Pilates Week | Shelley Estes

Experience the Pilates Method of mental and physical conditioning, and discover your deepest abdominal and spinal muscles. Entertaining your spine with this effective system of dynamic movement will leave you refreshed and alert, with a renewed sense of body awareness. As you explore the Pilates Method for improved stabilization, mobilization, flexibility and posture, you'll lengthen and strengthen your muscles from the inside out. Shelley integrates 20-plus years as a professional dancer, fitness professional and Pilates instructor as she empowers you to empower yourself.

On the Web: www.pilatesunlimited.com.

Common Sports Injuries & the Easy Home Remedies to Fix Them | Jordan Metzl, M.D.

The Ironman, A Personal Look Inside The World’s Toughest Event – Have you wondered what it’s like to compete in the world’s toughest event? Come hear a first person account of the Ironman, a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and then a full 26.2 mile marathon. Lean what it’s like to compete in this event and what the lessons of goal setting are for everyone. You don’t have to be an Ironman to learn from this talk, goal setting is the key to activity. Come learn about how to set yours.

Common Sports Injuries and the Easy Home Remedies to Fix Them – secrets to recognize and fix the most common sports injuries that affect athletes of all ages. Learn how to keep your body moving, fit, and injury free for life. Recognize how to spot the common aches and pains that can limit activity, and most importantly, how to fix them yourself.

Oh My Aching Knee – Secrets To Knee Happiness – Does your knee ache? Is it keeping you from moving? Here are some easy tips to care for and avoid common knee problems in athletes including ACL tears, runner’s knee, and ITB syndrome.

Class

The Ironstrength Workout – As featured on NBC’s Today show, National Public Radio, and in Runner’s World magazine, Dr. Metzl’s Ironstrength class is functional Strength Training for Athletes (of any age). This is a group exercise class, 60 minutes of functional strength training for injury prevention and performance enhancement. The concept is a method for athletes to strengthen their kinetic chain easily on their own.

Taught by Dr. Jordan Metzl, sports medicine physician 29 time marathon runner, and 10 time Ironman triathlete, this class will teach you the keys of functional movement and preventive strengthening. You’ll hate it and then you’ll love it.

Jordan D Metzl, M.D. www.DrJordanMetzl.com is a nationally recognized sports medicine physician at Hospital for Special Surgery, America’s premier orthopedic hospital located in New York City. With a practice of more than 20,000 patients, Dr. Metzl is widely known for his passion for sports medicine and fitness. His focus is to safely return athletes to the playing field of their choice and to keep them there. In addition to his busy practices in New York and in Greenwich, Connecticut, Dr. Metzl is an award winning author and medical columnist for Triathlete Magazine. His books include The Young Athlete (Little Brown), The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies (Rodale), and Home Based Strength Training for Young Athletes (American Academy of Pediatrics).

Dr. Metzl’s training includes residency at Tufts medical center in Boston and two sports medicine fellowships, one at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the second at Harvard University in Boston.

Regularly voted among New York’s top sports medicine doctors by New York Magazine, Dr Metzl takes care of athletic patients of all ages and lectures and teaches extensively both nationally and internationally to both medical and lay audiences. He has lectured extensively in Europe, Asia, South America, and throughout the United States on issues of sports medicine and fitness. Dr. Metzl is the sports medicine consultant to the Radio City Rockettes and for several high schools in the New York area.

Dr. Metzl appears regularly on media programs including the Today Show and in print media including the New York Times, discussing the issues of fitness and health. In addition to his busy medical practice and academic interests, he practices what he preaches. He is a former collegiate soccer player, a 29-time marathon runner and 10-time Ironman finisher.

Finally, he created and teaches his Ironstrength workout which teaches athletes of all ages to strengthen the kinetic chain through functional strength training.

Dr. Metzl lives, works, and works out in New York City.

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Barbara Pool Fenzl

Barbara Pool Fenzl, a major figure on the American culinary stage, is renowned as a cooking teacher in both the US and the Périgord region of France. She is the host of the 13-week PBS series, Savor the Southwest and author of Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook, Savor the Southwest, and Seasonal Southwest Cooking. Barbara owns Les Gourmettes Culinary Center in Phoenix, which she established in 1983. In addition, she is a frequent contributor to Bon Appétit magazine; former food editor of Phoenix Home and Garden magazine; past president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals; benefactor and past board member of the American Institute of Wine and Food; past president of the Arizona Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier; and a past member of the James Beard Foundation Restaurant Awards Committee. She hosted KAET-TV’s last ten cooking-related pledge drives and is a regular guest on Your Life, a local morning television show. Barbara holds BS and MA degrees and has studied at the Cordon Bleu (London), Ecole LeNotre, and Luberon College.

Barbara offers three hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, on Tuesday at 11 am and 4 pm and Thursday at 4 pm, during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta, our new culinary center.

For more information and registration, please click here.

Answering Your Soul’s Call... What Are You Meant to Do? | Ritu Shurma

Many highly successful business people express a yearning to turn their time and talents towards making the world a better place. But they often don’t know how to begin. Taking that first step can be unsettling, but answering your soul’s call to do good can be the most deeply fulfilling career decision you’ll ever make. This 3 session workshop will explore:

• Hearing your soul’s call—an interactive workshop and guided meditation to help discover your part in making the world a better place
• Finding your place in the sun—an informational lecture and QnA on how to map your field of interest and pin-point the unmet need so you can meet it, as well as ways to get involved with existing non-profit organizations
• Making it thrive—a brief presentation and QnA on how to start and nurture a successful not-for-profit organization, with helpful materials and resources

Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder and President Women Thrive Worldwide. A first generation American of East Indian heritage, Ritu’s family left behind generations of violence and poverty in Punjab, India to build a new life in the United States. Her family’s legacy and her first-hand experience of the injustices suffered by women, combined with her strong belief that American citizens must ensure that the U.S. acts positively in the world, led Ritu to create Women Thrive Worldwide in 1998.

Ritu is an eloquent public speaker, drawing on her personal stories, travels, unusual insights, and “out-of-the-box” thinking to inspire audiences to get involved to change women’s lives for the better. Ritu holds a BSFS in international economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Masters of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University.

She is the author of “An Introduction to Advocacy: A Training Guide,” which has been translated into six languages and is a primary reference for advocates around the globe. She serves on the Board of Directors of InterAction and the Center for U.S. Global Engagement.

13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg | Lara Downes .

Lara brings to Rancho La Puerta her newest project, 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg: a set of 13 new variations re-imagining Bach’s magnificent Goldberg Variations, composed by some of America’s brightest living composers, just released as a CD on the Innova label in Fall 2011.

A captivating presence both on and offstage, critically acclaimed Steinway Concert Artist Lara Downes is redefining the solo recital format with visionary, cutting-edge performances at prestigious concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Queen Elizabeth Hall - London, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the Salle Gaveau - Paris.

Lauded by NPR as "a delightful artist with a unique blend of musicianship and showmanship" and praised by the Washington Post for her stunning performances "rendered with drama and nuance," Lara presents the piano repertoire - from iconic favorites to newly commissioned works - in new ways that bridge musical tastes, genres and audiences. She is currently Artist in Residence at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis.