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Health & Fitness

Spice Up Your Workout at Sands Point Preserve

Now you can add some cha cha to your workout, or tap even further into your yoga practice at Sands Point Preserve. That’s because the Preserve is adding to its fitness program, with two new classes: Chair Zumba on Tuesdays at 11:15 a.m., beginning March 4, and a second Adult Yoga on Thursdays at 11 a.m., starting March 6.

With spring just around the corner, now is the perfect time to embark on a new exercise regime at the Preserve, with its full range of courses. Admission is just $10 per car, or free with a 2014 Annual Pass, whose benefits include family programs and event discounts, including our April 26 Preservers’ Celebration.

The new blend of courses is adding to the Preserve’s menu of offerings.

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Chair Zumba, which infuses Latin and international music, allows you to get fit while sitting down.

Instructor Debbie Mastrocinque explained:

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“Zumba is an exercise class that borrows movements from Latin dances such as cha cha, mambo, salsa, and meringue, and combines them to create a high energy, total body work-out,” she said. “The choreographed routines are a combination of slow and fast rhythms to target the heart, arms, legs, ‘glutes’ and abdominals.”

“Most Zumba classes are taught in a standing format. In this class we will perform many of the same moves, but while seated in a chair,” she added. “This is the perfect way for people with limited mobility, balance issues, or those just having trouble standing for long periods of time to enjoy Zumba. We will alternate the seated dance routines with some strength training and stretching.”

Adult Yoga with Judy Wein coordinates breath with gentle movements, supporting the body and focusing the mind.

“Adaptations of the poses are used to assist yoga class attendees to maintain the two qualities of a pose – stable and comfortable – as well as to focus on various intentions and derive different meanings from the poses and support a theme of the class,” said Judy Wein, the course’s instructor. 

Both Debbie and Judy are experts in their field.

Debbie received a B.A. from Hampshire College, where she studied dance and recreation therapy. She has taught tap, ballet, jazz, Mommy and Me creative movement, Zumba and senior fitness classes at the Dance Arts Centre for 37 years. She has also choreographed the musicals at Schreiber High School and Northport High School and the Port Summer Teen Theater.

Judy is registered with Yoga Alliance and has more than 2,000 hours of teaching experience in yoga and two 500-hour accredited Yoga Teacher Training Programs from Yoga Teachers Training Institute and Yoga for Well Being. She is also a certified yoga teacher with the Krishnamacharya Healing Yoga Foundation and continues her yoga studies in the tradition of Krishnamacharya with her teacher, Fran Ubertini, Director of Yoga for Well Being. Besides teaching throughout Queens and Nassau, she privately teaches individuals with special needs.

What to wear/bring: For Chair Zumba: Comfortable clothing and smooth bottom sneakers – running shoes stick to the floor. Bring a towel, and drinking water to stay hydrated. For yoga, wear loose comfortable clothes and bring a yoga mat or large towel, and water if you wish.

Additional courses at the Preserve include: Adult Yoga with MaryLou, Fridays at 9 a.m.; Adult Meditation with Macha, Mondays at 11 a.m.; Children’s Yoga with Lisa from Practice, Tuesdays at 1 p.m.; and Family Yoga – three remaining Sundays at 11 a.m. on  May 4, Aug. 17, and Nov.  9,  2014. 

Friends of the Sands Point Preserve is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to protect and preserve the 216-acre waterfront grounds and historic mansions and to provide a range of cultural arts events and educational programs for families and schools in the Phil Dejana Learning Center and Outdoor Classroom.

 For information about the Sands Point Preserve and to purchase a 2014 Annual Pass see www.TheSandsPointPreserve.com, call 516-571-7901or visit the Gate House at 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point, NY, 11050, open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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