Roll out the mats, or chair, get your stretch on, and let’s get moving. The Gustine Yoga program, a Chair Yoga and Hatha Yoga series are available for all ages and hosted at the Al Goman Center in Gustine every Tuesday and Thursday.
The City of Gustine Recreation Department is always coordinating to create new activities for the Gustine and Newman locals. Tiffany Vitorino, Recreation Manager for the City of Gustine, was seeking ways to keep the public active.
“It’s a really great program,” Vitorino commented. “The chair Yoga, - the reason we started that one is because we had a lot of seniors that wanted to do the Hatha yoga.”
Gustine Yoga sessions have been active since Nov. 4, 2015. Group sizes average anywhere between 15 to 30 attendees who are looking to get a good stretch. There are great benefits to Yoga and it’s not only for seniors.
“If you have an injury, bad knee or alike, who doesn’t do anything to exercise, it’s hard enough for you to balance and this is going to really prevent those falls,” Vitorino said.
Hatha Yoga is more of the traditional style exercise that many have seen paired with Yoga mats. It may not be for everyone, that’s why Barbara Parkin introduced the Chair Yoga to make it just a bit more manageable.
“That’s my big thing, Chair Yoga is for the senior citizens to get in there and get their balance and their stretching mobility,” said Vitorino.
Enrollment has slowed a bit, and the Gustine Recreation department hopes that more locals, or even people out-of-town, can experience what Yoga has to offer. A sense of community, health benefits and a way to get out of the house. Building strength and increasing flexibility.
“I’m trying to get more things out there, get available to everybody, try to keep it as least expensive as possible, and it’s going to benefit the community in every way,” Vitorino mentioned.
If you’d like to sign-up for a free trial class, call Barbara Parkin at (619)892-0811. Hatha Yoga Classes are from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. and Chair Yoga Classes, 9-10 a.m. Classes are every Tuesday and Thursday at the Al Goman Center in Gustine. Call (209)854-9411 for more information about registration pricing.