I was 31 years old when I joined the staff of the Detroit Area Agency on Aging, and over all these 28 years, I’ve known the role of diet and exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In college, I played basketball and football, and I was disciplined to train regularly. Later, when I was responsible for Detroit’s urban farming program, I was the first to grab a shovel and work in the soil, awaiting the harvest of fresh vegetables from the earth.

In the years that followed, I focused on changing the lives of Detroit’s seniors, many of whom were homebound because of chronic illness. But I gradually stopped paying attention to my own diet and exercise regime, which may have caused or accelerated my current health problems. Now, like many in our community, I’m living with diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. I’m amazed at how fast the years have gone by, and I often wonder why it took me so long to rediscover the discipline to make time for healthier living.

I now know that discipline may not have been the critical factor. In fact, research findings from Stanford University indicate that many people lack confidence in their ability to control their symptoms and to know how their health problems affect their lives. Stanford’s School of Medicine set out two decades ago to develop, test and evaluate self-management programs that would improve the physical and emotional health of their participants.

Based on documented research, participants in Stanford’s Chronic Disease Self Management program reduced their number of doctor visits and spent fewer days in the hospital. Through a system of self-reporting, they indicated improved health, a result, perhaps, of finding healthier ways to live with their chronic conditions. Now, Stanford’s model is in Michigan. It’s called PATH and is available through the Detroit Area Agency on Aging.

PATH indeed puts participants on a path to better health. The program is designed for persons with one or more long-term health conditions like diabetes, arthritis, asthma, emphysema and more. PATH is also open to family, caregivers and others who want to learn more about supporting those with a long-term health condition.

Each weekly session lasts 2½ hours, and participants focus not on their specific conditions or diseases, but rather on understanding and managing such symptoms as pain, fatigue and emotional stress. Participants also engage in physical and mental exercises to help break the cycle of symptoms, and they focus on communication strategies that allow them to better express their feelings, avoid conflict, ask for help, and often, when asked to help someone else, they learn to say no.

PATH participants also learn how to better communicate with their doctors, a strategy that begins with knowing what questions to ask. I see a handful of physicians who in a short period of time must manage my future like a major league baseball manager works with a team. In other words, they establish the protocols and evaluate the outcomes that I need to understand. My responsibility is to be compliant, to follow the rules, and sometimes I need coaching.

In many ways, my wife Juanita is a coach who often joins me for medical appointments to ask doctors the questions I sometimes forget. She has also teamed with me in a plan of action to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Together, we’ve put the Bridgewater household on a new path toward health and wellness, hoping to set the right example for our grandson, Zachary.

I find it timely to talk about the path to health and wellness during this Lenten season, when Christians commemorate the path of Jesus Christ to Calvary. For many, the 40 days before Easter are a time of preparation, repentance and reflection — a season of self-examination and self-denial, marked by prayer and fasting. Lent is known as a time of spiritual renewal and growth.

During this Easter season, I hope we will embrace the ways in which the totality of mind, body, and spirit helps achieve integral health. I hope we will give our bodies the proper nutrition and exercise to grow and be renewed. And I hope we will acknowledge our responsibility to follow the path to better health and wellness, for ourselves and for those we love.

For information on PATH or to sign up for a class, contact Ruth Kaleniecki, healthy aging manager, Detroit Area Agency on Aging, (313) 446-4444, ext. 5841.

Tune in to “The Senior Solution” on WGPR 107.5FM every Saturday morning at 10 a.m., hosted by Paul Bridgewater, president and CEO of Detroit Area Agency on Aging.