Local Tai Chi Classes for Your Balance and Wellbeing

Tai Chi and Qigong For Balance and Wellbeing

By Rosemary Black

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR BALANCE (and relax and have some fun at the same time!), both tai chi and qigong are worth considering. Tai chi, an ancient Chinese tradition, involves deep breathing while performing a series of movements in a very focused manner. Qigong (pronounced chee-gong) is also an ancient Chinese form of exercise that encompasses movement exercises with controlled breathing and meditation.

“One of the many wonderful things about tai chi is that literally everyone can do it because it is modifiable,” says Lisa Rawson, shown front-right in the above photograph leading one of her classes. As proprietor of the Westchester Tai Chi Center, situated at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, Rawson explains, “You can even do tai chi while seated or in a wheelchair.”

Tai chi can very definitely improve one’s balance, says Dr. Yang Yang, founder and director of the Center for Taiji and Qigong Studies in New York City and a clinical specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY, where he teaches patients and staff. “In China, many see and admire the strong and healthy elders who practice tai chi and qigong,” he says. “People see that these practitioners are vital and energetic, and carry themselves like people many years younger. So in China, people make time to nurture themselves in mind and body, thus preserving their youthfulness.”

Studies on tai chi, sometimes referred to as “meditation in motion,” indicate that it can help improve an individual’s balance. “Tai chi is also good for the aches and pains of osteoarthritis, it helps people maintain bone density, and it can improve the quality of your sleep,” says Rawson.

“It can reduce stress and while it’s not a cure, it can reduce some of the symptoms of fibromyalgia.”

Qigong offers many of the same benefits of tai chi, says Molly Olivia Roffman, PT, MA, owner of StepWISEnow Balance Fitness in Briarcliff Manor. “It is considered to be the foundation of tai chi,” she explains. “The practice of qigong strengthens one’s internal power.”

At the Westchester Tai Chi Center, Rawson does not advocate the concept of pushing through pain. “Tai chi isn’t physical therapy. It’s about helping energy move through your body. You want to keep your energy pathways open and you don’t want to create pain, stress, or tension in the body.”

ina, and stability while calming the mind, enhancing breathing and improving one’s overall well-being, says Roffman. “It is an all-inclusive mind-body fitness practice for older adults,” she explains. “Tai chi has proven to be effective in reducing the risk of falls. Because falls are the main reason older adults lose their independence, tai chi is an essential part of any fitness practice for older adults.”

Maria Sarro, tai chi instructor at Millenium Medical and Rehab on Central Avenue in White Plains, says, “For me, tai chi/qigong is meditation in motion, from stillness comes movement.” She also cites the many research-based studies about the health benefits of tai chi and credits the practice of it with helping her own knee and shoulder pain.

Unlike some forms of exercise, tai chi doesn’t require any special clothing or equipment and it can be done anywhere, notes Roffman. “It’s best to wear shoes with light, flexible soles that are secure on your feet to get the most benefit,” she says, adding that tai chi can be practiced either while standing or sitting. INDEPENDENCE | DIGNITY | CHOICE | Since 1998 My Second Home

An Intergenerational Adult Day Program providing dementia care

Why be home alone? Come spend the day with us — exercise your brain and warm your heart.

914-241-0770 • www.fsw.org/msh 95 Radio Circle, Mount Kisco, NY 10549

My Second Home is a program of Family Services of Westchesterandreceives funding from Westchester County Department of Senior Programs & Services

MUSIC & MEMORY SM Certified Care Facility Partner • Dementia Care 2016 Adult Day Services Innovator Award from National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA)

“Be patient with yourself while learning,” she advises. “Before very long, you will realize the benefits of tai chi.”

Rawson notes that the qigong movements tend to be a little simpler and more accessible than those of tai chi. “You do the movements repetitively, eight or 10 times,” she says. “It offers many of the same benefits as tai chi.”

Caring for You & Those You Love, in Home & Hospital Settings

Whether you opt for tai chi or qigong, you will see improvement in your balance and strength early on. Says Rawson, “As soon as you start getting engaged, balance connections start to be made,” she says. “Your body and mind are connected in a new way.”

Get more information about tai chi and qigong classes in Westchester by visiting westchestertaichicenter.com, stepwisenow.com, and mmrclinic.com

n n n

Rosemary Black, a mom of seven and a resident of Pleasantville, NY, writes frequently on health, nutrition, parenting, and food. She is author of six cookbooks, most recently, The Marley Coffee Cookbook.

Concept: CARE ® ...bringing health care home

Growing for Good

By Kim Kovach

NORMA SILVA EXEMPLIFIES THE PHRASE, “ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.” An active, enthusiastic educator, Norma is also an avid gardener and hands-on volunteer at Sugar Hill Farm in Bedford Hills. As part of Westchester Land Trust (WLT), Sugar Hill Farm grows fresh vegetables for the food pantry at the Community Center of Northern Westchester.

