I’m writing for Park Slope Patch, AOL’s new hyper-local news site, once a week. Here’s and excerpt from this week’s story about IntenSati and more:

All over the Slope, New Year’s resolutions are compelling locals to attend programs intended for self-betterment. The Sunday morning Weight Watchers meeting at the Montauk Club was filled to capacity the day after New Years Day, as hopefuls weighed in on Weight Watchers recently overhauled program called Points Plus.

“This place is going bananas,” said Melanie, one of the programs most enthusiastic (and inspiring) leaders to the crowd, an unconcealed reference to the fact that bananas, once considered 2 points on the old plan, are now a big, fat beautiful zero, on the new plan, as are most fruits and vegetables.

Yay fruit and veggies.

Last week at Congregation Beth Elohim, a reform synagogue in Park Slope, a crowd gathered in its ballroom to sample Gaga/People, a technique for non-dancers developed by acclaimed Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin (who was also on hand at the temple). It is based on Gaga, which is used in daily training sessions by the dancer of the Batsheva Dance Company.

Naharin developed Gaga/People classes for people with no dance background. These new classes at Beth Elohim (Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m.) offer a one-hour movement workout done in comfortable clothes. According to Naharin they allow the participant “to discover agility, flexibility, strength, speed, efficiency, stamina, explosive power, groove, delicacy, the connection between pleasure and effort, and isolation and articulation of joints.”

Now that’s a New Year’s resolution worth having

In another part of the Slope New Years resolutions are being met in a very unique way. Chantall Brachmann-Scott teaches intenSati, a fairly new exercise program that combines Pilates, yoga, martial arts, aerobics and new-age affirmations, at Ellie Herman’s 4th Street Annex (Wednesdays at 7:15, Friday at 6:45AM)…