For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
Doesn’t a natural smile come to your face when you move along to nostalgic children’s songs and traditional tunes? A popular choice for recreation in senior care facilities is fun exercises that incorporate these familiar songs.
With easy movements you can enjoy while seated and simple choreography you can do while singing, these activities gently support both the mind and body of older adults.
Today, we’ll introduce joyful singing exercises that help stimulate the brain and maintain physical fitness.
Enjoy a smile-filled exercise time with seasonal songs and tunes full of memories.
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- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable While Seated! Ball Exercises and Recreation
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- For seniors: Enjoyable stick exercises. Easy workouts.
- [For Seniors] Core Training: Recommended Simple Rehabilitation
Laughter and Communication Exercises (1–10)
Ha-Hi-Fu-He-Ho exercises
The Ha-Hi-Fu-He-Ho exercises, which incorporate laughter and are said to promote mental and physical health, are all about letting your voice out without feeling embarrassed! While using your body to form the shapes of the katakana characters “ハ・ヒ・フ・ヘ・ホ,” laugh from deep in your belly with “Ha-ha-ha, Hi-hi-hi.” If it’s hard to keep a steady rhythm, try adding slow hand claps to help maintain the tempo—it makes it easier to do.
Smiley Smiley Exercises that Make You Smile
This is a smiling exercise that not only activates the brain but also strengthens the facial muscles that create a lovely smile.
While saying “ni-ko ni-ko,” make a scissor hand shape on “ni” and an open hand on “ko.” After that, flash your best smile—one where you lift the corners of your mouth as high as you can.
You can increase the difficulty by adding hand claps or by doing different actions with each hand, such as the right hand open and the left hand scissor.
Laughter is an important element for healthy living.
Let’s support the mental and physical health of older adults with exercises that bring out smiles.
See-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil gymnastics
Let’s have fun exercising with the Three Wise Monkeys from Nikkō Tōshōgū—“see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil”! We’ll proceed with poses where “see no evil” covers the eyes, “speak no evil” covers the mouth, and “hear no evil” covers the ears.
A staff member will call out a pose, and after the cue “Ready, set, go!” everyone strikes the pose that matches the prompt.
Once participants get used to it, the staff member can raise the difficulty by deliberately doing the wrong pose in front as a feint.
If it’s too easy, add variations—such as doing “see no evil” with the right hand and “speak no evil” with the left hand—to make it more challenging.
Clapping Exercise
This is a clapping exercise that will have everyone bursting into laughter with just a clap! While the staff member standing in front is clapping, everyone claps along in the same way, and when they stop, you stop too.
If clapping is difficult, don’t push yourself—tap your thighs or the desk instead.
By changing the speed, stopping suddenly, or throwing in some feints, the unpredictable movements are sure to make everyone laugh.
No props or music are needed, so it’s perfect for getting people moving during small breaks, like while staff are preparing for other recreational activities.
Niconico Exercises
@shizukuiro.care_beauty Inspired by laughter yoga 😊 a routine that makes you smile without even trying!Elderly#DementiaGymnasticsLong-term Care PreventionRecreation#HappyHormoneNursing care facility
♪ Original Song – Shizukuiro – Shizukuiro
Smiling is said to have tremendous benefits for health and the brain, but many people may find they don’t smile unless there’s a reason.
Here, let’s try a recreation activity where you deliberately practice smiling.
By experimenting with different kinds of smiles or, for example, gifting a smile to those with birthdays that month, your spirits will naturally lift.
Smiling also relaxes your facial muscles, and there may be nothing bad about it at all.
Please give it a try at least once.
Gymnastics that creates laughter
It’s an “exercise that generates laughter.” Much depends on the recreation leader’s skill, but even just letting your wrists flop and then stopping them sharply can bring the house down.
Watching seniors laugh so joyfully makes us feel happy too.
The video also provides lectures on tips for making people laugh and what to communicate to help care for the body, so please watch it carefully and give it a try.
Soran-bushi exercise
This is a simple exercise incorporating the Soran Bushi, a Hokkaido folk song that is well-known throughout Japan, and it can be done even while seated.
Because it’s a famous folk song, doing the moves while singing may make it more enjoyable to get people moving.
The standard choreography has been simplified so participants can build strength with minimal strain.
Since performing the choreography properly and building the body are important, we recommend practicing with a slower-tempo version of the song.
Another key point is that by explaining the lyrics and the meaning behind the choreography, participants can also learn about the local culture.
