Free Teen Fitness Program With Calistoga Fit Starts Jan. 19 – Napa Valley Register

Calistoga Fit introduces a new Water Safety Clinic class that will be offered on a monthly basis for free at the studio.

New Partnerships Coordinator and Swim Instructor Maggie Grymes will lead the class from 6 to 8 p.m. starting Tuesday, May 25. To sign up email maggie@calistogafit.com. 

It only takes a moment. A child or weak swimmer can drown in the time it takes to reply to a text, check a fishing line, or apply sunscreen. Take the next step in saving lives in and around water. 

Calistoga’s many health and wellness outlets are joining in celebration of Earth Day on April 22 with a week of special events and offers focused on wellness, healthy living and eating.

During the week of April 19-25, take extra time to reconnect with Mother Earth with Visit Calistoga’s Wellness Week and the many special offers from spas, inns, activities with Calistoga Fit, Calistoga Community Pool, and Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. Treat yourself to a Lobster Feed with Picayune Cellars, a trip to Old Faithful Geyser, join in a special recognition of Calistoga Napa Green wineries, take advantage of an offer from Bank of the West, and much more.

During the week join Calistoga Fit and replenish your inspiration with a 90-min Earth Day seminar in Pioneer Park, or experience with an energizing 30 minute boxing workout and 30 minute strength and tone workout, or try Restorative Yoga and Chakra Balancing.

The Mount View Hotel & Spa presents an Earth Day Benefit dinner and a movie event March 22, featuring “March of the Penguins.”

Upper Valley Disposal and Recycling will also hold an Earth Day Recycling Event on April 24 with an opportunity to recycle computer and office equipment, old VCRs, tape players, stereo equipment, cell phones, along with household electronics including microwaves, toasters, vacuums, and more.

WATCH NOW: CALISTOGA FIT OWNERS BUILD MUSCLE, COMMUNITY

SEE SEAN MCCAWLEY’S FIT FOR LIFE SERIES

Staying fit during pandemic shut-downs has been a challenge, especially for those who can’t or don’t like to run or partake in other high-impact workouts. But swimming, along with water aerobics, provides both cardiovascular and strength benefits, and Calistoga Community Pool at 1745 Washington St. is open and offers lap swimming and water aerobics, albeit with some COVID-19 constraints.

In the past, the pool didn’t open until mid-April, but according to Calistoga Parks and Recreation director Rachel Melick, when she approached the Calistoga City Council in February about opening early, the city provided the necessary funds.

“Swimming and aqua aerobics are two of the safest activities to do during COVID, especially for seniors,” Melick said. “The water is chlorinated, and we limit how many participants we can have in the pool at once. Our schedule is very light right now, but as restrictions ease and the weather gets warmer, we should be able to ramp up a bit more.”

Right now, only one swimmer at a time can use a lap swim lane, and the number of water aerobics participants is limited so that exercisers can stay a safe distance from one another in the pool.

In order to use the community pool, you need to create an online account and make a reservation via https://cityofcalistoga.perfectmind.com/. On the website members and non-members can sign up for lap swim lanes as well as classes. Drop-ins are welcome and can pay per class, but Calistoga residents can sign up for a free season pass with proof of ID. The pool staff, including life guards, is almost complete comprised of Calistoga high school students.

“I think this is the perfect job for a high school student,” said Melick. “They learn a lot of valuable life skills like CPR, and they need to be very responsible. My first job was as a lifeguard, and I loved it. Plus, I made lifelong friends.” Melick added that right now the pool is fully staffed, but that throughout the spring and summer she is always hiring and training more lifeguards.

In addition to providing the community with a place to be active and foster wellness, those who frequent the pool also have the chance to socialize, something so important during a time when many have felt isolated at home. Some pool users have been meeting there for years to chat before and after swimming, and even with social distancing in place, swimmers are wont to chat while waiting in line before a class and after a swim.

Calistoga resident Mary Sherman swims laps at the community pool on a regular basis. “I honestly feel so blessed that the pool is open,” she said. “It’s such a great asset to the community, and I commend the city of Calistoga for being concerned about the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants. And the spacing procedures put in place during the pandemic make me feel completely safe and comfortable when I swim.”

Avid aqua-aerobics class participant Jean DeLucca adds, “I’ve always been a water girl, and working out with a gaggle of friendly women in a big, beautiful pool surrounded by giant oaks with a great instructor and rockin’ music is an amazing way to start the day.”

Parks and Rec teams up with staff from Calistoga Fit, the city’s most popular gym, to lead adult classes in the pool and on land. “Youth sports are back, too,” said Melick, “and we’ll be adding more classes like yoga, which is currently available on Zoom but may transition to Pioneer Park as spring progresses.”

If you thought your life was complicated, meet the Almonds — Donavan and Jacqi — who own and operate two Napa Valley-based businesses, have four children (one with special needs) and still find time to be active participants in the local community.

Since moving to the area from Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007, Donavan has become one of the valley’s most sought-after and popular fitness and wellness gurus, while Jacqi — a popular fitness instructor in her own right — is also a volunteer firefighter who spent much of the last two summers helping extinguish the region’s numerous infernos.

