Forum Discussion

Hi Mary,
I have tried seated yoga, with my people. They loved it. You could also try having seats in a circle and getting your residents to kick or punch a beach ball to each other. That one is often a lot of fun. Hope this helps.
Janelle.

Hi Mary,
I have tried seated dancing, you can buy DVD or there are other printed material out there but I go for the easy option and having fun. I also use the circle and the kicking of balls to each other, the balls can also be past around the circle, bounced to each other, more than one ball and balls of different sizes, great fun to music with stopping and starting. A parachute or an octopus-band is good for the upper body and lots of fun. You can try to keep balls up in the air or you can do exercises by pulling the octopus arms either with arms or seated and using their legs.

Hi Mary,
We have a morning exercise program that takes 30 mins. Each resident has a pair of .5 kg weights. We breath in and out moving weights up and down x5 This is then followed by a range of movements with weights. We then do a standing balance set, using the chair in front for balance. Another set of breathing no weights. Then 15 mins of gentle chair exercises to music. The physio helped put this together. Some residents have slight modifications. The program finishes with more breathing. Residents can ask for heavy weights as they feel more confident. We do this 5 days per week and everyone enjoys the program.
Lyn.

That is a great program by the sounds.
Tai chi is another fantastic exercise program. I had a Tai chi tutor who is trained through Australian Academy of Tai Chi. She came in twice weekly and within a month I had noticed an improvement in balance and flexibility.