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<\/a>This is the sixth in a continuing series of articles meant to share the rich range of programs and services offered by YWCA Cortland.\u00a0 It was suggested that because of the closing of the facility due to the coronavirus, it might be of interest to learn what some members of the organization have done to replace the Health and Fitness classes, the creative arts instruction, the social gatherings, the special meals and celebrations, the mentoring and meditation sessions, and the family swim parties that were so much a part of their lives.\u00a0 Here are a few selected profiles.<\/p>\n
Alice and Charlie Anderson of Homer used to be physically active at the YW on average five days per week, Charlie in the weight room and Alice in the cycling class and the women\u2019s weight room class.\u00a0 She is certain that these exercises were much more effective when done with others than when attempting to continue them away from the proper equipment in the facility.\u00a0 Both have resorted to walking around their house despite the cold weather.\u00a0 In order to keep mentally challenged, Alice does five or six brain exercises daily and has begun to keep a journal and to write notes to friends.\u00a0 Because they are both retired U. S. Air Force officers, the Andersons have enjoyed lengthy travels across the country but have had to fend off frustration and depression now that they are \u201cgrounded.\u201d\u00a0 But with a wry smile, Alice says that in addition to her other activities, \u201cI also have chocolate every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katie and David Farber, also of Homer, have both utilized the facilities at the YWCA for years.\u00a0 David has used the treadmill and weights in the weight room, but now that these are not available, he walks 3-4 miles several days each week.\u00a0 He also cares for the couple\u2019s animals (chickens and horses) and splits and stacks firewood for the following winter.\u00a0 Katie misses her water exercises and cycling class but substitutes those workouts with walking.\u00a0 She has begun making face coverings as a gesture of support during the COVID-19 crisis. She is grateful to have the support and company of David in these potentially lonely times.<\/p>\n
Andrea Rankin and Paul Pitkin of Cortlandville have for many years been practitioners of vigorous workouts at the YW, Paul as a member of the cycling class and a user of the coed weight room and Andrea as a member of the Cardio Combo, Kickboxing, Aerobics, and Bosu classes.\u00a0 Now that those activities are unavailable, Paul rides his (real) bike at least 8 miles a day, and Andrea often accompanies him on hers.\u00a0 Their preferred route is through the countryside, where they are greeted by the cows and horses that come to the edge of the road to cheer them on their way as they pass. They maintain social contacts by using FaceTime and Skype, talking with family and friends scattered across the country.\u00a0 They even have a regular virtual Happy Hour Sundays at 4:30.<\/p>\n
Eilene West of Cortland, who will turn 90 years young in June, is probably the most senior YWCA member.\u00a0 When the YW was in session, she was a familiar sight arriving for and then leaving her early morning Cardio Combo class.\u00a0 She now gets her exercise by walking around her neighborhood of Lamont Circle. Her social contact with her many friends is now accomplished by phone.<\/p>\n
Amy Simrell of Etna, the former Executive Director of YWCA Cortland, has been forced by the pandemic to establish yet another new daily routine after having made the same adjustment upon retiring.\u00a0 While she misses her exercises in the \u201cscrumptiously warm pool\u201d and in the yoga class, her physical activity now is the hard work of \u201crestoring flower beds taken over by goldenrod and wild aster while [her] back was turned.\u201d\u00a0 She also takes long walks outside and has \u201cfabricated reasons to go upstairs and downstairs more than usual\u201d in the old farmhouse she shares with her husband Harry.\u00a0 Through the wonders of twenty-first century technology she remains active in the committees, Boards, and clubs of which she is a member.\u00a0 She now has more time to send cards to the many members of her extended family, including her two grandchildren. \u00a0But she is quick to say that \u201cnothing beats the sense of community [she] experiences at the YWCA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dorothy Troike of Cortland has taken the cycling class at the YW long enough to have ridden at least two thousand miles if \u201cher\u201d bike (as it has been designated by the other class members) had a second wheel!\u00a0 In the absence of that class, she has taken up raking as her substitute exercise.\u00a0 She has logged 20-25 hours doing this and has filled 30 (!) barrels of leaves, twigs, cones, and spruce tree needles.\u00a0 For her, the coronavirus has had a silver lining:\u00a0 she\u2019s now two months ahead of her normal raking schedule.\u00a0 She has put her newly conditioned muscles and abundance of free time to good use by putting her house in order.\u00a0 She has tackled projects long delayed, such as polishing her silverware, sorting through years of records, photographs, and memorabilia, and learning to use the food processor.<\/p>\n
Meryl Fish and Mary Coffey are staff members at the YWCA; Meryl is Director of Health and Fitness, and Mary is Director of Events.\u00a0 Both combine the teaching of exercise classes with performing administrative tasks.\u00a0 Because both are temporarily locked out of the facility, Meryl uses YouTube as a resource of exercises that can be done in a limited space, while Mary plays with and walks her two dogs around her neighborhood.\u00a0 Both have found interesting and constructive ways to occupy their now-abundant free time.\u00a0 Meryl, with the help of her 15-year-old son, is making her fourth attempt at planting a vegetable garden; Mary is repurposing no longer used items in the home to create decorative art.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve saved the least interesting profile for last.\u00a0 My activities at the YW included swimming in the tropically warm waters of the pool, using the co-ed weight room, and taking the thrice-weekly cycling class taught by Mary Coffey.\u00a0 The loss of the latter has left a huge void in my social life.\u00a0 The laughter-filled comments, the philosophical, religious, literary and (occasionally) political conversations, spoken at whatever pedaling tempo Mary had established, were the highlight of those days.\u00a0 Now that these workouts are not available and softball has been lost for the entire summer, my most strenuous\u2014and constructive\u2014activity has been clearing the long-neglected undergrowth of brush in my 6 acres of woods in Cortlandville.\u00a0 During pauses in the work, I sit looking up at the sky, sipping an adult beverage and eavesdropping on the murmurings of the still-bare trees as they gently caress each other in the wind, a sound that rivals the most beautiful music I\u2019ve ever made in my career.<\/p>\n
For those who might like to utilize the internet for websites that provide suggested exercises to use in their homes, the following have been furnished by some of the members profiled above:<\/p>\n
aarp.org<\/u> provides videos of exercises that can be used in limited space and for various levels of physical competence;<\/p>\n
livestrong.com<\/u> covers exercises, healthy eating, recipes, and \u201cmy plate,\u201d which helps calculate and track meals.<\/p>\n
No internet?<\/p>\n
PBS:<\/u>\u00a0 WCNY in Syracuse and WSKG in Binghamton offer exercise classes. Check local TV listings for times.<\/p>\n
NOTE!\u00a0 With any of the above suggestions you should do only what you can manage.\u00a0 It\u2019s always wise to consult with your family physician when starting a new exercise program.<\/p>\n
Another antidote to the pandemic malaise from which we are all suffering would be Simple, Profound Meditation:<\/u>\u00a0 11:30-12:30 on Mondays; 3:30-4:30 on Thursdays.<\/p>\n
Zoom ID: \u00a0call-in ID; 870 280 4879<\/p>\n
Password:\u00a0 3344.<\/p>\n
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CURING CABIN FEVER AFTER THE YWCA IS CLOSED By Stephen B. Wilson This is the sixth in a continuing series of articles meant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","category-general","category-recent-news","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4113,"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109\/revisions\/4113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cortlandywca.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}