“We are busy but happy. We’ve found our home,” Donavan said. “The community is welcoming and supportive, and we believe that the future is bright for the valley — growing into more than a wine and food destination but increasingly becoming a fitness and wellness destination, too.”

What’s your superpower?

The couple met while attending James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Jacqui studied sports marketing and Donavan focused on kinesiology — the study of human movement and how it impacts health and well-being. Both intended to work within the world of sports, although their exact paths were not yet clear.

Growing up, each had played sports and grown to appreciate the discipline, skill and dedication that were needed to reach the highest levels. They each had also developed a better understanding of their own strengths.

“Everyone has their own superpower,” Donavan said. “Mine is awareness and Jacqi’s is tenacity. The combination has come in handy as we’ve built our family and our businesses together.”

Donavan was born in Atlanta, where his mother worked in the life-insurance business and his father worked as an engineer for BellSouth, the local telecommunication company. By the time he was 4 years old he was showing signs of his superpower, providing driving directions to his mother on the way home during family outings and having a keen awareness of the movement of people around him.

“It was something that just came naturally to me,” he said, “but it has allowed me to help my clients over the years by focusing on and helping define, refine and strengthen their natural movements.”

Jacqi grew up outside Washington, D.C., where her mother worked in the postal service’s engineering department and her father was a physicist at a company she found out after his death was actually a secret division within the government.

Perfect timing

After college the couple moved back to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University and obtain their masters degrees. Jacqi also worked with the Atlanta Falcons’ marketing team while Donavan took a personal-trainer position at a downtown athletics club.

In what seemed like perfect timing, as their programs were wrapping up, a representative — Richard Hill — from a newly built Auberge-owned resort in Calistoga, Solage, came into the Atlanta gym for a workout.

“Richard was in Atlanta for a meeting and we started talking,” Donavan said. “A few months later I moved to California and started working at Solage, and a few months after that Jacqi and I got married and moved here.”

The whirlwind few months followed by a change from big-city life to rural living was a bit of a shock for Jacqi when she arrived.

“I’m a big-city girl, and for a while I felt a bit disorientated,” she said. “It took a few years to find my footing, but now it would be hard for me to think about living anywhere else.”

Calistoga Fit

Fast forward from 2007, and although the Almonds no longer work at Solage they do provide personal-fitness services to many other local resorts — the Meritage, Carneros Resort and Spa and Auberge du Soleil.

“We value [their] company’s expertise in all things fitness and health,” said George Goeggel, managing partner of Auberge du Soleil, “as well as their friendly, well-trained staff and their close ties to the Napa Valley community,”

Like many young entrepreneurs, the Almonds have their hands in more than just one single type of activity. They own and operate Donavan’s Wellness Solutions, which assists local resorts, spas and gyms, and they also have their own smartphone app, the Calistoga Fit app that provides unlimited access to more than 100 fitness, yoga, meditation and other classes online.

Beyond their work with local resorts and managing their virtual classes, the couple also operates a studio and gym in Calistoga where they provide personal training and live fitness classes. It is also becoming a common occurrence lately — when conditions allow — to see them leading dozens of people in socially distanced group-training sessions in Calistoga’s Pioneer Park just off the town’s main street.

Building bodies

The client list for the Almonds is extensive and includes those looking to improve or maintain their health, rehab patients and assist both semi-professional and professional athletes. Hundreds of Napa Valley residents have hired and learned to value the Almonds — and their growing team of trainers — to help heal, improve overall health, strengthen, or prepare for triathlons, marathons and bodybuilding competitions.

“I’ve trained with Donavan nearly 14 years, and we strength train six days a week in the outdoor gym he helped me design,” said Susan Hoff, co-proprietor with her husband, Duane, of St. Helena’s Fantesca Estate and Winery. “He helped me win a World Bodybuilding Fitness and Fashion Federation Pro Card at the World Bodybuilding Fitness and Fashion International Worlds Competition in Las Vegas in 2015, when I turned 50.”

Hoff still competes in the competition’s 35+ division. She is the oldest competitor onstage in the division and often places in the top 10 among international competitors.

Building community

Pat and Anne Stotesbery are proprietors of St. Helena’s Ladera Vineyards. The couple has been training with the Almonds since 2016, with two sessions each week at their home.

“It feels like we’ve known them for more than four years because we’ve formed a really great bond/relationship, which I doubt is unique to us since they are both the sort of people you just have to like,” Pat wrote in an email. “The really cool thing is that they’ve done all this — made all these relationships and managed to also run a profitable business — which is the definition of bootstrapping your way to the American dream!”

Fighting fire

Like many locals, the Almonds were forced to evacuate during the 2017 Tubbs Fire. As they drove out of town, Jacqi couldn’t stop thinking about how she might help.

Within weeks she asked friend and gym client Jeff Lemelin, a volunteer battalion chief for Sonoma County, what it takes to become a volunteer firefighter. One year later she was one.

