“My Experiences on a Day Trip to High Point” by Michael G.

Anne was the driver. Ateeta was there. The weather was perfect-sunny but not too warm. We had lunch which was a salad and some peas and it tasted good. My energy was fairly high. I was out of the city for a few hours and the change of environment made me feel good. Then I did some weeding, worked to remove weeds in a small garden. Then we worked picking apples. I worked for about 90 minutes picking apples. I enjoyed being close to Nature. I relaxed with Daniel Wasserman and then observed a pair of chipmunks scurrying around and a few squirrels. We also spent some time with the alpacas. They are not like dogs and cats but F/H is able to cover some of the expense of running and maintaining Hight Point via the wool of the alpacas. We learned how to feed and water them. Then we returned via van to F/H. Alas, on the way back I experienced a painful leg cramp in the van. I was in a lot of pain but one of the staff from High Point showed me how to stretch to release the tension and dissipate the pain. It seems that primal pain operates day and night and even when I am having a good time. “The body never lies”. Leg cramps, heaviness, cravings for sweets, over-eating, smoking, alcohol, etc. all dissipate and drain off some tension. But the real need is to access the repressed wounds from the past in order to be free of all the above symptoms. Anyway,  we all seemed to have a good time and we feel we accomplished a lot for Fountain House in bringing back a lot of fresh, nutritious and tasty and delicious apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. An apple a day keeps the psychiatrist away.

Research in the Wellness Unit

     I have researched several topics in the wellness unit. Diabetes prevention and control, the effects of and side effects of psychotropic medications, the effect of aerobic exercise on mental illness and smoking cessation. I am waiting for the unit to discuss these topics sometime in the near future. It is apparent that from my research that the main event to prevent diabetes or control diabetes is diet and exercise. This also helps with hypertension (high blood pressure) control. The plan to disseminate this information to the House in general includes handing out flyers to individual units and to place articles in the weekly house newspaper. We hope that the House will work together with us in disseminating this information here and among other clubhouses.

      

SPA DAY AT THE WELLNESS UNIT

SPA DAY AT THE WELLNESS UNIT By Vivian Palazzolo

Sunday afternoon Sept. 24th the Wellness Unit sponsored a SPA Day. Although not as extensive as the Wellness Fair, it had the same feeling tone and enthusiasm. The warm, sunny day was perfect for the beginning events which were renting bikes for a ride along the Hudson River. There was also a Farmer’s Market selling organic produce just arrived from Highpoint Farm. Tours and demonstration of our gym equipment also took place. Lunch was the tour de force with a variety of wonderful, home made and health conscious food, all prepared and served by the wellness unit. There was red pepper hummus accompanied by pita chips, minty green beans, Moroccan carrots with currents, a yogurt cucumber sauce named Raida, baked and lemon marinated skinless chicken and tofu, a tasty Bulgar salad made with grains and pumpkin custard made from a Highpoint pumpkin. Home made granola bars, peach sorbet and zucchini muffins rounded out the meal. The beverages served were citrus water and a lime, ginger, pineapple punch. It reminded me a little of West Indian sodas. About 60 members enjoyed this appealing, tasty lunch. Lunch was followed by a yoga class, meditation training and a discussion on nutrition, concurrently with two hours of chair massage at 15 minute intervals. The Wellness Unit had also prepared facial masks made with edible ingredients distributed free with relaxation CD’s. Information was also available on recipes used to prepare lunch and the masks also. There was also information on self-message. This event was a fine prelude to what we can expect when the Wellness Unit begins serving food. The whole day was most enjoyable with a very relaxed atmosphere.

Nuria’s First Blog Contribution

I’m Nuria Kelly I been a member at fountain house for fourteen years working in the snack bar , but since the unit has been change to the wellness unit it’s been different.

The wellness unit is going to be an experience for me, it will help me loose weight working with the exercise machine.

all about the wellness

I think that I’m working in the Wellness Unit when we have a plan to make food every morning and make a schedule. Whenever we go out to shop at the fruit & vegetable market we buy a 3 cantolope, 1 whole watermelon, 24 lettuce, 1 red cabbage, and 2 melon to make fruit salads for the Dining Room’s lunch and green salads. In the afternoon we are cleaning the dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, putting the chairs and table neatly together and we done the wellness and we leave the wellness every evening for 5 days a week.

