Chair yoga is offered in the 55+ Wellness Series by Baptist Health South Florida through Mind Body Social. Photo provided
By Jan Engoren
All excuses not to exercise are off the table with the 55+ Wellness Series, offered by Baptist Health South Florida through the Baptist Health Foundation in partnership with Mind Body Social.
Founded by two Miami friends, Jose Antonio Hernandez and Luis A. Sanabria, the company partners with hospitals and corporations to offer free classes for people 55 and older.
Classes are held in the Boynton Beach Senior Center, Pompey Park in Delray Beach, Lake Worth Fitness Center and The Village of Palm Springs Community Room.
Virtual classes are also available.
The mission is to inspire well-being, increase awareness, and create and foster a wellness community, Hernandez says.
“We’re doing this for the people in these communities,” he explains. “Classes are free, accessible, and available with the goal of encouraging healthy behavior and fostering preventive care. Our classes inspire people to come together to find common ground. It helps us live our best life.”
The series began with an online-only offering last January and the in-person events kicked off in May with tai chi, fall flow yoga and chair yoga, Jazzercise, mindful movement, dance fitness, Zumba, gold Zumba and barre.
“Our partnership with Mind Body Social has allowed us to serve wellness-minded active adults throughout the Palm Beach County area,” said Lissette Egues, vice president with Baptist Health South Florida. “The physical and mental well-being of our community is the overall goal of the series, so we are pleased with the popularity of this free health and wellness programming made accessible to the residents we serve.”
Classes are taught by certified instructors. They include chair yoga instructor Mike Mitchell, 35, who teaches at the Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Palm Springs senior centers; tai chi master Helen Carson, 59, who teaches at the Boynton Beach Senior Center, and Zumba teacher Carmen Ormaeche, 52, of Boynton Beach.Carson’s classes were initially scheduled every other week, but people enjoyed them so much, they requested them weekly. Typically, she gets 12-15 people.
“I’m happy to see such a good turnout, especially in the middle of a Florida summer,” says Carson, originally from Finland and certified since 2017 through Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health Institute in Australia.
The main benefit of tai chi is for stress relief, she says. “It’s meditation or, we say, medication in motion.”
Mitchell, who also teaches Thai yoga and martial arts, says chair yoga is good for stress relief and is not only for seniors.
“Because you are not using your body weight, chair yoga is great for structure, even for advanced practitioners,” he says.
“It can help prevent injuries and helps build muscle memory that allows you to be more stable. We hope to prevent injuries before they happen by increasing balance and stability for our seniors.”
Mitchell, who runs a nonprofit called VegFest, an outdoor vegan festival held in Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, says that “it’s good to have a job where people feel good after your classes.”
“I love that I'm able to have a positive impact on the community,” he says.
The Peruvian-born Ormaeche says Zumba is all about balance — and the music.
On a good day, more than 50 seniors come out to exercise to her selection of salsa, meringue, reggaeton, cumbia and samba beats. The mother of two has a full-time job as a cash application specialist and teaches Zumba in Pompey Park as well as at LA Fitness and to low-income kids in Lake Worth Beach.
“I tell them, don’t be intimidated if you don’t know the moves — just try,” says Ormaeche, who took classes for three years before attending a Zumba convention, thus falling in love with the workout.
“I knew that this was part of me, a new way to stay fit and help others reach their goals for a better, healthy lifestyle,” she says.
Ormaeche coined the acronym SSOH for simple, strong, optimistic and happy to go with her practice.
“I’m very happy that with my passion for Zumba, I touched so many lives,” she says. “No matter how bad your day is, once you enter the room it’s a new world.”
One of her students, Boynton Beach resident Sandra Langlois, 62, a retired surgical technician, has been taking classes with Ormaeche for five years.
“I love the music,” she says. “Carmen keeps us moving. After a certain age, you have to keep moving.
“She’s easy to follow and one of the best instructors. We all love Carmen.”
For more information visit www.mindbodysocialevents.com and follow @mind_body_social on Instagram or @MindBodySocialEvents on Facebook.
Jan Engoren writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to jengoren@hotmail.com.
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