“Jacqi Almond has been with the Sonoma County Fire District since 2018, when she enrolled into the Volunteer Fire Academy at the Santa Rosa Junior College,” Lemelin wrote. “Since she joined she’s been on numerous [major] fires in a short amount of time — the Kincade Fire, the Glass Fire and the LNU Complex Fire, to name a few.”

Since becoming a volunteer, Jacqi has become one of Lemelin’s “go-to firefighters.”

According to both Jacqi and Lemelin, firefighting is a physically demanding job that requires quick thinking, while improvising and adapting to overcome dynamic situations.

“Jacqi is always professional, eager to learn, quick on her feet and flexible,” Lemelin wrote. “I think being a mom to four kids has prepared her to multitask and always have an eye out for the safety of others.”

Learning to see from other points of view

Parents with children are always learning to adapt and remain flexible. Having four children — Caleb, 12; Isabella, 10; Elijah, 8; and Dominic, 4 — allows the Almonds ample opportunity to practice such skills and gain new insights.

“Our oldest, Caleb, is autistic and we are constantly in awe at how he provides us a new way to see things from a different perspective,” Donavan said. “He is the biggest teacher. He doesn’t judge others, and he sees each person as who they are. He teaches us patience and empathy and teaches us ways to connect to others that we’d never considered. It’s not always easy, but we treasure all our children for who they are and where they are and what they teach us.”

Being parents in a time of Black Lives Matter

“I didn’t grow up thinking much about race, but today I have to,” Jacqi said. “I never thought I’d need to tell my 8-year-old that he shouldn’t wear a hoodie sweatshirt outside at night, but that’s something we talk about. The community is warm and welcoming here, but there are those out there that make such conversations necessary.”

Growing up in Atlanta provided Donavan with a certain point of view about race in America.

“As we are seeing from the recent election results in Georgia, Atlanta is not shy about talking about or dealing with race in America,” Donavan said. “I think that comes from the fact that many African American leaders came from Atlanta — Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Stacey Abrams and others. There are also African Americans at every level of the economic scale there. This, I believe, created an environment of confidence and helped lay a foundation for real positive lasting change.”

The future of fitness in the Napa Valley

The Almonds envision Napa Valley becoming a health and wellness destination but also a region that has the makings of becoming a place on the globe known for living longer, healthier lives. This idea, termed, “Blue Zones” in a 2005 National Geographic story, “The Secrets of a Long Life,” is not so much the end goal but more of a long-term vision for living in a healthy community.

“Blue Zones create living and working habits that encompass a wellness/preventive mentality,” Stotesbery wrote. “In fact, Donavan and I were part of an early study group discussing the possibility of a Blue Zone application here in the Napa Valley. This is ongoing, and I am certain that if we ever get it really going, he’ll want to be a part of it. He talks this stuff because he believes in it and wants to contribute to it.”

What the future of the Napa Valley becomes remains undetermined, but what is clear is that having innovative, entrepreneurial, community-centered families that live lives of service such as the Almonds is the lifeblood of any vibrant community.

WATCH NOW: IS BEER YOGA THE NEXT BIG EXERCISE CRAZE?

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE NAPA VALLEY MARATHON 2020

Start 2021 with a refreshing, mindful yoga practice.

Calistoga Parks & Recreation and Calistoga Fit are presenting online yoga classes until it is safe to meet again in person.

Classes will be held with Jordan via Zoom from 6—7 p.m., on Mondays. Registration is open one week before each Monday class, and closes at 5 p.m. the previous Friday. Participants will be emailed the Zoom link for each class.

WATCH NOW: GET UP, STAND UP, OLDER SEDENTARY WOMEN FACE GREATER RISK OF HEART FAILURE

SEE PHOTOS FROM NAPA VALLEY MARATHON 2020

The Calistoga Chamber of Commerce is happy to sponsor free community yoga in Pioneer Park with Jordan, from Calistoga Fit, on Mondays from 6-7 p.m.

Move through traditional yoga poses with fun and motivating music. The one hour of fun, suitable for all levels. Adults only, social distancing will be practiced.

Registration opens at 6 p.m. the Tuesday before Monday’s class through Calistoga Parks & Recreation at https://cityofcalistoga.perfectmind.com/. Classes are free but advance registration is required. Weather permitting, the outdoor classes will run through Oct. 26.

Watch now: Tips to Get Motivated for Exercise

After 15 years in the same location, Fitness First will be moving from behind the post office to a much larger space on Lincoln Avenue in Calistoga.

Jennifer Breiner, who owns the studio with her husband, Kris, said they are excited about the new space, and the whole Breiner family has been working to revamp the new studio. They’ve been taking down walls, adding showers, and hardwood floors, in the space formerly occupied by Cheer Bar.

The new 3,000-square foot space will provide the studio with double the space for more exercise equipment, and the popular Nia and Brazilian dance classes. Teen and senior classes will continue to be offered.

“We’ll have so much more space to do that stuff,” Breiner said.

The studio will continue to feature workout equipment for cardio, and free weights, with the addition of changing rooms, lockers and showers.

Breiner couldn’t give an exact date, but is hoping everything comes together so they can open soon.

