Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves Workout Video

Image via Kelly Robinson on Medium

Dame Angela Lansbury passed away at the age of 96 earlier this week, and while she's going to be remembered most for her amazing stage, film, and television career, I've been finding myself delighted by her 1980s workout video called Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves: My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being. 

Yes, the Murder She Wrote star followed in the footsteps of Debbie Reynolds by releasing a workout tape presumably aimed at women of a certain age, although the moves Lansbury demonstrates can benefit anyone. Some moments are amusing, such as when Lansbury introduces us to "land swimming", an exercise move she came up with herself, and "moving freely", where she manages to keep a straight face while dancing in a peach-colored jumpsuit to the tape's synthesizer background music. 

But there's actually a lot of good advice to behold here no matter your age, and the notion of an older star promoting her fitness routine and lifestyle advice to women of her age range was ahead of its time in the 1980s. Lansbury also published a complimentary book by the same name in 1990. 

The tape gives us a look into a typical day off for Lansbury: in addition to exercising and stretching, she takes a walk, polishes her Mercedes, goes for a swim, kneads bread, does a bit of gardening, enjoys a cup of tea, and takes a bubble bath where she reveals that she believes "femininity and sexuality go hand-in-hand" and talks a bit about keeping romance alive after menopause. "The right kind of attention doesn't have to stop unless you want it to." 

Lansbury's philosophy was to stay positive about each new day: "I take these few moments to focus on the day ahead. I think about each demand that will present itself in the coming day, and I visualize myself meeting it easily and well. I remind myself that I'm going to try to live each moment with a sense of peace, harmony, and calm. After all, it is the dawn of a new day, and anything is possible."

I mean, she did live to be 96, after all. 

Here's the video in its entirety if you want to take a look: