Wellness: Body, Mind & Spirit

As you proactively plan for your future, participate in this interactive guided discussion with experts in the field. Thoughtful planning and follow-through can help avoid a crisis should health care or housing needs change or life events force decisions to be made quickly. This course is designed to present a list of options, considerations, and professional services available to help you put a plan in place, ready to be implemented if needed. Topics will cover the benefits and care costs of remaining in your home, the services available should you decide to downsize and relocate and the differences in housing options and costs between continuous care retirement communities, assisted living, and small residential homes for modest incomes. There will be an overview on Medicaid, veteran's benefits and legal planning. One person registers in advance, a family member may register in class and attend at no cost. Moderator Deborah Bakalich is a member of Senior Care Lifestyles, a true one-stop senior care resource center.

The course will address day-to-day challenges for both the care recipient as well as the caregiver.

Course dates and times will be: 

Yoga instructors Maura Conley and Helen Heffer are collaborating to teach this class emphasizing: body alignment and posture; balance in our bodies, minds and lives; health through self-care, inner-listening, gentle stretching and strengthening. A sense of well-being comes as all parts of us align, balance and interconnect. Please wear comfortable clothes and bring a yoga mat and blanket.

Mindfulness meditation works by helping the practitioner achieve a better understanding of what is happening right now—whether positive, negative, or neutral—not what they want to happen or what think they should be happening. Recognizing that unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can undermine emotional, physical, and spiritual health, you will learn techniques to reduce stress and stress-related disorders. The class will consist of a presentation, opportunity to participate in guided meditation and time for discussion, questions, and answers. Instructor Jerry Hartman is a graduate of the certificate program of the Meditation Teacher Training Institute, located in Washington, D.C.

This course, approved by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, is designed for allied health professionals, educators, civic leaders, and community members to learn about the initial help that can be given to a person in a mental health crisis (severe depression, psychosis, panic attack, suicidal thoughts and behaviors) or showing symptoms of mental illness, until appropriate professional or other help (including peer and family support) can be engaged. Review the prevalence of mental illness in the U.S. and the associated emotional and economic cost. Label the potential warning signs and risk factors for depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders. Compose a five-step action plan to help an individual in crisis connect to professional care. Identify resources available to help someone with a mental health problem. Upon successful completion, students will earn a Mental Health First Aider certificate. Mental Health First Aid certification must be renewed every three years.

Combining dance, martial arts, and mindfulness, nia tones your body while transforming your mind. More than just a workout, nia is a holistic fitness practice addressing each aspect of your life–body, mind, and soul. You can discover, explore, unleash, and enhance your individual potential to live a healthy and meaningful life by engaging your senses and listening to your body. Nia is based on the intelligent design of the body. Each workout brings mindfulness to your dance movement experience, leaving you energized, mentally clear, and emotionally balanced. Nia cardio-dance workouts combine 52 simple moves with dance arts, martial arts, and healing arts to get you fit in 60 minutes—body, mind, emotion, and spirit. Wear comfortable clothing and bring soft-soled slippers if you choose not to go barefoot. Instructor: Claudia Salomon

The word qigong literally means skill or cultivation of vital energy (qi). Traditional Chinese medicine believes that good health is the result of a free-flowing, well-balanced qi (bioenergy) system, while sickness, pain or physical disorders are the result of qi blockage, or unbalanced qi in the body. Qigong practice helps to balance the qi system in the body and break the qi blockages to recover health. It helps you develop a more relaxed, harmonious state of mind and body; reduce stress; resist illness; and heighten sensitivity to your body’s internal organs along with developing an energetic ability to regulate your own health and vitality. You will focus on body posture adjustment and gentle movement, mind-focused relaxation, and breath regulation practice. Instructor: David Foulk.

Discover t’ai chi, a form of active meditation that promotes calming, centering, and self-control. Instructor David Foulk introduces you to this practice of meditation and physical exercise, consisting of carefully coordinated, slow, natural movements proven to strengthen your body and mind. When the chi flows in a balanced fashion, you enjoy better physical and emotional health, increased longevity and inner peace. This course is appropriate for beginning and continuing students.

Mindfulness rests upon four foundations: the body, the mind, feelings, and thoughts. Mastering the four foundations is the best way to establish and sustain a meditation practice. Join us as we explore each of the foundations in turn, with short talks, guided meditations and group discussions
designed to increase your understanding of this way to practice meditation. No meditation experience is needed to participate in this workshop.

We often think happiness is dependent on external factors. We suffer from the “if only” disease, looking for the next big thing that will finally make us happy. Mindfulness meditation gives you tools to create lasting happiness that does not rely on others. Explore how clinging to your attitudes and possessions creates dissatisfaction and how loving, kindness, generosity, and gratitude can help alter your outlook on life. Course includes meditation exercises and discussion. No previous meditation experience required. Instructor: Jerry Hartman.

This is a great time of year to honor nature: the air, water, Earth, vegetation, animals, humans and the Space/Consciousness that holds us all. Through yoga poses, meditation and relaxation, we will explore all that Nature gives to us, how we give back, and the interconnectedness of all things. Please
wear comfortable clothes and bring a yoga mat and blanket. Instructor: Helen Heffer.