Due to COVID-19, gyms were allowed to reopen only recently, and the Breiners will be operating under strict guidelines. Members’ temperatures will be taken at the door, and only 6 to 10 people maximum will be allowed in at any one time. The Breiners are also bringing on more staff to ensure guidelines are followed.

“There are still lots of limitations and the guidelines we’ll be following are off the scope,” Breiner said. “I’ve always been a fanatic about cleaning off equipment. I’m here every day, and I don’t want to get sick either. But we know people need to exercise, for their health and their sanity.”

Before the pandemic, members had access to the gym 24/7. That won’t happen for a while, Breiner said. Initially, the gym will be open from 5 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m.

The studio has been offering classes via Zoom the past few months, and live-streaming will continue for those who are not comfortable going to the gym just yet.

Fitness First also offers personal training, and for those really looking to get a full-body assessment, there’s the Fit 3D Body Scan. The scan takes an image of your body with hundreds of measurements including inches, body fat percentage, fat and lean mass breakdowns, and provides an analysis of your posture, body composition and shape.

There is also the 21-Day Shred, with the goal of creating healthy habits within that time period. It’s 21 days of classes, training, and nutritional consulting.

Basic membership starts at $96 a month, and prices will not be going up, Breiner said. A one-month trial for $49 also allows potential members to try everything the gym has to offer.

“We offer a little bit of everything, so there is something for everyone,” Breiner said.

The Breiners both grew up in Calistoga. Jennifer is a third-generation Calistogan, and Kris moved here with his family when very young. It was a dream of theirs to open the first full-service fitness studio in town. It took them four years to find a building, and in 2004 they opened a gym at 1880 Lincoln Ave., where Calistoga Motor Lodge is now. They then moved to the space behind the post office, where they’ve been for the last 15 years.

Already long-term business owners in Calistoga, the Breiners have a long-term lease on the building and plan to stay.

“We grew up here. We’re not going anywhere,” she said.

Calistoga Fit is excited to share that they have resumed select outdoor fitness classes at Pioneer Park. All classes are to be conducted under the most recent safe social distancing guidelines outlined by the Napa County public health officer.

“We are still hosting virtual classes as well but excited to bring the community back together safely, to work to promote their health and wellness,” said the facility’s owner, Jacqi Almond.

The outdoor class schedule for June is as follows:

“We understand that not everyone might feel comfortable attending in-person classes just yet so we will continue to offer several Zoom classes as well,” Almond said.

While not deemed essential, and because social distance cannot be guaranteed, the physical locations of gyms and fitness centers are currently closed. However, remaining active is key to maintaining one’s physical, mental, and emotional health, especially in face of this pandemic. Therefore, a number of Napa Valley’s wellness businesses are offering at-home complimentary and paid sessions to the general public and members in a variety of delivery formats.

Below, in alphabetical order by name, are some options to consider.

Calistoga Fit

Calistoga Fit offers multiple Zoom sessions per day – yoga, Pilates, barre, boot camp, spin, and guided meditation – free for members or $15 drop-in fee per session for non-members. Those who enroll in sessions will receive links to join the class an hour prior to the class start time. Personal and small-group training via Zoom is also available.

707-227-4729

Crush Fitness

Crush Fitness in both Napa and St. Helena deliver Zoom sessions for all skill levels. The first session is free to try. Sessions include CrossFit, mobility, garage strength, pop-up WODS (workout of the day), and Crush PE for kids. Class passes are available: five classes for $99 or ten classes for $189. Unlimited memberships are also available by request.

CTS Fitness & Performance Napa

CTS Fitness & Performance Napa delivers live workouts via Zoom, including adult fitness, yoga, athlete performance (middle and high school athletes), and prenatal and postnatal fitness. The first session is free. CTS is offering a $99/month special during the COVID-19 quarantine to enroll in any Zoom group training program. Personal training sessions are also available.

707-738-0190

Essentrics with Julie

Julie Webster is continuing her popular Essentrics classes via Zoom. Email her at julie@julie-webster.com for details.

Fit Body Boot Camp Napa and Fairfield

Fit Body Boot Camp (FBBC) Napa and Fairfield is offering a complimentary 21-day, Healthy-at-Home fitness program through the Facebook group, Healthy-At-Home Napa/Fairfield Free Fitness Group. FBBC also has introductory memberships available, such as their 28-Day Stronger Together at Home Challenge, as well as long-term memberships. In the Facebook group, FBBC VIP Lounge, coaches use Facebook Live to deliver and record 30-minute, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), boot camp workouts Mondays through Saturdays, restorative yoga on Sundays, as well as a weekly meditation, Zoom coffee hour, and boot camp for kids.

707-773-9127 (text)

Fitness First Calistoga

Fitness First Calistoga offers complimentary Zoom cardio and total-body workouts Mondays through Fridays at 9:00 a.m. For those who cannot attend live, the sessions are recorded and emailed to participants.

