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The Whole Truth About Holistic Health Day at the Y, May 18

Friday, May 10, 2013 by:Family Y
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yoga matMidge’s Membership Blog:

“Holistic,” you say? Isn’t that another word for half-baked?

Well, let me give you the whole story about “holistic” and tell you why the Family Y is where you should be on Saturday, May 18, from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm.

Whether you realize it or not, we all (yes, that is ALL of us) prescribe to holistic health.  It is the concept that all aspects of our needs, including psychological, physical and social, be taken into account and seen as a whole.

Do any of you NOT want to be seen as a whole person?  So, to keep that “whole you” functioning properly, healthily, and happily … spend a couple of hours at the Y’s first-ever Holistic Health Day next Saturday and address some of these really important parts of you!

Here’s a rundown of the special activities planned for the day. For complete details, just click here.

ACUPUNCTURE:  If you’re saying “ick, needles!” — I get it.  But speak to my ultra-conservative, 87-year-old father-in-law who used to believe anything but western medicine was voodoo.  He is a changed man because of these tiny needles (which, by the way, do not hurt). After suffering with arthritic joint pain in his hands for years, he tried acupuncture and it did the trick.

From 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Experience an acupuncture treatment with Judith Woolfe, licensed and certified specialist.  Tell her where it hurts or let her discover the areas of discomfort.  Headaches, backaches, allergies, joint pain, etc. will be relieved.

TAI CHI:  Don’t let the fact that Tai Chi is one of the martial arts scare you.  You will not be breaking bricks or throwing kicks into the air.  What you will be doing is slow-motion, low-impact “meditation in motion.”

10:30 – 11:30 – am – Join instructor Peter DiGrazia in learning how to breathe through the diaphragm and getting some of the benefits of yoga without the extended stretching and bending.

QIGONG:  Now, who doesn’t want more “intrinsic life energy?” I’m serious.  Qigong is widely practiced in China, and the belief is that in cultivating and balancing your “qi,” which affects the mind, body and spirit, you will maintain health and longevity.  Join in this class and learn fluid movement, rhythmic breathing, increased awareness and hopefully a feeling of calm.

11:30 – 12:30 pm – Let Michelle Quigley take you through the self-healing techniques of Qigong and find your very own “qi.”

CHINESE INTERNAL HEALING EXERCISE:  You might ask yourself, how does one follow acupuncture, tai chi and qigong? I have an answer for you … explore these exercises, which purport to heal, reduce stress and expel toxins from the body.

12:30 – 1:30 pm – Randy Kirik will lead you through this healing method.  He has maintained a private practice for the past ten years in traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

MEDITATION:  At this juncture, having experienced at least one of the aforementioned disciplines, exercises or philosophies, you are ready to meditate.

1:30 – 2:30 pm – Lower your levels of stress and anxiety, relax, improve your focus and concentration with Y yoga instructor Matan Cohen-Citron.

In between all this healthy balancing and energy gathering…don’t forget to drop by ROBIN’S HEALING KITCHEN (11:30 – 1:30 pm) and DAVID’S TEA (11 – 2 PM)  for  some great sustenance to keep you going.  Robin Polin will help you discover some wonderful tasting food that is as healthy as it is yummy.  Proper nutrition is the basis of optimum health and well -being.  Sample some of David’s hot or cold teas; an amazing array of flavors.

I hope you take advantage of this really special day.  I guarantee that you will feel like a “whole” new person when you leave the Y after Holistic Health Day. To learn more, you can also touch base with Shelley Moll, our Health & Wellness Director, by calling 203-226-8981 or emailing smoll@westporty.org.

 

Summer Fun All Set to Begin at the Y

Saturday, May 4, 2013 by:Family Y
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Pages from Summer_2013_Program_Brochure-3Midge’s Membership Blog:

As far as I’m concerned, SUMMER IS HERE!  And the best way to get your jump start is to sign up for our summer session of classes.  Registration begins Monday, May 6, at 8:00 am.  Classes fill up fast so please try to register as soon as possible.

The Y has a great summer class selection in addition to various camps.

AQUATIC CLASSES – Your kids can be sea worthy in no time at all, and it is especially important, with all the pools and beaches opening that our children can swim and be safe.  The Y’s emphasis on safety in instruction is paramount.

