• Pages Bookstore: April 12, 7 to 8:30 p.m., 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach
• Beach Cities Health District: April 17, 7 to 8 p.m., 514 N. Prospect Ave., Redondo Beach
• Redondo Beach North Library: April 18, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., 2000 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach
• Manhattan Beach Library: April 21, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.. 1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach
Vitality City launched a beach cities-wide book club, “On the Same Page,” this week, a program encouraging Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beach residents to read Dan Buettner’s book, “The Blue Zones.”
Blue Zones are areas around the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives. The areas demographers identified include Okinawa, Japan and Nicoya, Costa Rica, among others, according to the Blue Zones website. “I wanted to get our community…not only on the same page in a book, but on the same page in a mindset in what the Blue Zones are,” said Vitality City’s Francey Marzicola, who came up with the idea for the program. “When you fundamentally understand these five longevity hotspots and what drives their well-being to success, then you can adopt these principles into your own life. Without the knowledge, you don’t have anything to build on.”
Event organizers will take participants through the “Power Nine Principles,” which are lifestyle habits that Buettner writes about that promote happiness and well-being. These include moving naturally and putting family and loved ones first. “For people that live in Blue Zones, they don’t get up in the morning and think about going to gym,” said Lauren Nakano, director of Beach Cities Blue Zones/Vitality City. “Their homes are organized in way that promotes natural movement.”
About 1,400 people have participated in various walking groups in the beach cities since last April, which has also promoted social connectivity among friends and neighborhoods, Nakano said. The goal is to reach 30,000 people through different Vitality City initiatives. “If you can get past 15 percent of the population that makes some kind of change and is part of a movement, then you hit a tipping point. The tipping point allows the community to accelerate the changes that initially got started,” Nakano said.
To become a Blue Zone community, at least 20 percent of residents must sign the personal pledge available on the project’s website and complete one action outlined in the pledge. In addition, a percentage of restaurants, employers and schools must become Blue Zone areas. “By reading at the same time, they’ll be more likely to support and help promote becoming the next Blue Zone community,” Nakano said.
