Val Barnsley, with her gym bag and yoga mat, takes a ‘namaste’ after one of her early morning yoga classes at Beaton Park Leisure Centre. Photo: Dawn Tratt.
Mount Ousley’s Valerie Barnsley is a dedicated gym bunny.
Monday through Friday you’ll find her at Beaton Park Leisure Centre, pushing herself through whatever challenges are thrown at her that morning.
Val’s built her gym habit over decades – at 91, she’s got no intention of letting herself get lazy.
“I’ve always been a mover and a shaker,” she said.
“I trained as a ballet dancer, then when the children were small, I liked to do a lot of walking.
“When Beaton Park was just beginning, a friend of mine took on the seniors classes and asked me to join, so I did.
“She’s retired but I kept on going.”
Val trained as a nurse in the UK before she and her husband Bruce moved to Australia in 1964 with two children in tow.
Six weeks after arriving Val gave birth to their third child, and a fourth would also be born in Australia.
It was a big move, but Val’s parents had always encouraged her to believe in herself and go after what she wanted.
Wollongong in 1964, however, was a big adjustment from her home in Birmingham.
“It wasn’t a very nice place in those days,” she said.
“There wasn’t even much room to push a pram because it was all very rural.
“We’d grown up during the war and my parents wanted us to have everything we could, to do everything we wanted to do.
“They were very bright, very forward thinking and I was very fortunate to be encouraged in every aspect.
“My father got across to me that life is fun and you enjoy it.”
When Val reclaimed her love of dance through the classes at Beaton Park it brought more of that enjoyment into her life.
It wasn’t easy at first. After years off and four children it wasn’t easy to make her body move the way she wanted it to.
“I’d lost a lot of the muscle tone you need to do things,” she said.
“I’d lost confidence, but to me dance was a way to represent my emotions.
“I showed everything I felt on my face and it made people laugh.”
Dance has continued to be a joy in Val’s life through difficult times.
Osteoporosis has presented her with challenges, and the loss of her husband Bruce four years ago hit her hard.
Through it all, movement has been her medicine.
“I’ve kept on moving and found things like yoga and tai chi that help,” she said.
“Movement keeps the brain going and the body together, and as long as I can drive and get out and talk to people, I’m happy.”
Dance is still her main love, however, and the classes at Beaton Park give her an outlet.
She’s become a fixture and has her own spot at the front of the class where she can work in time to the music.
“It’s not my natural music, but I’ve learnt to be a bit jazzy,” she said.
Val said the secret to staying healthy and active into your 90s was to keep moving – and pay special attention to your feet.
“So many of the older people who come in, I don’t know how they manage with the way they walk and use their feet,” she said.
“You need alignment and balance.”