We are offering an option of classes taken once a week for eight weeks or four times a week for two weeks.  If you prefer private or semi-private instruction, this is also available for all ages. Pediatric aquatic therapy and special needs instruction is also available.

HAFADAY – Sessions fill quickly for this amazing summer program, which gives children the vital chance to build swim skills, regardless of previous experience, and have a lot of summer fun. Designed for children ages 4 to 8 and held each weekday from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm, Hafaday is primarily a swim program, with both a lesson and a free swim period each day. It’s the best way to learn to swim. Arts and crafts, music and gym time, including yoga, karate, and games round out each morning of fun.

We have 9 weekly sessions, beginning Monday, June 17 and continuing on through the week of August 12. Students in swim lessons are grouped by age and ability. The cost for Y Members is $270 per week; $295 for non-members. Click here to sign up.

BASKETBALL – We have various weekly basketball camps for different age groups as well as Basketball/Hockey camp for the younger kids.  For the older kids, there’s the Elite Basketball Academy Weekend Clinics in June.

Weekly Sports & Recreation Summer Classes will be offered in the following disciplines:  Intermediate Fencing; Guitar; Little Lacrosse; Youth Indoor Tennis; Parent/Child Indoor Soccer; Youth Floor Hockey; Dribbling with Dad; and more. Just check our online brochure for details, then register at www.westporty.org.

DANCE CAMPS – For the twirling Divas there are quite a few choices for a variety of ages, from Princess Dance Camp for the tiniest ballerinas to the older pre-teen group of Hip Hoppers and Tappers.

GYMNASTICS – The gymnasts will not be lazy this summer.  There’s a multitude of opportunity to tumble, practice and play at all levels of gymnastics, from competitive to pre-competitive to just plain fun.

EARTHPLACE-MAHACKENO – Last but certainly not least, is our beloved summer day camp. The exciting new wrinkle this year is that our Mahackeno campers get to explore a whole new world of nature and fun this summer thanks to our partners at Earthplace, the Nature Discovery Center.

Have we left anything out of our summer planner? No doubt — so please come and visit us at the Y’s Member Services Desk just inside the Church Lane Entrance in downtown Westport to talk more about our summer camps, classes and programs.

 

The joys of summer camp!

The joys of summer camp!

Fitness ‘Boot Camp’ for Families and More at Healthy Kids Day, Saturday, 9-12

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by:Family Y
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Adventure Gym in the Y's Gymnastic Center is a popular activity on Healthy Kids Day.

Adventure Gym in the Y’s Gymnastic Center is a popular activity on Healthy Kids Day.

Midge’s Membership Blog:

Although my children are now older “kids” (ages 17 and 21 ), they still think like younger kids when it comes to eating healthy – basically “healthy foods” are synonymous with yucky foods; good nutrition is boring.  cheeseburgers and french fries are yummy, broccoli and veggie snacks are not.  The same is true with so-called “healthy activities” that pale in comparison with more daring and perhaps unsafe activities.  Ask any eight-year-old boy if he’d rather learn to swim a butterfly stroke or skateboard down a huge hill and you’ll probably get the answer that would require a safety net.

We are hoping to change this perception on Healthy Kids Day at the Y – Saturday, April 27, from 9 am – 12 noon. Our annual free community event encourages kids in Westport, Weston and surrounding areas to get moving and learning, and families living healthier. Healthy Kids Day, the Y’s national initiative to improve families’ health and well-being, takes place at 1,900 Ys and kick-starts healthier behaviors now and throughout the summer, a critical out-of-school time for children’s health.

Many U.S. children do not get the daily recommended hours of physical activity and reading, and daily amounts of healthy foods. According to the latest findings of the YMCA’s Family Health Snapshot – a survey of parents that gauges their children’s activity levels during the school year – only 19 percent of children get 60 minutes of physical activity, only 17 percent read books for fun, and only 12 percent eat at least eight fruits and vegetables daily.

HKD Flyer for classes 2013We will have a number of activities for children to participate in, from Adventure Gym for toddlers in our Gymnastics Center to a terrific Family Boot Camp class for older children.  While your six-year-old is having her face painted, your three-year-old can get a tour of a Westport fire truck or EMS ambulance van.  We will have everything from water safety class to learning how to plant seeds and garden in conjunction with Earthplace, our summer-camp partner.  Play ring toss and basketball; learn all about what to expect with your child’s first dental exam; explore different ways to be energy efficient with New England Smart Energy and enjoy healthy, non-boring snacks from Whole Foods. (Click on the flyer at right for the complete list of activities and the times they take place.)