Chair Exercises

We have now started chair exercises in the Wellness unit. These are light exercises and a great way to get going and build up your energy throughout the day.

Spa Day

We haven’t posted a blog in more than a week as we have spent nearly every minute of every day over the last couple of weeks preparing for our “Spa Day” Sunday Program event. It’s 7:42 am right now and I’m getting ready to head out on my bike to meet the rest of the crew for setting-up the day. We had 12 people sign up for a bike ride which means my first stop will be the corner bike shop for some rentals. I’ve been hoping that the table stand for chair massage was delivered in time; if not I’ll be hunting down a pillow in the neighborhood.

This morning we’ll be putting together and packaging the home-made kitchen facials, good for the skin and entirely edible. Clerical finished printing our Self-Massage instruction and picture booklet late Friday afternoon, so well be putting those together as well – Thanks for your support Clerical! The mezzanine Gym was thoroughly cleaned on Friday, this morning we’ll set up for a series of cool-down stretching after the Hudson Parkway jaunt, yoga, and meditation. We’ll also lay out the pebble mat for another approach to foot reflexology. We’ve got a minty green bean dish to put together and some more pita chips to bake. John and Anne worked the Saturday program last night and spent some of their time baking the Lemon Tofu and Chicken.

It’s a gorgeous sunny day and the weather report says less humid than yesterday’s warm rain, perfect for taking a stroll or ride up the Hudson River. John and Pat will be introducing the Gym to folks who prefer to stay at the House. The second hour will be all about Yoga, Meditation, Reflexology, and Reiki. Lunch will be served in the Wellness Unit, a lovely return to the old “Snack Bar” for those who have missed spending Sunday afternoon in the most picturesque unit at Fountain House. Throughout the day a massage therapist will be offering chair massage, and there were plenty of sign-ups . We learned at our Wellness Fair last year that our community loves massage. We’ll close our event with a Nutrition Round Table discussion to share our knowledge and interests. We will kick it off with a perusal of the Recipe Brochure we put together to share the recipes for today’s menu.

I better head out or I’ll be late for the party! We are excited to experience the day ourselves and hope that folks coming into the house this Sunday afternoon will be delighted by our alternative unit sponsored event.

here are Tonya and Hazel about to do some damage to all those weeds.

They’re standing by one of the many raised beds we’ve used this year for growing crops. We like them cause people can stand and weed without hurting their backs and knees. Or you can pull up a stool and sit while you work. It’s really relaxing and a nice way to spend the afternoon.

This is one of the ways we’ve made gardening accessible to folks who thought they didn’t like gardening.

Yoga at Fountain House

ALIX: So, Sherril, are you a participant in Fountain House’s Yoga Class?

SHERRIL: Yes, I am.

 ALIX: How long have you been participating?

SHERRIL: Oh, for at least six months.

ALIX: How many people are in your class?

SHERRIL: It’s a small class, it ranges from two to five

ALIX: What exactly is yoga?  What do you and your classmates do in your class?

SHERRIL: we breathe and get into different positions

ALIX: Why do you like this class?

SHERRIL: The teacher is very gentle and easy.

ALIX: Do you feel like your health or fitness has improved from the yoga class?

SHERRIL: I think so.  I feel more relaxed.

farmer’s market

The farmer’s market has become a weekly event in the unit, with a variety of vegetables from High Point on sale. This week we had tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, pumpkins, turnips, rutabagas, potatoes, green beans, snow peas, kale, collard greens, parsley, and lettuce. It was an impressive array!  Snow peas have turned out to be a big favorite, so we’ll have to plant a lot more next year. 

It seems like more and more people are hearing about the farmer’s market and are interested in taking advantage of the fresh, low-cost vegetables we offer.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep our harvests going until October with the fall crops we’ve planted in the past few weeks. More lettuce, chard, carrots, beets, and spinach are on their way.  We also have a big load of edamame (soy beans) coming… one more week and they’ll be perfection.