AbstractUnderstanding older adults' experience of health promotion is essential in effectively preserving health and functional ability and thereby reducing health care costs among members of this rapidly expanding group. During 5 months of participant observation of 80 older adults (ages of 62‐88), data from 31 semistructured interviews, as well as the Health Self‐Determinism Index (HSDI) designed to measure intrinsic motivation for health (Cox, Miller,&Mull, 1987), were analyzed using methods common to grounded theory (Glaser&Strauss, 1967). Patterns central to maintaining health that provide essential theoretical grounding for health promotion practice with older adults were discove