in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 14 ,2 02 0 | 12 YOU'RE NOT ALONE • WE CAN HELP • FREE COUNSELLING & SUPPORT FOR ALCOHOL, DRUG and GAMBLING PROBLEMS with offices in Oakville, Milton, Acton, Burlington &Georgetown to serve you better • Providing services forYouth, Adults and Families in Halton since 1975 • ADAPT services are free of charge, fully accredited and confidential • Visit our website for more information 165 Cross Ave., Suite 203, Oakville, ON. L6J 0A9 facebook.com/adapt ADAPT - Halton Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Assessment, Prevention and Treatment haltonadapt.org 905.639.6537 adapt@haltonadapt.org @haltonadapt ALL ADAPT PROGRAMSAREOPEN FOR TELE-COUNSELLING, REMOTEVIRTUAL INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING and REMOTEVIRTUALGROUPS With so many staying home for almost two months now due to CO- VID-19 restrictions, local residents are getting cre- ative to keep both their bodies and minds healthy. From virtual medita- tion to online exercise classes, there's no short- age of ways to focus on health and wellness throughout Halton. Local fitness coach Kathryn Smith says she's had a great response so far to the salad-making clas- ses she's hosting on Insta- gram. "I'm the salad queen," she said. "It's been fun showing people different ways to make a salad into a meal or try different dressings. You can make them taste delicious, and there are so many differ- ent ways to build it. I've been having fun with that for sure." The busy Burlington mother of two, who oper- ates Mama Fitness and teaches the majority of her classes in Oakville, has also been doing live workouts on Instagram and teaching her clients through Zoom sessions. "Keeping people in- spired is my goal," she said. "Taking care of your body helps keep your im- munity up so you don't get sick, and you also need the endorphins to stay hap- py." Rommel Oliveros, own- er of Milton Muay Thai Boxing Gym and Athletic Facility, shared similar sentiments and stressed the benefits of exercise on your overall well-being. "I believe your physical and mental health are one," he said. "This is a time when people need to be mentally stimulated and have an outlet from daily stresses. Doing that (exercise) is going to help you push forward, espe- cially with mental health." The facility on Milton's Main Street -- which teaches the martial art that's the national sport of Thailand, along with box- ing and kick-boxing -- has been hosting online clas- ses since being forced to close its doors to the pub- lic in March. Recently Oliveros opened his classes up to everyone in the communi- ty for free -- something he says has received a lot of great feedback so far. "Even though we're struggling to pay our rent and keep our gym afloat, we wanted to do some- thing for the community as well," he said. "We're a community-based gym, and we want to make sure people's health is intact." Meanwhile, meditation instructor Chantal Gar- neau is taking a similar approach to helping local residents with their over- all health and well-being. She began hosting free on- line meditation sessions over six weeks ago, where she guides participants through breathing, mind- fulness and relaxation. The Georgetown wom- an said she's averaging 30 to 40 participants per class, with people from as far away as Vancouver and even France tuning in for the Zoom session. "What we're doing is a practising how to de-esca- late," she said. "When we're stressed out, we tend to hold our breath and tighten our bodies, and it freezes us in our thoughts. We're practising the oppo- site of that. We're opening our bodies back up, breathing again nice and slow, and when we do that, our thoughts tend to settle automatically." Garneau said these techniques are very im- portant right now as many people are feeling anxiety about their loss of stabili- ty and routine during the pandemic. And while some may fo- cus on exercise and healthy eating, she said the way we breathe is an often-overlooked, but very essential aspect of overall health. "When we start to choose how we're breath- ing, we realize it affects the way we think and feel, and it makes everything else easier," she said. Here's how to find out more about the classes discussed above: • Kathryn Smith: Fol- low her Instagram page at @sweatwithkathryn for class details. • Milton Muay Thai: Email info@milton- muaythai.ca for a class schedule and Zoom meet- ing codes. • Chantal Garneau: Vis- it chantalgarneau.com to register for sessions. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With local resi- dents facing the continuous stress of isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic, people and businesses throughout Halton are coming up with creative ideas to achieve overall health and wellness. NEWS ENTREPRENEURS STRIVE TO KEEP COMMUNITY ACTIVE AND HEALTHY MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com Rommel Oliveros of Milton Muay Thai has pivoted to offering free online classes as his facility is closed due to the pandemic. Graham Paine/Torstar www.concretetrimmings.com CONCRETE FREE ESTIMATES 905-844-5518 1-888-944-5518 uality At Its Best! Call Fernando 1-888-944-5518 www 1-888-944-5518 • DRIVEWAYS • FRENCH CURBS • PATIOS • STEPS • WALKWAYS • GARAGE FLOORS ExposEd aggrEgatE (pebble)