Parents, while your children are having a good time, you can talk to NY Life Child about making sure your precious cargo is ID’d in their database.

We will also have streaming photos and pamphlets about our new Y facility that is being built now at our Mahackeno campus, and we will be happy to answer any questions you have about Building What Matters, our campaign to fully finance our modern new home.  This would be a great time to talk to us about including a photo of your family in our photo mosaic that will be on permanent display in the new Y.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Y on Saturday morning! For a glimpse at what’s in store, take a look at the photo gallery below from last year’s Healthy Kids Day…

Y Members Step Out of the Winter Doldrums

Thursday, April 11, 2013 by:Family Y
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Linda Pressman, one of the Y's nationally certified personal trainers.

Midge’s Membership Blog:

Hello Friends!

It’s been a while since I wrote my blog, and I’ve truly missed doing it.

The birds are chirping, the sun is out and the temps are rising.  I’ve also noticed that many of our members are stepping out of the doldrums of winter cold and pale and “into the light.” Our fitness classes are buzzing, and the cardio room is full of accelerated heart beats, treadmill stomping, bike pumping — getting ready for those bikini-clad bodies on the beach.  Our personal trainers, Matthias, Gerardo, Linda, and Michael are also working overtime to provide super workouts to those lucky enough to sign up with them.

Fitness Director Shelley Moll is constantly trying ways to keep you on your toes adding new exercise classes, and hiring innovative instructors.  Do yourself a favor and try something different this Spring.  If you’ve never done pilates or yoga or Zumba, taken a spin class, TRX, etc., just DO IT!  You might even see me off my arc trainer and on the recumbent bike.  LOL

Ruth Sherman’s seniors are getting younger everyday … making waves in the 91-degree Brophy Pool.  These gals, the “Golden Girls”  (including Golden Boy Woody Klein), enjoy their aqua fitness class and their bagels at Oscars afterwards.  Meanwhile Patty, Shelly and Carla are making sure that the rest of us are “hard body”worthy with their high-energy Stauffer Pool workouts.  Here again, if you haven’t taken an aqua fit class with any of these lovely ladies, JUST DO IT!

Spring is a time of re-birth.  Let’s all try to give it that extra push to get ourselves in shape physically and mentally and shed our winter skin.

The stretching room in the Y's two-level fitness center is where "spring training" starts for many Y Members.

Family Y “Welcome Back!” Celebration, Tues., Dec. 11

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 by:Family Y
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Longtime Y Member Ron Melino was the first through the doors of our newly re-opened Y.

Midge’s Membership Blog:

What a tumultuous few days!  The Family Y re-opening after 5 weeks!  Winter Registration begun!  Holiday preparations under way including a “Welcome Back!” reception for all our staff and members and supporters on Tuesday evening, December 11 (7 – 8:30 pm) at Christ & Holy Trinity Church’s Branson Hall.

I urge all of you to please stop by Branson Hall, if only for a few minutes to share your stories of Superstorm Sandy.  We will be doing a potluck ‘sweets and snacks’ (bring any little nibbly food you’d like) and celebrating YOU – our members, our staff, our community at the Westport Weston Family Y.  We are nothing without YOU!

We will be showing a brief film about our new Family Y at Mahackeno, which is a wonderful introduction (our own little ‘trailer’) of the process in making our dream a reality. The film includes an aerial flyover of our new Y, as well as an animated tour inside the building, from the front lobby to the pools to the fitness studios and wellness center (check out the views looking out from the treadmills!).

Please call our Member Services Desk at 203-226-8981 or email me at:  mdeverin@westporty.org to RSVP and what you intend to bring for the potluck snack or dessert (certainly not mandatory, but we appreciate the effort).

The Family Y, a Vital Part of Daily Life That Is Sorely Missed

Monday, November 19, 2012 by:Family Y
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The Family Y Member Services Desk is still silent, but efforts are well under way to restore power and other essential services to allow the Y to re-open on at least a limited basis.

