Nancy Pelosi Healthy Dancers Program at ODC

Movement has the power to promote physical and mental health, creativity, and longevity. The Nancy Pelosi Healthy Dancers Program at ODC initiative is a logical outgrowth of our passion for movement, commitment to community wellness and our wish to share our years of collective experience in developing and maintaining physical resilience. These ODC Health programs focus on supporting an informed, robust, and responsive physical lifestyle as they foster inclusivity and diversity through movement.

Out of Autopilot: How Movement Changes the Way We Respond with Yana Nahkimova
Sunday, November 8th, 12:30 - 2:00pm

In this experiential workshop, we'll use simple movement experiments, attention, sensory exploration, and playful constraints to make our habitual responses visible and explore what happens when we change them in real time.
Grounded in behavioral science and embodied cognition, the workshop explores a simple idea: how we think, feel, and act emerges through the ongoing interaction of brain, body, and environment.

The goal is not only to become more aware of your patterns, but to experience that they are not fixed and practice having more than one way to respond.

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Rachel Recinos Abair is the Director, Nancy Pelosi Healthy Dancers Program at ODC. She is a lifelong dancer and brings over 20 years of experience in the health, wellness, & fitness industry to the position. She has worked in a variety of markets including health clubs, corporate wellness, campus recreation, and community programs and developed health and fitness, youth, seniors, sports, and volunteer programs and offerings. She earned her M.S. in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Exercise, Nutrition, and Eating Behavior from George Washington University. She holds multiple fitness certifications including ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist.

Dr. Celina de Borja, MD, is a Primary Care Sports Medicine physician with a special interest in dancers and performing artists. She is dedicated to advancing health through clinical care, education, and community engagement, with a focus on injury prevention, active lifestyles, and improving access to care. Dr. de Borja collaborates with multidisciplinary and community partners to enhance wellness and safety and is committed to evidence-based practice, mentorship, and bridging clinical medicine with community health impact.

Kirsten Olshan is a wellbeing change maker and coach. Her focus is on the psychology of human performance. Her passions are organizational, and Personal wellness. Kirsten's passion is to help find strengths, joy to help motivate individuals to make behavior changes more sustainable for better Life/Work integration. After battling two Chronic illnesses, Kirsten faced challenges of adapting to a new way of life as a recreational and competitive athlete. Kirsten resilience led her to research and focus on how participation in sports and physical activity impacted individuals overall wellbeing, both physically and mentally. She earned her Master’s in Exercise Science, Health Promotion with a focus in Sports Physiology and Nutrition from PennWest. Kirsten has worked with athletes, professional athletes, coaches, executives, business professionals, clinicians and high-profile performing artists. She has been a Keynote speaker at Stanford University and led mindfulness events as part of team Exos for Google. She has led workshops on health and wellbeing Globally. She is a health educator, research cancer advocate, certified health and wellness coach and nutritionist. She facilitates short courses for 2U/ Stanford Health Education on Stress Management and Employee Wellbeing and Healthcare leadership.

Arina Hunter holds a strong passion for movement, wellness, dance, and helping others live and enjoy their best life. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Montana and expanded her knowledge base in personal training, pre and post natal fitness, corrective exercise, mindset coaching, and nutrition. You can find Arina dancing, choreographing, hiking, enjoying nature, video editing, and snuggling with her pup Noodle. She believes in the magic of movement to energize, connect, help reduce pain and stress, prevent injury, and increase overall health, happiness, and sustainability.