Free wellness program fills Havelock town hall

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Bill Freeman

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EMC Lifestyles -Havelock The Havelock Town Hall is transformed into a wellness centre twice a week. The free health and fitness program sponsored by Havelock Community Care is back again and has never been more popular.

For volunteer leader Eleanor Cheyne, who has delivered the program the past three years, it's an entirely positive way to put Havelock "on the map as a health community."

"I can't even explain how win-win this is for the community and everybody who leaves here in a better mood and better physically," Cheyne told the Northwest EMC. "When you're in a better mood you attract better things in your life and you smile more."

"We have a massive amount of fun," she said. "It's so exciting, they come here because they see a difference in themselves, they see that they're healthier mentally, physically and spiritually. They get the support here."

The all-ages program runs Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon, at the town hall. The first hour is exercise and during the gentle workout they talk about how the body performs through exercise. Cheyne also teaches participants about how to eat better and what "macro nutrients" like proteins, carbohydrates and fats do in the body.

The second hour is "fun things" like line dancing. Last Thursday participants did 15 minutes of weights using ten-pound chairs. They wrap up with excerpts from an article called As Men Thinketh.

"We just talk about life and life issues and whatever comes up we discuss it," Cheyne explained.

They started with 17 participants in September and now have 32, there are some men but Cheyne would like to see more sign up.

"We'd like more to know it's out there. There's no commitment. If you don't like you don't have to come back."

But it's popular enough that people are bringing their friends to the hall.

"So it's growing."

Everything Cheyne does is designed so participants can do those exercises at home.

"The big joke around here is 'give Eleanor an excuse and she'll break it down,"" she says with a laugh.

"There's no excuse for not doing any of these exercises, they're geared toward doing them at home with no equipment. My enjoyment is that I see the improvement. We actually do bicep curls using these chairs. It's empowering."

And it's never too late, she emphasizes.

"This is all geared to yourself. If we lifted our legs 20 times in an exercise and you lifted it two times that's two times more than you did before. That's the whole thing, it's not about anybody else, it's about you, it's more about you feeling better," she said.

The program is not age-related, the oldest is 86 and the youngest are in their 50s.

"We're seeing more and more younger people coming and that's encouraging."

For more information call 705-778-7831.







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