Join the walk. Make a difference.

Join the walk. Make a difference. Walk A Mile In Her Shoes June 24, 2012 www.ywcahamilton.org

Recognize anyone?????

 

 

YWCA Encore: After Breast Cancer Exercise Program

A FREE exercise program designed specifically for women who have experienced mastectomy, lumpectomy or breast reconstruction surgery at any time in their lives. Based around floor and pool exercise and relaxation techniques.

How can encore help?

We know that after surgery, many women experience numbness, pins and needles, loss of mobility and discomfort in their upper bodies, encore can help relieves these problems through gentle stretching exercises.

Encore will help you:

• Improve mobility and flexibility in your arms and shoulders
• Boost your self esteem and self image
• Relieve any discomfort as a result of surgery
• Create a positive attitude towards life and health

Encore is more than an exercise program, a supportive environment is also an important part of the recovery process, and you’ll be able to share your experiences, concerns and feelings with women who understand what you’ve been through.

Our next Encore session starts: April 25^th, 2012 Orientation session

For more information or to register please call Rana Aldibs OR Carah Avery

@ 905-522-9922 ext.118

Woman Alive!

A FREE Physical activity program for woman facing barriers to participation, it starts here @the YWCA in 2002, the success of the program has seen its growth to numerous sites across the city of Hamilton.

The FREE 10 week’s program consists of three 1 – hour physical activity session per week, including activities such as group fitness, aqua-fitness, yoga and more….. The program provides the participants with 3 healthy sessions with different healthy topics such as healthy eating, stress management, staying active and more…..

Woman Alive! Program supports women in understanding the importance of their own health and in developing strategies and skills for improvement and provides them an active, safe, enjoyable and comfortable environment.

Woman Alive! Program provides the participants with Free child minding, free gently used running shoes, healthy snacks, prizes and healthy talks.

Our next Woman Alive! Session for the spring will be:

Registration & Orientation: April 17^th,2012

Program runs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, 10:30-11:30am

For more information please call Rana Aldibs @ 905-522-9922 ext.118

Have you heard of the Woman Alive! Program?

As you know the YWCA offers many free programs that encourage women to have a healthy and active lifestyle. These programs assist women by increasing their level of knowledge and skills so that they are able maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The Woman Alive program is one of the free programs at the YWCA Hamilton. It’s a FREE physical activity program for women facing barriers to participation. This FREE program consists of two, 1 hour physical activity session per week , including  different activities such as group fitness, aqua fitness, pilates , zumba and yoga.

The program runs for 10 weeks and includes 3 extended sessions providing information on a Varity of health topics such as healthy eating, stress management, healthy lifestyles and more……. Woman Alive supports women by teaching them to understand the importance of their own health and helping them to develop strategies and skills for improvement.

Woman Alive! provides free child minding, healthy snacks, healthy talks, bus tickets and prizes. There are 6 locations in the Hamilton area.

It is free to come and try! If you need more information call Rana Aldibs @ 905-5229922 ext.118 YWCA Hamilton.

Are you the one?

Be The One-to stop violence against women and girls……is another fabulous project on the go at YWCA Hamilton.  Check here for further details…..
http://www.ywcahamilton.org/be-the-one/are-you-the-one
 and Be The One!

Turning Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

We have the most amazing programs here at the YWCA!  Here is some information about, one of our partners, Greta’s Flair, and our fabulous ywcaencore program-an exercise and support program for women who have had/have breast cancer.  Check out this clip from a recent appearance on CH Morning Live television.   
http://www.chch.com/index.php/morning-live-blog/item/5959-gretas-flair-fashions

Winter Running

So you’ve been able to stay consistent through the fall with your fitness routine.  What happens to your enthusiasm when the days get shorter, the mornings are cold and dark, the winter wind starts to blow etc.?  It’s natural to feel less than excited to get out and run at this time of year.  But the winter can be a fabulous time to enjoy running.  Look for a friend who may also need help staying focused,  join a run clinic,  set a goal for yourself to complete a distance by a specific time or consider signing up for one of the many fun road race that can be found in our community.  Often we convince ourselves that we are just “too tired”  to run.  My strategy is to tell myself that I’ll just do 10 minutes and call it a day.  Chances are that the 10 minutes will turn into 15, the 15 then becomes 20 and before you know it……I’m sure you get the picture!  So there is nothing wrong with playing little  games to help conquer the negative voice in your head. 

Cold weather running has it’s own set of challenges so be prepared.  Make that first winter run as pleasant as it can be by staying comfortable and safe.  Stay hydrated just as you would during the summer.  Don’t assume that because it’s not hot that you aren’t losing fluids through perspiration.  Dress in layers so that as the body warms with your effort you have the option to take something off.  Because your core does warm up,  try starting your run feeling “slightly” cool.  It’s important to avoid excessive perspiration that could eventually leave you feeling really chilled at the end of the run.  Clothing that promotes “wicking” or moving the moisture away from your skin to be evaporated is a great investment.  These garments can be used for most outdoor activities. 

Common sense prevails with the last few tips for safety.  Avoid running in the dark without a buddy (or two!),  choose routes that are plowed such as Bayfront trail during the snowy season,  start slow and give yourself extra time  for the muscles to warm up gradually and  at the end of your run be sure to change out of your wet clothing as soon as possible.

