[Care Facility] Exercise activities everyone can enjoy: improve physical function, relieve stress, and help prevent dementia
Because exercise activities are a staple in care facilities, it can be hard to decide what content to include.
In this article, we introduce a variety of exercises that involve moving the body to familiar music for older adults, using props, and incorporating brain-training elements.
All activities can be enjoyed safely while seated, making them accessible to everyone and full of ideas that promote mental and physical refreshment and help maintain health.
Please make use of these ideas when planning exercise activities that older adults can enjoy comfortably and without strain!
- Summary of exercises for seniors: introducing preventative care movements by body part.
- Recommended simple exercises for recreational activities for the elderly
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- [Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors
- [For Seniors] Simple Rhythm Exercises: Recommended Songs and Routines
- [For Seniors] A Collection of Fun Classic Caregiving Activities
- [Elder Care Facility] Move Your Body to Relieve Stress! Exercise Activities You Can’t Help but Get Absorbed In
- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
- [For Seniors] Rehabilitation exercises targeting each body part: Introducing easy routines you can incorporate without strain
- [Care Facilities] A Sports Day Activity Guaranteed to Get Everyone Excited! Classic Events and Seated-Participation Activities
- For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
- [For Seniors] Stretching Exercises: Easy and Safe to Do
- [For Seniors] Exercises to maintain and improve lower-limb strength. Ideas that can be enjoyed by both large and small groups
[Care Facility] Exercise activities that everyone can enjoy: Improve physical function, relieve stress, and help prevent dementia (41–50)
Seated Sun Salutation YogaNEW!
Let’s try doing Sun Salutation—well known as a representative yoga sequence—while seated in a chair.
Start with deep breathing, then do Moon Pose by tilting your joined hands to the left and right.
Next, twist your spine while keeping your palms together.
With your ankles lightly crossed, repeat the same movements.
Fold your torso forward once, then rise back up and bring your palms together in prayer.
Finish with a deep breath.
The traditional Sun Salutation has 12 poses, but this version is simplified.
It’s easy to try, so give it a go while paying close attention to your breathing!
Five Foot Exercises with Showa-era Kayokyoku and Children’s SongsNEW!
Exercises done to familiar popular songs and children’s songs familiar to older adults are recommended, as they lift the mood and make moving the body enjoyable.
While seated in a chair, spread your feet to the sides, raise and lower your heels and toes, and lift your knees.
Try adding variety by moving slowly to match the song’s tempo, or moving more briskly in time with the beat.
At first, focus only on the leg movements, and once you get used to them, you can add arm movements.
As you become even more comfortable, try doing the exercises while singing along!
Chair Yoga: Core TrainingNEW!
It’s said that strengthening your core can help prevent falls and improve constipation.
You can train while seated in a chair, so give it a try! First, take deep breaths and move your neck forward, backward, and side to side.
Cross your hands in front of your chest, then lift them upward as they are.
Tilt your body to the left and right to stretch your sides, then extend your clasped hands forward, round your back, and stretch.
Next, with your hands together, sway your body left and right and do a pose that helps relieve constipation.
Finally, with both hands extended overhead, lean your upper body slightly forward.
Be sure to stay mindful of your breathing.
Move slowly and gently while maintaining steady breaths.
Chair Yoga: Posture Improvement & Full-Body StretchNEW!
When your posture worsens, it can become harder to breathe and the risk of aspiration increases.
To help prevent this, try posture-improving yoga you can do while seated in a chair.
First, loosen your wrists and back and take deep breaths to prepare.
Then stretch the sides of your body and move your crossed hands up and down.
With your elbows bent, stack your forearms and try a challenge pose.
Next, extend one leg at a time, draw your legs toward your body, and gently wobble your ankles while keeping your heels on the floor.
To finish, press your palms together and raise your arms, then slightly lift one foot for a one-legged standing pose.
Deep Breathing ExercisesNEW!
It is said that deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps calm the mind.
When you feel tired or unsettled, try this deep-breathing exercise to relax.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth to a three-second rhythm.
If you focus on your abdomen as you do it, you’ll be able to breathe deeply more effectively.
Next, add hand and shoulder movements and try taking thorough deep breaths.
It’s also effective when you feel anxious or tense, so try to breathe slowly and deeply with a relaxed, expansive rhythm.
Laughter YogaNEW!
Have you ever thought about how much you laughed today at the end of the day? A day that flew by in a busy rush, or a day that drifted by with nothing much to do—how much did you laugh in either case? Laughter yoga has a mysterious power that can blow your fatigue away.
Move your body broadly and try laughing exaggeratedly.
By the time you finish, both your mind and body will feel refreshed, and you’ll likely find yourself in a more positive mood.
Try adding laughter yoga to the end of your day and turn it into the energy you need to enjoy tomorrow.
A simple exercise to expand the rib cage and deepen breathingNEW!
Shallow breathing can cause tension in the shoulders and the whole body, leading to reduced muscle movement and autonomic nervous system imbalance, which can place a heavy burden on the body.
Here, we introduce a simple exercise to move the ribs and rib cage to help you breathe more deeply.
Sit with your feet shoulder-width apart, raise your right hand, and lean your body to the left.
Turn your palm toward the ceiling and make large circles with your arm.
Do this 10 times on each side, then finish with a deep, full breath.
Make this exercise part of your daily routine to support a healthier everyday life.