Class teaches teens healthy lifestyle choices

Jessica Feltz, acupuncturist at The Turning Point in Frederick, used Bodnar to demonstrate basic acupuncture points during a presentation to his ‘‘Wellness” class.

Acupuncture is the insertion of fine, sterilized steel needles at precise points in the skin to stimulate the body’s blood and energy. Developed nearly 5,000 years ago in China, acupuncture relieves chronic pain and headaches and can improve memory concentration and help prevent injuries.

The ancient medical practice is just one aspect of health that Bodnar has introduced to nine students in the Wellness course at Frederick High. Unlike the basic nine-week health class that all high school freshmen are required to take, the Wellness class is an elective and open to students in all grade levels. This school year is the first time Frederick High has offered the class.

During the course of a semester, students go beyond health basics and delve into topics such as healthy relationships and body image, yoga and massage therapy, food labeling and safety and health care. Students spend one day in class learning and another day in the gym doing physical activities.

Bodnar, also the department chair of health and physical education at Frederick High, said his goal is to provide teens with personalized, accurate information on a variety of health issues so that they can take ownership of their health at a young age. The topics are endless, he noted.

‘‘There’s so many angles to this,” Bodnar said. ‘‘[Health is] everywhere — on TV, on the news.”

Principal Denise Fargo-Devine said she is concerned about the alarming obesity problem in the U.S. and the lack of physical exercise in society. Giving students the skills to lead healthy lives was the impetus for the class’ creation.

‘‘I believe strongly that we need to be giving our students lifelong skills and knowledge that they can use beyond high school, so I think a healthy lifestyle starting as early as possible is something we can look at,” Fargo-Devine said. ‘‘If we can tackle obesity in the process I’m all for it.”

Sophomore Cindy Rivera said she signed up for the class for one term to fulfill a half-credit requirement. ‘‘It’s like health class taken a step further,” she said. The class is small and individualized, she noted, and has taught her different health techniques that she can take home, such as yoga.

Sophomore Meghan McTighe said she enjoys when the class lifts weights, practices yoga or plays ‘‘Ultimate,” a hand-ball game.

Bodnar also teaches about health options in the Frederick community and invites local health professionals to talk to the class about their specialties.

Feltz is the owner of The Turning Point, a community acupuncture clinic in Frederick that offers affordable treatments in group settings. Aside from her demonstration on Bodnar, Feltz explained the guiding principles of Chinese medicine, an acupuncture exam and treatment and possible career paths into the field. A person’s energy, or ‘‘Qi,” becomes blocked as a result of injuries, infectious diseases, poor nutrition or stress, Feltz said. Acupuncture unblocks the energy and restores the body’s balance.

Treatments typically last 20 or 30 minutes, Feltz said, though some patients will fall asleep for several hours. ‘‘People say that it’s a mini-vacation and they can check out of their lives,” she added.