Longtime Malakoff City Council Woman Jeanette King does not have Parkinson’s. So why was she over there rigorously doing all those exercises at the Athens G Z Sobol Parkinson’s Class?
“Working on getting better”, she told me. She said she noticed herself getting real unsteady on her feet, and was there to see if the class could help. She hasn’t been going very long, but thinks she already sees some improvement.
It turns out that that these classes are not just making profound improvements in the lives of Parkinson’s Disease clients, but are also doing the same thing for people with strokes, brain injuries, and multiple sclerosis, as well as people like Jeanette, who just want to get steady on their feet again.
These classes have produced some dramatic results. It is not unusual for participants to come in using canes, walkers, and other assistance and before long become able to walk unassisted.
Caren Anthony, the only practicing Certified GZ Sobol Parkinson teacher in Texas has been leading these classes since early 2016. My Cedar Lake companies brought Gary Sobol himself here to set them up and we have supported them ever since. But until last week, I had never been to a class.. Now I have been to all three of them, and one of them twice. I had NO idea.
For one thing, I need to stop right here and tell you how much Caren’s people love her. Recently she was critically ill, in Plano, Tx, and dozens of her students drove there to see about her.
“ We concentrate on balance, posture and voice. We often put on some music, says Caren, “ and the social environment makes for lots of fun and upbeat enjoyment. Let me tell you, if you need an uplifting, come to one of my GZ Sobol classes. These people try so hard. They hug you and thank you and are so grateful for the help. You can’t help but feel blessed when you leave.”
What an upbeat group of people! What a good time they were having! And so many of them wanted to tell me their stories of how this class has helped them, and what a blessing Caren herself is.
And I had no idea what Caren puts them through for that hour two or three times a week!
I think I am reasonably healthy for nearly 81 years, but I could not keep up for the whole hour. And when she had everybody fold their arms and get up from their chair without help, I couldn’t do it. Everybody else in the group except maybe one, did it right out of the box. And they are a very mixed group. I would have guessed I could have out-exercised half of them. Boy was I surprised. But don’t let this scare you. You are only expected to do what you can. But Caren will keep raising that “what you can” level.
In fact, she told me that was a good test: If you can’t get out of your chair unassisted, you need this class. Well, sometimes I can get out of my chair by myself. So I guess I need classes till I can always do it.
Luckily, it is going to get easier for me to get to those classes. We have just started offering them in Malakoff, at the nursing home, in our big, newly remodeled activity room in the Rehab Building. That is the room that our super volunteers, Walter and Anna have remodeled for us, which I’ve been letting people guess what it is for. This is not what its main purpose is, but what a great use of it!
If there is plenty of interest in this one, and we get it established, we are thinking about opening another class in Kerens. In fact, Caren and I spent the last hour sitting in Kerens Library, thinking about that possibility, among others. They have a nice meeting room there.

We presently hold classes every weekday.
MWF: Athens Gymnastic Center 1603 Rocky Ridge, 10:30 -11:30
GBC Family Fitness Center 121 East Main St. 12:30-1:30
Rehab Bldg Cedar Lake Nsg Home Hwy 31 W 2:30-3:30
TTH: Corsicana Senior Center 919 W. Park Ave. 9:30-10:30
For more information ,call 903 489 2043. Or Call Caren at 903 275 9460 Or check the Facebook pages of Cedar Lake Home Health and Hospice or that of the G.Z.Sobol Parkinson Network:Team Texas, where you will will see find updates and pictures and videos of the classes in action.
These classes are free and are open to anybody who can benefit from the exercises. There are no requirements for joining a class, other than if a person is in a wheelchair or a power chair, it is important they bring a caregiver to the exercise class with them.