Sportset hosts National Senior Health and Fitness Day

Dozens of seniors from around the area visited Sportset on May 31 to participate in the nation’s 24th annual National Senior Health and Fitness Day.

National Senior Health and Fitness Day is a nationwide exercise and wellness event for older adults, which is held on the last Wednesday in May during Older Americans Month.

About 75 seniors attended the festivities at the health and fitness club, which was one of about 1,000 sites nationwide that were selected to participate in the event. All of the activities were non-competitive and included yoga, chair massages, a nature walk, Zumba, low-impact exercises, a self-defense class and health information workshops.

Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky were also on hand to provide support.

The one-mile nature walk through Donald Browne Park, with the cooperation from the Rockville Centre Conservency, featured yoga stations and concluded with a meditation session. There was another yoga session on the Village Green.

The older adults learned about fall prevention techniques, stress management, trigger point therapy for natural pain relief and service dogs.

“The national goal of the program was to promote the importance of regular physical activity and to showcase what local organizations are doing to improve the health and fitness of older adults in their communities,” Sportset owner Dennison Silvio said. “Reflecting on today’s activities, I believe we have done precisely that.”

Other area businesses and organizations that participated in the event included Better Home Health Care, which provided the refreshments; Elements Therapeutic Massage of Rockville Centre; Complete Care Physical Therapy; the Sandel Senior Center; Independence & Dignity Count; South Nassau Communities Hospital; Mercy Medical Center; Kind Medical Care; Millennial Health Strategies; Natural Pain Relief; Trigger Point Therapy; and Michelle’s Life Coaching.