Carrie ann inaba on health, aging and inspiration

Carrie Ann Inaba, 56, has been a judge on the popular _Dancing With The Stars _(_DWTS_) reality show for a staggering 32 seasons. “It takes me about a good month to recover from [the]

stress [of the show],” she says. During her recovery period, Inaba, who suffers from chronic autoimmune disorders, is busy with her website Carrie Ann Conversations, which offers resources

and support for people with similar health challenges. She shares how she’s adapted her workouts as she’s gotten older, her thoughts on aging and who she’d love to see compete on Season 33

of _DWTS_. _This interview has been edited for length and clarity._​ WHO WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE AS A CONTESTANT ON _DANCING WITH THE STARS_? I would love to see Craig Ferguson. … He’s got

that frame that I think would make for an excellent dancer, but also he’s got humor. And I think that that does really well on _Dancing With the Stars_. I also think that it would be nice to

see somebody like Britney Spears. ... I think dancing can be very empowering, especially for somebody like Britney, who has always used dance as a tool for her own wellness. IS THERE

ANOTHER REALITY SHOW YOU’D LOVE TO BE A CONTESTANT ON? _Special Forces: _[_World’s Toughest Test_ on Fox]. Something about that has always fascinated me. I would have loved to, when I was

younger, do something like that. But now that I’m where I’m at, I know that it’s an impossible dream, because I can’t even leave the house without my heating pads. So it’s definitely a

pipe dream, but that’s the show that I always watch and I go, “Oh, I wish I could do that.” HOW HAVE YOU ADAPTED YOUR WORKOUTS NOW THAT YOU ARE IN YOUR 50S? Oh, I do much less intensive

workouts. I used to do kickboxing and martial arts and dancing all the time. Because of the injuries in my neck — I have spinal stenosis — and from the autoimmune conditions and the

fibromyalgia, I have changed it. Now I sit on a recumbent bike with my desk in front of me and I multitask. … I do a half an hour on the bike, or I do a half an hour on the treadmill, just

walking. It doesn’t have to be so intense to give you the benefits. In fact, now I feel like I’m healthier than I’ve ever been, and I’m doing much-less-intensive workouts. I’m also doing

Pilates, which is really important, because keeping flexible keeps you young. Keeping flexibility in your spine and making sure that everything stays open stops us from hunching over and

starting to feel really old and rickety.