It’s the Five Days of Fitmas! Join us every day, from December 9 through December 13, 11 am to noon, for a special holiday-themed class led by your favorite Crosby Wellness Center instructors. These classes are designed to help keep you on track with your health goals this holiday season while still enjoying the fun and joy this time of year has to offer.

Learn how to lower your blood pressure, reduce your heart rate, and increase cardiovascular circulation by taking as few as five modified breaths. Synchronize this with some gentle movement to increase your balance, improve proprioception, and increase lymphatic system circulation and you have the keys to better health and vitality.

In this science and skill-based practice-hour, Crosby Wellness Center instructor Alan Zemel will show you why Qigong (breath work) and Tai Chi (slow intentional movement) trigger the body’s relaxation and healing mechanisms. Through his presentation, Alan will show you the science behind these practices using anatomical illustrations and data from recent fMRI studies and quantitative research. Paramount to learning these ancient practices is understanding why they work from a science-oriented perspective. Much of what we have been taught about breathing is incorrect because the physiologic truth is counter-intuitive.

In this hour, you will learn a modified breathing technique and the methodology for linking it to some basic Tai Chi movements, allowing you to discover why Tai Chi is often called “meditation in movement.” More importantly, you will walk away with some skills which, when used daily, can change the quality of your life and how you live it.

This program is presented by Alan Zemel and is hosted by the Winter Park Health Foundation in partnership with the Crosby Wellness Center.

About the Presenter:   

Alan Zemel works with the Winter Park Health Foundation, Center for Health & Wellbeing, CanoHealth, Westminster Retirement Community, and the Veteran’s Administration. Through his company, Veteran’s Health Pathways (www.veteranshealthpathways.com). Mr. Zemel teaches employees of the Veterans Administration (doctors, acupuncturists, massage therapists and others) and teaches them the skills necessary to help our nation’s veterans overcome post-traumatic stress, lung damage from burn pits, and traumatic brain injury among other ailments. Upon completion of each course and demonstration of proficiency, students receive certifications to coach veterans.

Mr. Zemel is a Senior Teacher-Trainer with The Healer Within Foundation and the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi (IIQTC). Mr. Zemel is also a certified teacher with Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health Institute, and a certified Senior Oxygen Advantage Functional Breathing Coach with the Oxygen Research Institute, Ltd. Mr. Zemel has been engaged with holistic health care modalities for over 25 years. Mr. Zemel’s classes incorporate various breath and movement techniques that teach students how to take control of their own physiology to improve health, vitality, and overall wellbeing.