It’s not easy being a teen today, especially a teen girl. Between trying to keep up with the crowd and handling everyday pressures, it can be easy to lose yourself in the overwhelming chaos. But what if there was a refuge from all the confusion? Let us rephrase that. What if there was a really awesome and fabulous place to go that, at the same time, has the resources to get both your mind and body into shape? Oh My Girls (OMG!) is a new healthy living center for girls in Syosset and truly the first of its kind on Long Island, combining fitness, health and social activities to help create the next generation of healthy, confident, successful and, most importantly, happy women.
“Growing up a girl has always presented its challenges, says co-founder Dr. Lisa Rosen, a psychologist who specializes in the relationship between physical and emotional health. “But never before has it been so easy to disengage and become isolated from your peers.”
Girls who join the Center take classes with their peers, whether it be a Cardio Jam or Zumba exercise class, a vegetarian or gluten-free cooking class, or special ongoing workshops geared at everything from healthy eating and making your own skin care products to self-defense tactics and bullying. And each class is run by a qualified professional. If you want to go vegan, learn how to do it right—from a vegan chef. If you have a problem, talk about it with someone who can really help. The staff at Oh My Girls has more than a hundred years of experience and expertise in a variety of areas between them.
Each class has a maximum of 12 students, is age-specific and held in a healthy environment—literally. The whole place is made out of non-toxic and eco-friendly materials. And, if safety is a concern for you, it’s also under 24-hour video surveillance.
Rosen describes Oh My Girls as “a place where girls can be offline, developing long-lasting friendships, healthy lifestyles and social skills that will help them transition into adulthood with ease and success.”
As her children entered adolescence, she recognized a lack of quality programming for tweens and teens and created a media-free zone that would empower young girls with co-founder Claire Lieber-Saul, who had the same goals for her children, as well as a passion for holistic education with limited media exposure.
“We need to get kids unplugged from technology and plugged back into their lives if we truly want them to succeed,” says Lieber-Saul, a former litigation attorney, certified life coach and fitness instructor. “Children who sit in front of screens all day and night not only reduce their social and intellectual development, but increase their risk for diabetes and other illnesses.”
Simply put, Oh My Girls provides a hot pink alternative, focused on teens, in a world of stuffy gray gyms usually geared towards adults. And it’s one where they can meet friends, make their own smoothies, get help with their homework, learn how to cook, eat dinner or just hang out and talk with friends. Because being a teen is hard enough, being healthy shouldn’t be something you have to worry about, and exercise shouldn’t be a chore. Oh My Girls gets that, which is pretty awesome. So, what else can we say, but—OMG!
Oh My Girls is for girls ages 8 to 18 and is located at 140 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset, 516-802-5800. www.ohmygirls.com. Check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/omg.ohmygirls.