Midge’s Membership Blog

For the past three weeks, I have had a lot of time on my hands with the Y being closed.  No reason to set my clock for 6:00 am and lay out my YMCA shirt and no chance to take up my daily position behind our Member Services Desk, to check in, and check up with, all my Y members and friends.

I have had a surplus of time to think about all the things I could be, should be, would be doing with all this unwanted time and I can think of nothing else but when will the Y open so I can be ‘myself’ again?!

I know so many of Y members feel the same way I do.  Our Family Y is such a mainstay for so many of us in the community, a precise destination on our daily schedules –right up there with brushing one’s teeth, getting dressed and eating breakfast.

It is the place you go after your kids are safely on the bus for school or after you catch up on your emails or before lunch with friends or in between shopping and cooking dinner or before bedtime or any ole time at all.  For some of us it is an extended day trip with classes, workout, swim, sauna, shower; for others it’s a quick, “get-down-to-business” workout squeezed in before or after work.

For so many, staff and members alike, the Family Y is a vital part of our everyday life and it is sorely missed! We hope to see you soon, and please check www.westporty.org for the latest updates about our efforts to re-open.

Re-Building What Matters: Family Y Update, Nov. 6

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 by:Family Y
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Family Y staff gathered on Tuesday in the darkened Stauffer Pool area to discuss efforts to resume operations as soon as possible.

“The good part? Realizing how important our Y is to peoples’ lives when it’s not around,” said Membership Coordinator Midge Deverin on Wednesday at a gathering of Westport Weston Family Y staff on the bleachers of the darkened Stauffer Pool.

Midge was relating her heartwarming encounters with Y Members and friends during a recent trip to the local Stop ‘n’ Shop, who stopped her in the aisles to inquire about her own family’s welfare (all fine) and to ask about our Family Y’s status and efforts to resume operations.

It was the first all-staff meeting since the facility was heavily damaged and temporarily closed by Superstorm Sandy on Monday, Oct. 29.

What follows is an update about our recovery efforts as of Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 6:

Bottom line: The Family Y is likely to remain closed through next week as we strive to restore power, heat and other essential services (such as fire-safety measures) to the facility.

In the meantime, Y Members are encouraged to avail themselves of the reciprocal privileges that allow them to use other local YMCAs.

Family Y staffers are also trying their best to arrange temporary alternative sites for certain classes and programs, as feasible.

For example, Sally Silverstein, who heads up our Sports & Recreation program, has scheduled practice time at the Norwalk YMCA, starting Tuesday afternoon, for some of our Y’s gymnastics students, who are busily training for upcoming competitions and performances.

Ellen Johnston, head coach of the 200-member Water Rat Swim Team, has used the Wilton Family YMCA and Staples High School for practice sessions. She’s also been able to shift this weekend’s home swim meet to Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

Their Y colleagues are in the process of trying to arrange temporary use by Y Members of local facilities for swim lessons, aqua fitness classes, volleyball, yoga and other Y classes. We will strive to keep Y Members and especially participants of these programs informed of these developments and their schedules as soon as possible.

The Family Y’s Kinderkids program has joined with our After School program for older students at Long Lots elementary school, with that program resuming on Wednesday.

Significant progress has been made in cleaning out the Child Care Center, submerged under feet of water.

Tasha Dennison, senior director of Child Care and School Age programs, continues to work with state authorities to secure a temporary license for hosting our other Child Care programs at the Y once heat and other services are restored and while our Child Care Center, located in the lower level of the Bedford Building, is remediated, rebuilt and restocked.

We’ve detailed the damage done, as well as the complicated task of making repairs to antiquated, “grandfathered” mechanical and electrical systems damaged by the tidal surge that flooded the sub-levels of our circa 1923 Bedford Building, the equally vintage Firehouse that now serves as our two-level Fitness Center, as well as our Weeks Pavilion Aquatics Center, added to the Y in the 1970s.

Pat Costanzo, our super “super,” sounded an optimistic note at Wednesday’s meeting when he cited tentative plans to install a second temporary external generator that would supply power to the Weeks Pavilion, which also houses our Gymnastics Center and racquet courts.

“Our schedule could change for the better, allowing members to utilize parts of our building, such as the fitness center, sooner,” said Pat, our Senior Director of Facilities Management, on Wednesday.

