Strong Woman Classes with Dr. Lynn Keenan

Osteoporosis is considered one of our nation's greatest health threats. It is estimated that fully 55% of Americans over 50 years old are at risk of osteoporosis. The disease is characterized by the loss of bone density. The inner structure of the bones weakens so much that they become susceptible to fractures, especially in hip, spine, and wrist bones. One in two women will have an osteoporosis fracture in her life, and women's risk of hip fracture alone is the same as her combined risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer.

Fortunately, bone density loss can be prevented, stopped, and even turned around through moderate exercise. This is how bones grow, by responding to the strenuous tug of muscles attached to them, or to the stress of footfall (as in walking, running, or dancing).

Researchers at Tufts University are discovering ways to build bone density by studying the impact of weight-training on the bones of men and women 40 and older. The findings from their studies have changed the ways we think about osteoporosis. What was once viewed as an inevitable part of aging is now considered a preventable disease among the vast majority of people.

Perhaps the most well-known of these researchers is Miriam Nelson, author of the bestselling series of Strong Women and Strong Men books. Her research is showing that a simple weight training program in which participants lift small hand and leg weights for an hour just twice a week is turning back the clock on bone density loss, and creating several unintended benefits as well-even among men and women in their eighties!

For those who benefit from some instruction and encouragement in the first few weeks of a new lifestyle change, Lynn Keenan-who trained in the Tufts model with Dr. Nelson and the Tufts staff-offers the Strong Women program, an 8-week course to get you on your way to the kind of results found above. To learn more, attend an information session at Renaissance.

Gentle Pilates

Join Pilates instructor and massage therapist, Cathy Bangs, for this gentle, progressive class designed to introduce you to the many benefits of Pilates.

In this class you will start from the beginning, understanding the role of core muscles, how to recruit them for strengthening and flexibility, and enjoy the developmental process of gaining core strength and postural alignment.

All of our classes are small, with 4-5 participants and we offer several opportunities to take Pilates at Renaissance.

An hour-long class meets on Tuesdays AND Thursdays at 4:00 pm. Cost for this class is $125.00.

A 40 minute, lunch hour class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cost for these classes is $85.00.

Active Stretching

When done correctly and regularly, simple stretches can lengthen and relax muscles for flexibility and power, improve joint function, and increase range of motion. Not to mention make you feel good all over!

In our twice-weekly class we learn good stretching form and practice a variety of stretches that will lengthen and relax virtually all of our skeletal muscles.

We meet for just 30 minutes at the beginning of the day so participants can head off, invigorated, to work or down to the Discovery Trail for a walk or run.

In our one-time class participants learn the basics of safe stretching and its benefits, we practice a comprehensive routine that focuses on the body's major muscle groups.

Strong to the Core

Up to 80% of Americans will experience significant back pain in our lives. One in four of us experiences back pain on an on-going, chronic basis. That's too much!

Low back pain is the second most common complaint driving us to our doctors' offices. But back pain is preventable in many, many cases. Simple exercises designed to alleviate back pain help the vast majority of pain suffers

STRONG TO THE CORE is a 30-minute, simple exercise session designed to build strength and flexibility in the muscles that form the architecture of the back: the entire back, hip, shoulder, and abdominal muscles.

We offer a one-time class for those who simply want to get the book--The Core Program--and learn the exercises in a safe and effective way to better practice the series of exercises at home.

We also offer a series of classes that meet twice weekly for 8 weeks. Exercise science shows that on average, it takes us about 8 weeks to incorporate new fitness elements into our lifestyles. Since all of the STRONG TO THE CORE exercises can easily be done at home without equipment this class will equip you with usable tools for back and postural health.

Because everyone wants to stay out of the doctor’s office!

Prenatal Yoga

Jennifer Veneklasen teach moms-to-be ways to use gentle yoga to increase flexibility and strength, decrease swelling, ease anxiety, improve circulation and balance, and lower pain in labor.

This one-hour Saturday morning class welcomes all soon-to-be moms, from yoga novices to seasoned yoga practitioners. You'll learn ways to practice yoga safely right up to delivery.

