Picture House’s Senior Cinema Program Evolves With Free Yoga

Every Tuesday afternoon, seniors in Westchester can attend free movie screenings at the Picture House Regional Film Center. Now they can add free yoga to their itinerary.

Since 2023, the Center’s Senior Cinema program, which runs September through June, has offered anyone aged 65 and older the opportunity to socialize with others and view a new movie free of charge. Now, its new partnership with Thrive Barre and Fitness offers an additional perk – yoga. Once a month, seniors have the opportunity to take part in a gentle chair yoga exercise before select screenings.

While the partnership with Thrive, which began in December, takes place on the first Tuesday of every month in Pelham and the second Tuesday of the month in Bronxville, Senior Cinema can be enjoyed every week.

The Picture House’s Pelham location is over a hundred years old. Built in 1921, it is Westchester’s oldest movie theater. Its Bronxville location will follow suit and turn a hundred in 2026. The Center’s executive director, Clayton Bushong often hears stories from senior patrons about their experiences at both Picture House locations dating back to 50-70 years: “These are historic theaters…a lot of these seniors have been [in the area] for a long time. They have a lot of great stories that we love to hear, and love to tell.” Of the stories Bushong hears, “There’s a lot of first dates. There’s a lot of first kisses. You know, it’s a lot of fun [to hear].”

Senior Cinema patrons, many of whom have memories of the Picture House from earlier decades of their lives, are being offered a well-rounded moviegoing experience for their current stage of life. Bushong sees the Senior Cinema program as a celebration of the lives of its participants.

Chair yoga is a moderate form of exercise well-suited for older partakers. Its benefits include joint stability and support, tension alleviation and cultivated mindfulness. Bushong explains that “it’s an easy way to get up and stretch and move and get the blood moving.” He praises Michelle Ganpat, the Thrive instructor leading the chair yoga sessions: “She really knows how to get the most out of people, and not just in terms of yoga, but really connecting with people… [Michelle]’s really taken that into a whole other level…making people feel that they’re doing enough for themselves, which is the most important thing, I believe.”

Ganpat has spent over ten years teaching yoga and has studied her practice in Rishikesh, India. She is also Bushong’s yoga instructor, and the two came up with the idea for the partnership when Ganpat expressed to him that she was looking for ways to give back to the community. Thrive’s studio is on the same block as Pelham’s Picture House location. Doors open for the Tuesday Senior Cinema screenings at 2:00pm, allowing a half hour prior to showtime for seniors to gather before the 2:30 screening. With this time, Bushong and Ganpat decided to introduce chair yoga sessions.

Believing that movies are vehicles for exploring feelings, Bushong aims for Senior Cinema to be a conduit for connection: “I think the most important thing that seniors can get out of the experience of coming to the Picture House for these Tuesday screenings is connection. Connection to themselves, connections to other people, to know that they’re not alone.” With the addition of chair yoga sessions, Senior Cinema participants are now able to stimulate their bodies and their minds in one outing.