New Haven Program Supports Healthy Aging Through Guided Movement

Every Wednesday morning, a group of about a dozen older adults gathers in a sunlit studio space near East Rock for a class that looks, at first glance, like a gentle yoga session. But instructor Miriam Castellanos is watching for something specific in each participant's movement: subtle shifts in balance, hesitation in a transition between poses, the small signals that can indicate a growing fall risk long before an actual fall occurs.

"Balance work is one of the most underappreciated parts of healthy aging," Castellanos said. "By the time someone has already fallen, we've missed the window where prevention would have been most effective."

Designing Movement Around the Aging Body

Castellanos founded Evergreen Movement three years ago after a career as a physical therapist focused on geriatric rehabilitation, frustrated by what she saw as a gap between clinical fall-prevention programs and more mainstream fitness offerings that rarely accounted for the specific physical changes that come with aging. Evergreen's classes incorporate elements of yoga, tai chi, and strength training, but Castellanos said the sequencing and pacing are deliberately different from a typical studio class.

"A standard yoga class might move through transitions quickly, assuming a baseline level of balance and strength," she said. "We slow everything down and build in specific balance challenges, but in a controlled way where participants always have a stable point to hold onto if needed."

The program has expanded from a single weekly class to five sessions a week, with additional offerings addressing grip strength and functional movement patterns like safely rising from a seated position, a skill Castellanos said is directly linked to independence in daily life.

Building Confidence, Not Just Strength

Participant Harold Wexler, 78, joined Evergreen Movement after a minor fall in his kitchen left him increasingly anxious about his mobility. Nearly a year later, he said the program has changed not just his physical capability but his confidence in his own body.

"I used to hold onto the counter every time I bent down for something," Wexler said. "I still respect my limits, but I don't move through the world with that same fear anymore."

Castellanos said she works closely with a small number of referring physicians and physical therapists in the New Haven area, though she is careful to describe Evergreen's offerings as a complement to, not a replacement for, medical care. She keeps detailed notes on each participant's progress and will flag concerning changes in balance or mobility to a participant's healthcare provider when appropriate, with the participant's consent.

As demand for the program has grown, Castellanos has begun training two additional instructors to help expand class offerings, though she said she remains cautious about growing too quickly given how much individualized attention each class requires. "This work only matters if people actually feel safer and more capable in their own bodies afterward," she said. "That has to stay the focus, even as we grow."

Evergreen Movement currently offers classes at two New Haven locations and is developing a satellite program in partnership with a local senior center.