Jennifer works as a special sections editor at the Peninsula Daily news where her favorite projects include the quarterly Healthy Living publication and designing tabs for the area’s many festivals. She fell in love with yoga after spending much of her life seeking the “right” fitness routine. She found yoga to be that and so much more. Since then she has continued to practice, obtained her Level 1 teacher training from the Yogafit alliance, and after becoming pregnant, taking a specialty prenatal/postpartum teacher training. Jennifer hopes to share her love of yoga with other soon-to-be moms by helping them to connect with their bodies, their breathe, and a community of other women on the journey toward motherhood.

WHAT MASSAGE THERAPISTS KNOW
Learn Massage for Couples (friends and family)

Join us for this 2 hour class in which we'll teach participants the basics of providing a relaxing, rejuvenating massage for the people you love. We'll teach specific massage techniques that have been deeply relaxing people across cultures for centuries, as well as tips for comfortably providing massage at home, and ways to maximize the power of massage.

Cost for this class is $75.00 for two/per couple.

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WHAT MASSAGE THERAPISTS KNOW is a series of workshops by Renaissance massage therapists. We share what we know about massage, and all its benefits--from relaxation and decreased stress, to pain relief and muscle vitality.

Massage holds benefits across the lifespan, from infancy to the wise years. We explore massage for growing nervous systems and muscles to massage techniques that increase flexibility and agility. From peacefulness to posture, muscle strengthening to muscle unwinding, we share what we know in these hands-on workshops:

• Massage for Couples (friends and family)
• Massage for Pregnant Couples
• Infant Massage
• Massage for Older Adults
• Trigger Point Relief at Home
• The Power of Posture: Standing Tall and Feeling Vital
• Muscle-Based Strategies for Low Back Pain Relief
• Muscle Strengthening for Bone Density
• Strong to the Core: Strengthening Core Muscles for Super Health!

WHAT MASSAGE THERAPISTS KNOW
Infant Massage

Babies love massage!

Join Renaissance massage therapists for this session designed to show you some simple massage techniques you can use with your baby, as well as oils and lotions that are healthful for your baby, and a few areas to be careful of while enjoying this wonderful way to bond with your baby, enhance their immune system, and assist with healthy development.

Candle Light Yoga with Lee Zurcher

Yoga-which combines deep breathing, slow movements and postures that gently stretch and lengthen muscles-has many health benefits. Research is confirming what yoga practitioners have known for ages: yoga can strengthen muscles and increase flexibility, increase joint range of motion, improve circulation, help reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and increase heart rate efficiency.

In an era when most of us work at a desk or behind a wheel or some other form of equipment requiring stationery positions, movement is limited. But regular movement is essential for musculoskeletal health and the health of other systems as well. (The lymph system, for instance, relies on muscle movement to "pump" cleansing lymph throughout the body.) When muscles go repeatedly unused and unmoved, they shorten and weaken. Over time these shortened muscles cause chronic pain and tightness. The tightness restricts blood circulation throughout the body, furthering pain and other systemic problems.

At Renaissance, where we are fascinated with muscle health, yoga is celebrated as an important leg in the three-legged stool of muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance. Most yoga activities are designed to stretch muscles in order to strengthen them, lengthen them, and make them more flexible. Yoga is terrific for those of us who spend much of our days in relatively stationary positions as it takes our muscles into important ranges of motion, gets them working to their capacity, and serving the other systems of the body that depend on them for full vitality.

Candlelight Yoga will be led as a gentle, flowing experience, the beginning of a transition from the work week into the more free and relaxed time of the weekend. With the soft light of candles and some quiet music the group will be led in a variety of postures that will stretch and work through the muscles of the body in an easy, meditative manner.

There will be a relaxation period at the end.

The group should be appropriate to all levels of experience.

Participants should wear loose clothing and bring a mat if available. We do have some extra mats.

Yogis have often said all you really need to practice Yoga is a folded blanket and a clean, well ventilated area. Yoga at Renaissance adds a beautiful environment and we hope the experience will be a beautiful one for you.

Yoga Instructor, Lee Zurcher, was first drawn to yoga 54 years ago at the age of 16. She began teaching yoga in the 1970's after joining and being trained in the tradition of the International Himalayan Institute, brought to this country by Swami Rama (1925-1996). Lee has taught yoga for the past 4 decades.