Combine background as a dancer, an ordained minister of spiritual counseling, a health education/fitness instructor and lecturer, and a cancer survivor ”“ a partial biography of Ujjala M. Schwartz ”“ and you have the ingredients that brought her to her present career at Benedictine Hospital in Kingston.
The Port Ewen resident is senior coordinator for the hospital”™s BeneCare Club, established for what the hospital terms “the contemporary adult.” She also conducts SmartBells® exercise classes, established initially for cancer survivors, but now open to everyone.
“The hospital isn”™t just about being sick; it”™s about staying healthy,” Schwartz reminds her public. With the affiliation of Benedictine Hospital and The Kingston Hospital, members of HealthAlliance, there will be shared programs. The KingstonHospital has traditionally maintained a Lifeline program to help seniors live independently and safely at home.
Schwartz reports two age groups of senior citizens. “The baby boomers don”™t like to use the word ”˜seniors,”™” she said. “If we say ”˜seniors”™ on a booth, they will not stop, but if we use ”˜50 plus,”™ they will.”
Contrasting the SmartBells® with traditional dumbbells, she explains that the SmartBells® is shaped like a wheel and does not, therefore, tax the strength of the weaker of two arms as dumbbells may do. Devised for cancer survivors, the hospital”™s original program was funded by a Lance Armstrong Foundation grant.
The fluid movements provided by SmartBells® work every major part of the body, promoting health and vitality, she said. “Participants work at their own pace. It is a blend of hatha yoga, stretching, aerobics and breathing techniques to strengthen the heart and increase flexibility and stamina. The movement of circles and figure eights combines the eastern philosophy of fluid movement with the western concept of weights.”
Schwartz terms the exercises beneficial to women who have or had lymphedema. “They could get fluid in their arms,” she said. “These exercises help control the problem.”
Work with BeneCare does not end with exercise. She oversees the monthly breakfast and lectures at the Hudson Valley Mall, which has a Walkers Club sponsored by the mall, and assists with health insurance forms, Medicaid applications, free screenings and other services.
Schwartz said her early dancing career gave her a feeling of how the human body functions. “And, my whole family was in show business, so it is easy to get up in front of people and talk,” she said of her lectures on healthy living.
Named Marie at birth, Schwartz acquired the name Ujjala after studying bhakti yoga. The name means “bright light” in Sanskrit, she said.
Born in Greenwich Village, she moved throughout the country because of her single mother”™s career. Schwartz was a fashion model in California and Manhattan. Relocating to New Paltz, she operated a bed and breakfast for 18 years, providing vegetarian food and a healing atmosphere for guests.
“I”™ve gone from rock climbing in rugged terrain to kayaking the river”™s serenity,” she said.
Ordained an interfaith minister at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, she is a minister of spiritual counseling with the New Seminary in New York City, an interfaith body concentrating on likenesses, not differences, in religions. She has presided at weddings of various faiths.
A poignant wedding that she recalls involved a Japanese and American couple. Descending a hill together, they boarded a raft and floated across the water, propelled by swimmers dancing in the water. A tea ceremony followed on the other side.
Schwartz has two sons, Tyagi and Anu. There are four Schwartz grandchildren.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be e-mailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
