Arlington Community Education

What’s more fun than country-western line dance? You don’t even need a partner. Young and old, men and women, athletes and couch potatoes—anyone can have a great time. Just bring your two left feet, because in line dancing there are no mistakes! Beginner If you’ve never line danced before or have only done a few classes, this is the place for you. We’ll start from the very beginning, with simple dances that teach you the basic building blocks of line dancing. Lots of practice, and we’ll teach each dance. You’ll get low-impact exercise as we dance to (mostly) country western music. Intermediate If you’ve been dancing for a while and are ready for a new challenge, this is the class for you. These dances are longer, faster, have more turns, or use challenging moves. Expect it to take more than one week to learn each dance, so we will learn fewer dances than the beginner class, but we’ll still have a great time. Remember, challenging your brain fends off dementia!

Essentrics lengthens and strengthens every muscle in the body through a dynamic combination of movements. This completely original full-body workout draws on the flowing movements of tai chi and ballet to create a balanced, flexible, and pain-free body. Essentrics rebalances the body, prevents and treats injuries, unlocks tight joints, and develops lean, strong, and flexible muscles with immediate changes to your posture. Please note: This class focuses on the full body and moves at a fast tempo, ideal for physically active men and women. Please have a yoga mat, towel, and water on hand for each class.

Morning yoga classes ease you into your day with poses that connect the mind, body, and spirit. Particular attention is given to helping each student understand and work with their body to achieve proper alignment. Regular practice of yoga brings calm, focus, increased flexibility, and strength to your life.

With roots in traditional Chinese medicine, qigong’s goal is to cultivate and balance our life energy, or “qi.” Qigong practice typically involves meditative, slow-flowing movement coordinated with deep rhythmic breathing to produce a calm state of mind. Part of traditional Chinese medicine, the practice is similar to Tai Chi, but simpler, and benefits can include improved immunity, better balance, and lower blood pressure. We will work with the Seven Precious Gestures and the Eight Brocades, as well as some basic walking and breathing practices. Flex and stretch gently and learn simple routines you can practice at home.

Explore special places right in your own “backyard” on these scenically-beautiful and historically-fascinating day trips designed to delight cyclists of all abilities. These small group tours are led by both a historian-cyclist who will share the area’s historic and natural highlights and an expert bike tour guide who will also offer tips on how to capture the perfect shot with your phone. Ipswich Land and Sea: If you love history, architecture, and cycling along scenic rural roads with outstanding coastal vistas, Ipswich is the perfect day trip destination. Our tour starts at the Riverwalk Mural beside the Ipswich River in downton Ipswich. We take beautiful Argilla Road to Crane Beach, with a short climb to Crane Castle, and beautiful views looking across Plum Island to the Atlantic. We loop back to downtown Ipswich on scenic rural roads and through historic neighborhoods of 17th and 18th Century houses. After a lunch break, we'll ride out to Jeffreys Neck across the Great Salt Marsh, with a couple of scenic climbs on Little Neck and Great Neck. At the end of our day, we ride back into town through the greatest collection of "First Period" houses in America. Your guide Gordon Harris is the Ipswich town historian, and shares information about the area’s historic and natural highlights. This ride has a total of about 1000 ft. of climb over 26 miles. (* the route can be viewed at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39149974) The Wonders of Newburyport: This beautiful tour starts at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and takes us to scenic Plum Island where we ride for several miles alongside dunes and salt marshes with frequent views of migratory wildlife. After a short hike on the new Hellcat boardwalk trail, we reverse course and meander through historic 18th Century neighborhoods to downtown Newburyport for our lunch break. The ride continues past Federal-era mansions on High St. to Maudslay State Park, following quiet wooded roads beside the lovely Artichoke Reservoirs. Wide-shouldered Scotland Road opens up with three miles of uninterrupted cycling past the Wet Meadows and Common Pastures Conservation Areas. The Clipper City Rail Trail brings us back through Newburyport and along the Merrimack River Waterfront, with a total of 30 miles. Throughout the day, your guides will share information about the area’s historic and natural highlights. This ride has about 800 ft. of climb over a total of 30 miles. (* the route can be viewed at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39373281) Please note: Participants should be experienced enough to be comfortable cycling 25 to 35 miles over a 4-5 hour period. Exact meeting locations will be in your Course Confirmation email. Riders must wear helmets and have recently tuned road or hybrid bikes with fully inflated tires. Bring water, a snack, a great attitude, and a spare inner tube (just in case). There will be time to stop in town for snacks / lunch. Weather cancellations will be made up as needed.

This Intermediate course is for those with experience with the Hwa Yu short form. The ultimate in no-impact aerobics, tai chi naturally relaxes the body, promoting calm and peace of mind while improving posture, balance, and flexibility. The practice increases blood flow throughout the entire body, keeps joints flexible, and restores elasticity to muscles. It is a form of exercise that actually becomes better for you as you age. Continue to improve your skills such as stance, step patterns, basic blocking, and whole-body movement.