New Wyckoff Y Wellness Center is Thriving
by Brielle Bleeker
With more people making an effort to live their best life, wellness centers have been opening to meet those needs. The Wyckoff YMCA Wellness Center opened last fall and has seen tremendous interest and growth since then. Director Ellen Babajko offers a welcoming place for people to de-stress, wellness workshops and healthy living initiatives. She says, “I think people need to take a breath and take a little time for themselves. If that means giving themselves a massage or sitting in on a lecture or taking a meditation class, these are all things that can make people well-grounded.”
With the addition of the wellness center, the rest of the YMCA was updated by adding new spin bikes with consoles and additional times for classes. With so much to offer in fitness and wellness, there really is something for everybody at the Y, and more is being added all the time. Spring will see mediation classes conducted by the Ramapo College Krame Center for Meditation. Babjko says, “It’s a great place to learn and work out and make friendships.”
There are so many different aspects of wellness, and the Y is thinking outside the box to present classes that are relevant to what’s new in wellness. For example, after regular classes on Tuesday nights, one of the instructors has been conducting demonstrations of singing bowls. There are also plans to introduce more variety in classes offered to men. Yoga and Scotch is just one idea to incorporate not only the fitness aspect of what the Y has to offer, but an interactive moment, too.
According to Babajko, “When you see people all the time in a class, you don’t really get to talk to them, so having a social event afterwards is a nice way to bring people together to get to know each other, and it makes everyone look forward to going more.”
The Y has always been a one-stop shop for kids, parents and seniors, so with the wellness center bringing a holistic aspect to health and wellness, awareness is growing and people are learning that there is a another world of options to live a healthy life. “Everybody is so used to doing what they’ve done for years, and it takes time to try a different approach to living,” says Babajko.
Community involvement has always been an integral part of the YMCA, and there are guest speakers and local businesses the Y plans to bring in to educate people about all aspects of life. With all that and more to come, the Wyckoff YMCA Wellness Center has started off on the right foot.
The Wellness Center at The Wyckoff Family YMCA is located at 691 Wyckoff Ave., in Wyckoff. For more information, visit Tinyurl.com/wyckoffy or call 201-891-2081.
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