In closing,  if you have been running through the warm weather,  don’t give up now.  Stay focused, set a goal, find a run buddy and challenge yourself to a winter of outdoor activity!!  It’s a great way to find some inexpensive fun and maybe enjoy the benefits of sunshine and fresh air.

Mother’s Day

What to do on Mother’s Day for Your Mom? 

Moms are special and we love them dearly.  We want to do something nice for them every year and Mother’s Day is the best time to do so.  So, what’s going on this year that we can do for our Mom?

Why not check out any of the following events:

Royal Botanical Gardens – Mother’s Day Brunch

www.rbg.ca

Puddicombe Estate Farms and Winery – Mother’s Day Picnic

www.puddicombefarms.com

LIUNA Station – Mother’s Day Brunch

www.liunaevents.com

The Waterfront Banquet & Convention Centre – 21^st Annual Mother’s Day Brunch

www.thewaterfrontcentre.com

Or how about attending the Ultimate Women’s Expo at the Careport Centre being held May 13–15?  Visit www.ultimatewomensshow.ca for details.

Finally, the Beach is a great place to take Mom for a Mother’s Day walk.  And, it’s free!

So enjoy Mother’s Day with your Mom and hope you have a fantastic day!

Where to walk?

written by Meagan (Fitness staff & previous YW Co-op student)

Here at the YW, we try to get as many people involved in what we call active living, and that’s basically including some sort of physical body movement throughout your day. To live an active lifestyle, you have to do it your way! However, I’ll tell you a little bit about one of my favorite way: simply walking. There are many times throughout the day that we could easily fit in a brief stroll. So let me tell you some of the benefits of regular walking.

• Better energy levels and mood
• Improved sleep habits
• Better stress management (something we could all benefit from)
• Improved weight control when combined with healthy eating
• Less chance of lifestyle factors impacting chronic disease (cancer, diabetes, hypertension, etc)

With the arrival of spring, and summer (hopefully J) not too far off, I’ve had a lot of people; some members, some not ask me for some popular walking spots around Hamilton. Throughout this entry, I’ll highlight three of my favorite places to walk and show what they have to offer the community.

1)       Gage Park

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There are numerous activities to do while at Gage Park. The City of Hamilton actually calls this a large, multi-purpose park with recreational opportunities. Apart from having walk-able and accessible trails, Gage has large open green spaces (perfect for picnics, walking the dogs, playing with your children, reading a book), open trails with flowering rose gardens in the summer and even playgrounds and a water park for children to play in. Currently there is some construction occurring around the fountain, but I’d recommend this place as a definite “hot-spot” to check out In Hamilton. Not to mention all the sites I’m listing are FREE!

2)       Beach Trail

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Both the Hamilton and the Burlington beach trails are accessible and have wide evenly-paved trails, perfect for runners and joggers and casual walkers. The paved gravel allows safe cycling, skating, and makes enjoying the trail easier for people in wheelchairs or those who use other assistive devices. Stretching from Hamilton to Burlington under the bridge, this trail is a natural asset to Hamilton and Burlington. Not to mention the beach volleyball courts by Barangas Restaurant.

3)       Bay Front Park

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There are so many attractions at Bay Front Park that they’re hard to count. If you’d like to include the jungle gym, and walking trails, large parking lots, grassy areas (perfect for a packed lunch) and the paths that extend two ways around the waterfront. These trails also have measured distances every 200 metres so you can measure how far you’re walking. Apart from being close to central Hamilton and accessible by street entrance and even bus, this area defiantly makes a spot to be this summer!

All in all, these are only a few of my favorite places to walk and skate, however, I’m sure some of you have your own preferences or even special gems hidden around Hamilton. Let us know how you’re liking your healthy active lifestyle!

Quinoa- The Golden Grain

Written by Carah (Fitness Theory Graduate, Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer-in-training) 

 

Recently there has been a lot of talk about an increasingly popular grain called quinoa. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient food that is not yet well known in North America. It has been cultivated in the South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food for millions of native inhabitants. The ancient Incas called quinoa the “mother grain” and revered it as sacred. Each year at planting time it was traditional for the Inca leader to plant the first quinoa seed using a solid gold shovel! Quinoa was used to sustain Incan armies, which frequently marched for many days eating a mixture of quinoa and fat, known as “war balls.” Beginning with the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, there was a 400-year decline in the production of quinoa. It became a minor crop at that time and was grown only by peasants in remote areas for local consumption.

Well now that quinoa is coming back, making its appearance in our local grocery stores, its time to try it for yourself! So instead of eating “war balls” I have a more appealing quinoa recipe which will help you fuel up, providing you adequate energy for a healthy and active lifestyle!

Golden Apricot Quinoa Muffins

DIRECTIONS: 12-cup muffin pan, greased. In a large heatproof bowl, combine cornmeal, apricots, and quinoa. Ina small saucepan, bring orange juice to boil over high heat. Pour over cornmeal mixture and stir to combine. Let stand for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours. Preheat oven to 375 F. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir orange zest, honey, egg and oil into quinoa mixture until well blended, then add to flour mixture until just blended. Divide batter among the 12-cup pan (use paper muffin cups) and bake for 24-28 minutes until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean.

 Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal

¾ cup chopped dried apricots

1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 tbsp finely grated orange zest

1 ¼ cup orange juice

1 ¼ whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup liquid honey

¼ cup vegetable oil

Excerpted from 750 Best Muffin Recipes by Camilla Saulsbury.

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