The sky may be darker and the mornings becoming chillier, but rather than stay tucked under the doona, it’s more important than ever to get up and about, warm our joints and stretch those muscles.
When the cooler weather arrives, our bodies tend to lose more heat and contract, causing tightness throughout the body. This results in joints seizing up and our muscles losing their range of motion. This is why it’s important to chisel out 10 or 20 minutes every day to make sure we’re getting the blood flowing through our body and ensuring we don’t stop moving altogether.
So we’ve come up with some easy but effective ways for older people to move around this winter. They’re easy exercises which you can do from your bedroom to your balcony, so take these on board into the coming months.
Walking
A healthy, easy and effective way to get the body moving, taking a walk is something you can do any time, anywhere. Assuming the weather plays ball, why not spend time walking up and down the hallway or throughout the home. When the sun comes out to shine, make the most of the outdoors and enjoy a walk in the gardens. At Georges Estate, we have pathways with lush gardens you can take a stroll in, with friends, family or a carer. Suitable for all ages, this low-impact exercise can help strengthen bones and muscles, improve mood and reduce stress.
Chores
It may sound simple but mundane tasks like making the bed or folding clothes offer a daily way to increase mobility. Simple movements add up, especially on days when we’d rather spend time sitting down, especially as we age. Not only will you have a clean and tidy living space, studies also show doing routine chores provide a sense of purpose and accomplishment. It may not be an exhausting work out, but it’s extremely impactful to our overall health and wellbeing.
Balance Exercises
Falls are some of the most common health hazards facing older adults, and by incorporating simple movements and practices into a weekly routine, we can prevent this from happening. It’s especially important to keep these movements up in winter. Spare just 10 minutes a day and your body will thank you in the long run. Working with our team of physiotherapists, they conduct classes where gentle exercises such as leg raises, toe stands and standing up and down, improve joint range of motion and muscle strength. In addition, practising functional tasks such as getting in and out of chairs and walking have gradual, positive effects. We have exercise classes rotating on our calendar weekly and our residents love it!
Yoga
A wonderful exercise proven to increase mood, reduce stress and increase flexibility, yoga is an ancient practice which can be carried out any time of day. Using gentle movements, this is an ideal way to get out of bed and reap the benefits afterwards. We love chair yoga here at Georges Estate; over a half hour session our residents can practice movements while focusing on their inner calm.
Dancing
Back in the day, we all loved a boogie on the dancefloor – it’s a fantastic way to get our whole body up and about, enjoying rhythm and music as a group. Dancing is beneficial to our health in SO many ways – a chance to socialise with one another, practice co-ordination, concentration, and multitasking. From a salsa to a slow dance, our social events provide the perfect opportunity to get our residents dancing along to their favourite music. We’ll be swaying into the afternoon or on a Friday evening and believe that dancing is a fantastic way to warm up our bodies and have fun while doing it!
In the coming cooler months, why not keep these tips handy and give them a try any time of the day. At Georges Estate, our residents work with our team of allied professionals to help with these movements. From chair yoga to Friday dance nights, we’re continually finding ways to make sure the health and wellbeing is front of mind for our residents.
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