707-942-5275

Fitness Revolution Napa

Fitness Revolution Napa delivers daily, 45-minute Zoom sessions Mondays through Fridays, which include a warm-up plus total-body cardio- and resistance-training workout using bodyweight or dumbbells. Workouts can be modified for all fitness levels. The drop-in fee per session is $12.50 or participants may try a two-week trial for $49.

707-479-0866

HealthQuest Napa

HealthQuest Napa has a YouTube channel where instructors record and post daily videos, and also offers live sessions via Facebook Live and Instagram Live. Options include yoga, stretch, senior classes (Forever Young and Strength & Flex), pump, circuit, HIIT boot camps, Barre, and spin. According to general manager Gail Garaventa, “Everything we are doing is free to the community to try to help them keep fit and strong until this virus is destroyed!”

707-254-7200

In-Shape Napa (and all locations)

In-Shape offers complimentary, daily sessions for members and non-members via Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and on demand via their website. In addition to workouts, In-Shape also offers recipes, health and wellness tips, activities for kids, and relaxation/mindfulness sessions.

626.590.2166

Napa Valley Yoga Center Napa

Napa Valley Yoga Center Napa offers a complimentary community workshop series, as well as 19, one-hour Zoom sessions per week, no membership required, for a drop-fee of $10 per session. The center has a library of online recorded sessions since the shelter-at-home order began.

707-791-2026

Orangetheory Fitness Napa

Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) offers complimentary, daily workouts via their Orangetheory at Home website. The owner of the Napa location, Colleen O’Ferrall-Jones, also delivers Zoom workouts for members or drop-ins Mondays through Saturdays, which are accessible by contacting OTF-Napa.

707-345-1560

Planet Fitness Napa (and all locations)

Planet Fitness offers free, “United We Move” Facebook livestreams at 4 p.m. PDT daily, which are also recorded and can be replayed later.

707-254-9450

Synergy Health Club by St. Joseph Health Napa

On Friday, March 20, 2020, Synergy Health Club began posting a complimentary, six-week, daily workout program via the Active Wellness YouTube Channel, youtube.com/user/activesportsclubs/videos. The 30- to 45-minute workouts require no equipment or special set-up. Synergy also delivers a bonus, weekly meditation video on Wellness Wednesday. Videos for the forthcoming week are published on Fridays.

Wine Country CrossFit Napa

Wine Country CrossFit offers complimentary, live classes for everyone six days per week, which are also recorded for those who cannot attend live. Sessions include 45-minute boot camps, one-hour CrossFit workouts, Sip & Stretch, and a weekly Virtual Happy Hour at 5.30 p.m. on Thursdays.

707-337-9441

Yoga Passion Napa

Yoga Passion Napa delivers daily, Zoom yoga classes for a $10 drop-in fee.

707-637-4774

Whether home with kids and family, partners or roommates, or all alone, sheltering at home can take its toll on all of us, emotionally and physically.

Especially for those used to an active lifestyle — who regularly head to the gym to take a class or lift weights, participate in yoga or spin classes, or a running or cycling club — cabin fever and inactivity can be rough. Thankfully, there are all kinds of opportunities to stay fit even if you didn’t work out before the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order came through.

Health and fitness experts agree that regular exercise helps to maintain strong immune systems as well as boosting moods. As reported in the March 18 issue of The Atlantic, Karen Glanz, an epidemiology and nursing professor at the University of Pennsylvania recommends taking walks, running, hiking, and biking. “Being outdoors is best if the weather is agreeable, and if the place where people live is safe to be outdoors.”

Parks and Rec to the rescueBut if your outdoor time is limited, the City of Calistoga’s Parks and Recreation Department has created an “At Home Recreation“ resource center on its website to help the community engage in meaningful, active, and mindful ways to stay healthy. Through a partnership with Calistoga Fit, residents can take part in a program called Simply Move. Just follow Calistoga Fit on Instagram, Facebook, or on its website where it posts free daily workouts with demonstration videos by their staff. Gym equipment is not required. One workout involves hopping over, punching, and throwing pillows on the floor; another shows how to use everyday objects such as water bottles, soup cans, or jugs of detergent for an upper-body strength workout. Put all those cans of beans you bought to good use!

Challenge yourselfCalistoga Fit is also offering free OnDemand classes to all its members as well as a 30-day Simply Move challenge with short workouts you can do at home or outdoors. Its March Madness Challenge that offers seven days of free workouts; these are also posted on the gym’s Facebook page and Instagram. If you don’t belong to the gym, you can access Calistoga Fit’s OnDemand digital platform for $14.99 per month.

Even if you’ve never practiced before, yoga is an excellent way to stretch and build strength while focusing on breath and mindfulness, definite stress reducers. There are many online options for yoga at all levels, including yoga classes for kids. Two places to start are Yoga for Everyone and Cosmic Kids Yoga. While a yoga mat is nice, you don’t need one or fancy leggings to do yoga. To get a cardio dance-style workout, turn to YouTube where there are loads of online options.