“Food banks typically provide canned and boxed processed foods,” says Norma. “Fresh food is more nutritious.” A variety of vegetables and greens are grown and harvested at Sugar Hill Farm. The fresh produce is then donated to the food pantry on a weekly basis during the growing season. The 2019 season yielded 732 pounds of fresh produce.

FEEDING THE COMMUNITY Volunteer gardeners are involved in planting, weeding, watering and harvesting an abundance of peppers, zucchini, potatoes, butternut squash, radishes, turnips, cucumbers, tomatillos, kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, basil and garlic. Several varieties of tomatoes are grown at Sugar Hill Farm including sweet yellow tomatoes. A volunteer gardener for more than five years, Norma is proud that everything grown on the farm is donated to help feed community members in need. “Everything is organic,” adds Norma. “No pesticides are used.”

Norma admits with a laugh that she sometimes talks to the plants as she goes about her work at the half-acre garden at Sugar Hill. “How are you doing today? Do you need some water?” Backyard gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts without prior experience can feel a sense of accomplishment in helping to grow vegetables for a good cause. part of leading a healthy vegan lifestyle. An active cyclist and a member of the Yonkers Bike Club, she also volunteers with Bike NY to teach adults how to ride bicycles in Van Cortlandt Park.

Norma Silva (right) tending the garden at Sugar Hill

A lifelong learner, this retired special education teacher continues to take courses online and classes with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. Norma even has an app on her phone to identify invasive and native plants that she sees in her travels.

LENDING A HELPING HAND A passionate conservationist, Norma is on the WLT Board and was recognized with an award honoring Women in Conservation. She is also involved in WLT’s Pollinator Pathways Program, promoting the planting of native plants and elimination of pesticides to protect the bee and butterfly populations.

Norma has spent time planting trees and bushes at various WLT preserves including Otter Creek in Mamaroneck. Since 1988, Westchester Land Trust has preserved over 8,400 acres of open space across the county. Also on the Board of the Yonkers Land Conservancy, Norma makes time to volunteer on their monthly clean up days. Her busy volunteering schedule includes the Nepperhan Community Center and the Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York, as well.

HEALTHY AND ACTIVE A Yonkers resident, Norma grows basil, parsley, chives, oregano, thyme, lettuce and kale in her raised bed garden as Norma’s commitment to environmental conservation and serving the community is a wonderful example for her two adult children and eight grandchildren. “There are so many things that you can do instead of staying in the house and watching TV,” says Norma. “It’s amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it.”

GARDEN VOLUNTEERS WELCOME Volunteer days at Sugar Hill Farm are open to the public. “Anyone can volunteer,” says Norma. “Volunteering in the garden at Sugar Hill Farm gets you outdoors, doing something physical and benefitting the community.” Why not plan to get your hands dirty and grow for good this spring? For volunteer gardening dates and upcoming events at Sugar Hill Farm, visit www. westchesterlandtrust.org

n n n

Kim Kovach enjoys gardening, walking and writing. Kim teaches fiction writing classes for adults in Westchester and Fairfield. www. kimkovachwrites.com

ArtsWestchester Gets Dressed

Photo courtesy of Amanda Browder

A monumental work of public art is coming to downtown White Plains this May. Metropolis Sunrise, a colorful, quilt-like textile sculpture will be draped from the top of ArtsWestchester’s historic nine-story neoclassical building, bringing the local community together at every level of its making. ArtsWestchester, the official County-designated arts council, has commissioned New York State textile artist Amanda Browder to design and fabricate the installation with help from local residents.

The artwork will be revealed at the May 28 ArtsBash event. To create Metropolis Sunrise, Browder will need more than 10,000 square feet of colorful non-stretchy fabrics, which will be sewn together by volunteers from the community. This extraordinary and inclusive work of public art will be created by arranging, pinning and sewing together donated fabric at more than 20 community sewing days, through March 29. All ages are welcome and prior sewing experience is not required.

The sculpture will be complemented by an indoor gallery exhibition featuring photo and video documentation of the project’s many stages, with personal reflections and accounts of community members as they explore the textile arts in their lives. In Browder’s own words, “The overarching goal is to involve individuals and groups in the mystery of creation. Volunteerism of local citizens and artists is a segue to creating familiarity in contemporary art as well as the individual nature of the neighborhood itself.”

For more information, visit artswestchester.org

Hudson Valley Regional Dementia Conference

Thursday, May 14, 2020 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

DoubleTree by Hilton Tarrytown, NY Featuring breakout sessions, guest speakers and exhibitors. CEU credits available.

Register at AlzDementiaConference.org For information, call 800.272.3900

MEETING OF THE MINDS

DEMENTIA CONFERENCE 2020

With special guest David Hyde Pierce, Tony and Emmy award winning actor, director and Alzheimer's Association Celebrity Champion

With Keynote Speaker Dr. Tia Powell, Director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics and author of “Dementia Reimagined”

spring 2020 33 westchesterseniorvoice.com FEATURIN