The Rye YMCA welcomed 55 active older adults to its annual Senior Health and Fitness Day on May 29. The event, which was free and open to the community, featured blood pressure monitoring, lunch, a raffle and exercise classes ranging from Restorative Yoga to Line Dancing.
During the lunch session, participants listened intently and lobbed questions at guest speaker Dr. Edward Schuster, a renowned cardiologist who is an attending physician at Stamford, Greenwich, St. Vincent’s and Norwalk Hospitals. Although his talk was titled “How to Live to Be 100”, he informed the crowd that he was changing it to “How to Live to Be 110 without Disability.” His first tip: “Be lucky and be blessed.” He soon shifted to a list of recommendations for living a long, healthy life, from the obvious (don’t smoke) to lesser known advice about screenings, medications and vitamins.
Rye Y members Cathy Verrille and Susan Gilligan sat side by side during the talk and later agreed that Dr. Schuster offered very commonsense advice. “He touched on a lot of points that are helpful to me,” Verrille remarked. Gilligan added “I found out that my cholesterol isn’t as bad as my current doctor says!”
Many of the services and classes offered on Senior Health and Fitness Day are part of the Rye Y’s regular programming for active older adults. Over the past few years, the Y has expanded its offerings to include Enhance Fitness for adults suffering from arthritis, a Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Program, and several small social groups where adults of all ages get together to play games or discuss the latest books.
“Senior Health and Fitness Day is a great opportunity for members to try a new activity and for community residents to discover all the Y has to offer,” commented Diana Vita, the Y’s Senior Director for Member Wellness. “It’s such a fun event, because there’s something for everyone: physical activity, learning, camaraderie, and lunch! We look forward to this event every year.”
For more information about the Rye Y’s programming for active older adults, contact Diana Vita at diana@ryeymca.org or 914-967-6363, ext. 211.
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