Calendar your workoutsBut how do you get or stay motivated to exercise when it’s so much easier to connect with friends via chats, read, watch movies and laze on the couch, especially on rainy days? Says Jaqui Almond, co-owner of Calistoga Fit and parent of four children, “My family does a ‘morning movement’ class; we either play outside, go on a walk, or do a Simply Move or online class before homeschool starts on rainy days, and we take regular breaks for recess where we might do a relay race or scavenger hunt. For adults, add your workout to your daily calendar just as you would with any other meeting. Use Zoom or Facetime with a friend and do a workout together, or send each other challenges.”

Fresh air, fresh outlookParks and Rec also reminds Calistogans that many of our county parks and hiking trails are still open including the Oat Hill Mine trail and the Napa Vine Trail from lower Washington Street to Dunaweal, right here in town. You can walk, run, or bike with a buddy as long as you stay several feet apart. If you’re anything like me you will find getting outdoors or taking an online fitness class will not only make you feel better, but it will make the myriad challenges of this difficult time much easier to bear.

From Napa HealthQuest:

Editor’s Note: Because of the health implications of the COVID-19 virus, this article is being made available free to all online readers. If you’d like to join us in supporting the mission of local journalism, please visit napavalleyregister.com/members/join/.

Calistoga is catching on to the fun and comraderie of Pickleball, with multi-day events for players of all ages the week of April 6-9.

“Currently, (due to the coronavirus) we are only postponing Park and Recreation programs through March 31. However, as the situation develops we will keep everyone apprised of updates,” said Park and Recreation Director Rachel Melick.

Michael Skalla, from Calistoga Fit, will be teaching both events. A smaller Pickleball event was also offered by the city last year.

Pickleball is a widely-enjoyed sport, usually played outdoors on a tennis court, but can be played indoors as well. It combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, and is played with two or four players. The game features lightweight paddles, a perforated Wiffle-like ball and a playing style reliant on touch, spin and placement rather than power. It is described as a gentler form of tennis.

Participants in Napa and Yountville have been playing the sport for years, and St. Helena is considering the option. In Yountville, the game is played indoors on a 44-by-20-foot court.

St. Helena introduced Pickleball this year as part of the after-school enrichment program for St. Helena Primary and Elementary schools. “It was a big hit and much more manageable for younger children than tennis,” said Amalia Kulczycki, St. Helena recreation supervisor, adding, “We look forward to offering pickleball clinics to introduce the sport (to adults) in the next fiscal year.”

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, on a short ferry ride from Seattle, according to the national Pickleball Association. Three dads, whose kids were bored with their usual summertime activities, are credited for creating game. It was named after one of the dad’s dog, whose name was Pickles.

Calistoga adult, youth eventsIntroduction to Pickleball for adults and youth will be offered over four sessions, April 6-9, at the high school. Intro to Youth Pickleball is from 3:30-4:30 p.m., and adult session follow, from 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Both sessions are geared towards those interested in learning the fundamentals of pickleball with emphasis on safety, rules, etiquette, ball control and placement. Participants will practice forehand, backhand, serves, and volleys.

Basic skills will be introduced: rules, scoring, ground strokes, volleys, service motion and basic match play strategies. Once participants have completed the course, they will understand how to play Pickleball and to participate comfortably in beginning/intermediate games.

With everyone’s busy schedules, it can be hard to accomplish everything on one’s to-do list, and some to-do’s may fall through. And while exercise is on many people’s list and does get accomplished, yoga can be forgotten about. However, there is a reason why professional athletes take time out of their schedule to make room for yoga, and Calistoga Fit suggests yoga for everyone.

Yoga has many different practices. Whether you need a good stretch, stress relief, or a good workout there is a practice that can work for you. Beyond stretching, stress relief, and a workout, yoga can actually improve your life from within, both mentally and physically. Practicing yoga can improve body awareness, posture, coordination, and reaction time.

As you take time to hold poses, you can target specific muscles and parts of the body to work and increase your own knowledge on your body and what it can accomplish. Yoga can also increase flexibility, range of motion and spinal movement.

If you’re working on rehab for your body or just getting over an injury, and have the clearance from your healthcare provider, try a yoga class and let the instructor know what injuries you’ve sustained and they can arrange a practice that will be beneficial for your specific needs. Because yoga has many different practices you can go from gentle and rehab focused yoga to a full body workout class. As you practice more and move on to more difficult practices that challenge you physically, you can build up your strength and achieve lengthened, slender muscles.

Internally, a regular yoga practice can also aid in cardio-vascular health. Powerflow, for example, can create an aerobic environment to increase oxygen in the bloodstream. Restorative poses can help to lower blood pressure. Some inversions can help to strengthen baroreceptors, aiding in cardio-vascular health, lowering blood sugar and LDL cholesterol while boosting HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels. Similarly, restorative poses can help to lower levels of the stress-hormone cortisol and can result in weight loss, not only helping to eliminate cravings, but also helping the body to release stored fats due to high stress hormone levels.

Mentally, an active yoga practice can help with stress relief and boost serotonin levels, the hormone directly correlated to happiness. Wellness from within can also positively affect your immune health, meaning higher levels of happiness and improved immune function are working hand-in-hand. Regular yoga practice can also improve sleep quality. Restorative yoga practice and savasana can help to restore proper nervous system function and balance helping regulate sleep.

