Morgantown Village Library Board of Trustees President Mary Ellen Mahan, of Robeson Township, leads Heatlhy Steps in Motion on Mondays at 9 a.m.
“If you want some exercise, come to one of the exercise classes,” said Mahan, the class instructor.
She has been participating in Healthy Steps since fall of 2013.
“I became involved after our prior instructor decided she did not want to teach the class any more. The Board of Trustees did not want to have to cancel the program since it was popular with the senior attendees and, candidly, good for them.”
“Since I had lost so much weight through diet modification and exercise I thought why not look into what the requirements are to teach the class.”
Mahan explained that the class is called Healthy Steps in Motion and instructors are required to attend a training and testing session which leads to certification by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.
“It has helped retain the program at the library and helped all the attendees workout each week. It has led to new friendships as well.”
She said the program is designed to allow participants of all abilities to work on their strength, balance and flexibility.
“Whenever we do an exercise I explain why we are doing it. For example, a specific movement might allow you to more safely pull items from your cabinets or make you more stable climbing steps. We also incorporate quite a bit of humor in our class! I know that if I can introduce fun into the equation then participants seem to enjoy what they are doing much more.”
Mahan would love for more folks to join them.
“We all have different levels of ability and I will make sure that everyone can participate. There are numerous ways to do all the exercises so if you need to sit we can accommodate you. The key is that everyone is welcome and everyone can exercise. Come join us every Monday morning from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Village Library on Walnut Street and you can laugh your way to better health!”
Natasha Donaldson, director of The Village Library of Morgantown, believes that the library offering fitness programs is a “good way to help build up the community, it presents them with a resource. They may not be able to afford to go out and get a gym membership and so they can come out and hang with people they know as well as have a free class to come to and work out. It’s a good resource to people.”
“We also have two different yoga classes, one is on Wednesdays and the other is on Fridays, both at 9 a.m. They are two separate groups,” said Donaldson. “We also have Tai Chi.”
Mahan said nonprofits can use the Community Room, “come talk to us, we’d love to help you out. If you’re a gardener and you’d like some space, we can let you practice your green thumb, help with our landscape.”
“If you just want to meet some cool people, come on in.”
In other library news, Mahan also wanted to recognize the support from the townships. This winter a pipe froze at the library. She said they are so appreciative of how fast Caernarvon Township responded, especially the maintenance department
“We had to be closed for a day but if it hadn’t been for the quick responsiveness and support of the township, we would have been in deep trouble.”
Village Library is also appreciative of Robeson Township. The Environmental Advisory Council presented several programs, including a Blue Bird House building workshop and presentation. Some of the bird houses will be hung in the trees outside the library this spring.
Mahan encourages the community to come out and see what the library has to offer.
“I’m passionate about libraries,” said Mahan. “My parents taught me to read at a very young age and I think that anybody who would like to have a vivid imagination, (should read). I can’t go to a movie once I’ve read the book because it’s never as good as what I’ve made it up in my own head. If you’re one of those people who asks a question, a second question, a third question, you could come to the library and be lost here for days. You could go crazy on the shelves learning new things.”
She also encouraged patrons to make suggestions for adding to the collection.
Also, Village Library is selling Easter chocolate to fundraise to replace library computers.
For more about what’s happening at the library, visit www.villagelibrary.org/.