“My goal is to give you back your building,” he added to the 30 or so program directors, teachers and instructors, warmed only slightly by the ambient heat of the Stauffer Pool’s water. “Your jobs will be to make our classes fit with what we’ll have, at least to start off with.”

Many of our Y’s instructors have taught at the Y for years, even decades, and for them, it’s less a job than a calling. Ruth Sherman, who has taught aqua fitness classes at the Y for more than 40 years, spoke of how she has phoned many of her students, some in their 90s, to check in on them and to let them know of the Y’s status.

Other Y staffers are engaged in similar efforts to reach out to Y Members personally, particularly our seniors who may not have access to updates on our website and emails.

Our Family Y’s roots run deep and remain strong.

“This is not a speed bump; it’s a speed mountain,” said Family Y CEO Rob Reeves on Wednesday. “We hope our Members will hang with us, but we will honor requests by members who want to or need to freeze or cancel their memberships.”

“But know this,” Reeves added. “We’re not looking for a way to ‘get out’ of our old building at this critical point. We are intent on continuing our mission of service to our Members and community as soon as humanly possible.”

We also promise to keep you up to date about the latest developments in our recovery effort and how these efforts may impact the timing and scope of our reopening.

If you have a specific question or would like to volunteer your support, please contact Rob Reeves directly, via rreeves@westporty.org or 203-226-8981, ext. 131.

To support our Family Y with a financial contribution, please click here to access our online donation form, or contact Paul Bernetsky, Chief Development Officer, at 203-226-8981, ext. 115 or pbernetsky@westporty.org. (Use the Comment box to give us specific information about processing your gift. We thank you.)

More information about our Family Y, including additional photos, may be found at www.westporty.org as well as the Y’s Facebook page.

Making Our Y, and Community, Whole Again

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 by:Family Y
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Family Y staff gathered on Tuesday in the darkened Stauffer Pool area to discuss efforts to resume operations as soon as possible.

Midge’s Membership Blog:

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 – Election Day

As you drive through parts of Westport, you almost wouldn’t know that one week ago we were besieged by a ferocious storm that threatened to demolish our community.

You almost wouldn’t know until you look a little closer and see that many stores on Main Street remain closed, that businesses up and down the Post Road are boarded up, that there are hundreds of homes in total disrepair, that trees, branches and debris still scatter many of our roads and walkways.

You almost wouldn’t know on this glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly on Compo Beach that one week ago, there was no beach.

There is no question that our beautiful New England town was terribly hurt by Superstorm Sandy, and not one of the more than 25,000 inhabitants of Westport was unaffected by its gravity.  We all were … and we are all coming together to put back the pieces to make our community whole again.

One of the profound realizations that I have had this past week is how vital, how concretely important, how solidly a focal point of our town, the Westport Weston Family Y is.

I have been practically bowled over while waiting on line at Stop & Shop by Y members coming up to me, begging to know when the Y will reopen.

Here are some of those Y voices that still resound in my head –

“I can go without power in my house, but how can I go without my morning yoga class at the Y?”

“I don’t feel like ME this entire week, and I realized that it had nothing to do with the lack of heat in my house but rather that I couldn’t go to the Y for my daily swim!”

“My kids are driving me crazy.  They miss their dance and gymnastics classes.”

“Is there anything I can do to help the Y get back up and running?”

“I used my Y reciprocity at another Y; it just is not the same.”

This morning was the first time I stepped foot in the Y building since the impact of the storm.  I was there to attend a staff information meeting regarding the restoration.

We all sat on the bleachers overlooking the Stauffer Pool.  It was dark and cold and there was an eerie silence.  We were apprised of all the damage the building suffered in the wake of Sandy; the super-human efforts on the part of staff and members and friends of the community to restore the Y. How we need to re-build electrical, salvage equipment, pump out water – with the number one goal of getting back up and running as soon as possible so we can be there for our members and provide the services (that I realize now more than ever) that go way beyond the obvious services (classes, fitness, child care, pool, showers, etc.) and speak to the human beings that we all are.

Our Family Y provides a HOME, a happy place, a safe haven, a familiar and comfortable start or middle or end to one’s day that feels like that favorite warm old sweater … it is (almost) always there when you need it and it always makes you feel good!

We can’t wait to reopen our doors once again.

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