Practicing meditation in conjunction with yoga can also improve mental and emotional health: relieving stress, anxiety, promoting gratitude, and more. Use meditation as a way to mentally escape and find clarity. Write in a journal every day to track how you feel and focus on gratitude which can lead to a more positive mental state. Meditation and yoga go hand-in-hand, but if you’re not sure where to start then try out any of our guided meditations and yoga videos at calistogafitness.com/ondemand.

As a thank you to all members, clients, and supporters we’re giving a gift of self-care during this love-filled month of February. To preview a free guided meditation video, log in to calistogafitness.com/ondemandfree to start unwinding.

Whether you’re working on your flexibility, strength, or looking for an hour of peace, by incorporating yoga into your life, your body and mind can transform.

Napa Valley has many park and city locations where yoga practitioners can move beyond the studio. From Westwood Hills Park to Oxbow Commons, come prepared with your yoga mat, water bottle, and a relaxed mindset.

Courtney Willis, who teaches yoga at Napa Valley Yoga Alliance, a Napa-based studio, recommends taking a few yoga classes to learn basics like the sun salutation first.

“Other fun poses include tree pose, eagle pose, and dancer pose. These are really easy to do in sneakers, which provide you with extra balance on an uneven surface,” said Willis.

Willis recommends practicing in a mellow setting where you can find your own flow.

“I like Fuller Park in downtown Napa. The overgrown trees provide a lot of shade. There, you won’t need to bring music. There are so many beautiful sounds with the wind moving through the trees,” said Willis.

For a more lively practice, Willis enjoys meeting with friends in Oxbow Commons.

“It has nice green grass and it’s a fun place to get together with multiple people for partner or acro yoga (a discipline that combines acrobatics, yoga, creative movement, and Thai massage). There’s often live music and an opportunity to grab a juice afterwards,” said Willis.

Michelle Erbs, who teaches yoga at Yoga Passion and InShape, both based in Napa, also partners with Farella Winery in Napa to conduct yoga hikes in the winery’s “back country.”

“We do yoga on their granite patio area. When we are hiking, we stop at points along trails to do yoga,” said Erbs.

Erbs said practicing outside involves more literal instructions.

“Outside, when we say, ‘Reach your hands up to the sky,’ you can really see and feel it,” said Erbs.

Erbs said practitioners should search out flat, open areas. Level ground makes it easier to find steady footing. Most yoga poses require good balance.

“Spots with awesome views are great. Canyons, vineyards, and hillsides all work. You want to find a more secluded area where you aren’t distracted by the sounds of cars and machinery,” said Erbs.

Erbs enjoys standing poses like the warrior pose and triangle pose, as well as poses that involve using a resistance band.

“If you bring a strap and put it around your foot, you can do the dancing shiva pose. One thing you want to be careful of if you do not bring a mat is poses that involve the wrists. There are bees, ants, and loose soil outside where you may want to put your hands,” said Erbs.

Erbs recommends the Lake Marie Loop in Skyline Wilderness Park as well as rises in Westwood Hills Park.

“I would hike the area first and look for the flat spots. That park has a lot of them,” said Erbs.

Jen Jaia, who teaches yoga at Calistoga Fit & Studio in Calistoga, favors Robert Louis Stevenson Park, just outside of town.

“A mile to the outlook, there are some rocks where you can oversee the whole valley. This spot has beautiful views. When you get up over the fog, you feel like you’re on top of the world,” said Jaia.

Jaia also enjoys practicing next to the Napa River in downtown Napa and behind the library in St. Helena.

“I recommend those who want to practice yoga outside first work with a trainer to identify their goals. They should assess their mobility. There are many different types of yoga that they can practice. A few good ones to practice outside are yin yoga, (which) focuses on mobility of connective tissues, restorative yoga, a restful, meditative practice, and Hatha yoga, (which) promotes strength and mobility,” said Jaia.

Jaia said practitioners can practice outside for 10 minutes to an hour, “however long you have.”

“If you have a yoga swing or other equipment to practice in one spot, you can also include inversions and poses where you hang upside down in your practice,” said Jaia.

Outside practice awakens the senses, she said.

“You can feel the warmth of the sun on your skin and hear the birds as you stretch or relax,” said Jaia.

Lisa Ackerman, who also teaches yoga at Yoga Passion, said one of her favorite places to practice is Alston Park in Napa.

“You can use the picnic benches for resistance. I usually start in a seated position in a forward fold to get the breath moving. Then I (alternate) a cat pose and a cow pose to stretch out the spine and shoulders,” said Ackerman.

Ackerman then uses standing poses and lunges, leading up to a cooldown on her back. She brings twists, bridge poses, and “a few meditations” to the end of practice.

“You may want to bring two foam or cork blocks with you. Although you don’t want to bring a lot of props outside, the blocks will boost your seat up. They also allow you to put a support under your head,” said Ackerman.

Practitioners should wear layers because morning and evening fog, plus shade, can be colder than expected, Ackerman said.

