&M Fitness have a lot of energy that helps her melt calories and stress at the same time.

Poore said she and her intern keep tennis shoes in their office in case they get a chance to break away for a longer walk.

"We've done a ‘walk with your delegate,' where I walk in the morning, and I have my constituents come walk with me," she said. 

"So they get to talk to me about actual issues that they have in the community, but we also exercise."

Poore said she's busy, and so is everyone else, but everybody should be able to find 30 minutes to move.

"If we just take a couple of steps, one step at a time, and continue to build from that, we can be an example," Poore said. "And actually, we can fight the obesity epidemic that the state of West Virginia is going through, and so starting with one person, starting with one step we can make a difference."