“You also want to wear flexible, comfortable clothing that can accommodate a lot of movement,” said Willis.

Erbs said if you plan to hike and then practice yoga, you should take the hike without engaging in practice first.

“See where the flat spots you would practice yoga are located. This helps you see how far into the hike you will do yoga. Your energy level determines how long you will spend practicing. You need enough energy to get back to your starting point,” said Erbs.

Willis said an unplanned hike, plus invigorating practice, can be exhausting.

“There is no opportunity for a wind-down afterwards,” said Willis.

Erbs said although outdoor yoga can be strenuous, it does not have to involve complicated routines or plans.

“It can be as simple as going out into a backyard or doing yoga out by the pool. Place your hands on a tree or a fence and experiment. See what works for you,” said Erbs.

Make it free, and they will come.

This past year, Calistoga kids and adults are enjoying free recreation programs in record numbers. Yoga classes are at capacity, swimming pool memberships are way up, and summer camps are maxed out.

“People are not just signing up for activities, they are also showing up,” said Rachel Melick, Parks and Recreation director.

Previously, at a cost of $120, summer camps like soccer and tennis were hard to fill. Now, they’re full.

“At first there was a little apprehension that people would sign up for the free programs and then not show up. But that hasn’t been the case. Now that they’re free those same camps have doubled in size. We’ve been showing tremendous increase in numbers,” Melick said.

At the community pool, the Parks and Recreation department has given out 478 free memberships so far this year, compared to about 100 last year. That’s a value of $140,000. Residents do need to register and get a card this year, but overall numbers are still up, Melick said.

Melick joined the Parks and Recreation department about five years ago. Since then, the city council asked her what it would take to raise attendance and she said “make the programs free,” and that’s what they did, she said.

“Other than the police and fire departments, the recreation department is the biggest way the city has of making a difference in people’s lives,” said Gary Kraus, Calistoga city council member.

There are not many other places that offer so many free park and recreation programs.

“When we first started doing this I did some research and found one place in Florida that does something similar,” Melick said.

The city has also changed the classification of the pool and recreation programs into a city department after the arrival and organization of the programs by Melick.

“Rachel has done a heck of a job,” Kraus said.

Community Pool

The free parks and recreation programs started with the pool.

The community pool, at Logvy Park, was built 10 years ago, to a large extent with donations and fundraisers which brought in well over $1 million for the project, said Kraus.

The pool was well used, but the city was short on funds in general and the number of months the pool was open was limited.

“It wasn’t being utilized as much as it could have been, so the city first decided to let students swim for free,” Kraus said. And as the city’s finances improved, “It made sense to make it free for anybody from within the city.”

Finding enough lifeguards was initially an issue. When Melick started, however, she began teaching lifeguard classes. Now, with two additional instructors, 8-15 kids are trained in each class. Most of them go on to work at the pool. If they do, they don’t have to pay the fee for the class.

Meanwhile, the junior lifeguard program has doubled in size.

“It’s great because we’re training about 23 kids every season to be a lifeguard, so we’re not running into that same issue of a lack of lifeguards. It’s a great job and teaches valuable skills that you’ll have your entire life,” Melick said.

The lifeguard program draws kids from St. Helena and Angwin as well.

Recreational swimming and most swim classes at the pool are free for all residents, including adults— a $300 value which includes the popular swim aerobics class.

There is a fee for the swim team, which is contracted out to U.S.A. Swim and provides a higher level of service that gives kids access to swim meets, Melick said.

The numbers for those attending swim lessons are also way up. This year saw 93 in lessons and last year was about 27. So far this year 215 kids have come through, and this time last year it was about 80, Melick said. “So we’ve added a ton of lessons.”

Growth in recreation programs

The city also began to hear stories from families who couldn’t afford to put all of their kids into a program like soccer, so subsequently none of the kids were enrolled.

By making the programs free, the department was able to add more teams this year, and participation has increased by about 30 kids.

“We’re seeing more interest in our programs, and more so on the girls side of it. We’ve added a ton of kids,” Melick said, adding the soccer camp at the end of the month is already full.

“It seems to me the best thing for this community is to be as supportive as possible and to engage our youth in useful activities, and organized sports is a great way to do it. It teaches them teamwork, it’s good exercise, can you think of something better to do for kids?” Kraus said.

Parks and Recreation also partners with Calistoga Fit for free yoga classes and outdoor exercise classes in Pioneer Park and at the pool.

“I think that’s a huge part of our success with our exercise classes. It’s allowed us to have more participants in water aerobics and increased the satisfaction with the program,” Melick said.

New this year were youth dance camps in the spring which taught kids hip-hop and ballet folklorico. Between the two classes 75 kids signed up. The department would like to offer the ballet class again — it’s just a matter of finding an instructor, Melick said.

Programs coming up

A number of park and recreation programs are beginning July 8 including a youth tennis clinic and a youth volleyball camp, and youth Soccer Camp begins July 29.

Puppet Fairytale Play camp for 7- to 10-year-olds is July 15-19.

New this year is a sing a long choir on Tuesdays through July 30, for those 18 and older.

Aug.