[For Seniors] Spice Up Your Usual Oral Exercises! Patakara Exercises and Tongue Twisters

If Kamepatakara Song Exercise

Why not try some mouth-area exercises to the tune of the children’s song “Usagi to Kame” (The Hare and the Tortoise), which every Japanese person has heard? It’s simple: change the lyrics “Moshi moshi kame yo” to the syllables pa-ta-ka-ra and vocalize them.

Once you get used to it and feel more comfortable, add hand claps or foot stomps.

Doing multiple movements at the same time turns it into a dual task, which can also help train your brain.

You can do it anywhere, and doing it before meals is especially effective for preventing aspiration.

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Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra alternating counting exercise

“Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra Alternating Finger-Counting Exercise” #shorts #ForSeniors #CarePrevention #PreventiveExercise #PreventiveGymnastics #BrainTrainingExercise #BrainTrainingFingerExercise #FingerExercise #DementiaPreventionExercise #DementiaPrevention #OralExercise

Let me introduce a very simple exercise that also trains your brain: the alternating Pa-Ta-Ka counting exercise.

What you do is very simple! Say “pa” while raising the index finger of your left hand and keeping your right hand in a fist.

Next, say “ta,” raise two fingers on your right hand, and make a fist with your left hand.

Then, say “ka,” raise three fingers on your left hand, and make a fist with your right hand.

In this way, you alternate between your left and right hands while counting.

By having your brain process speaking and finger counting at the same time, multiple stimuli are sent to the brain, which is expected to help prevent cognitive decline.

Give it a try!

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Patakara Exercises – Oyome Samba (Bride Samba)

Mouth warm-up exercise 6: Let’s sing “Oyome Samba” using the syllables pa-ta-ka-ra (with a dual-task).

Let us introduce you to the fun Patakara exercises performed to the tune of Hiromi Go’s classic hit “Oyome Samba.” Strengthening the mouth muscles improves your ability to swallow food and helps prevent aspiration.

First, sing the song normally to check the music and rhythm.

From the second verse, replace the lyrics with the syllables “pa-ta-ka-ra.” If you can manage it, move your hands in rock–paper–scissors (fist, scissors, open hand) at the same time; doing multiple actions simultaneously can also provide brain-training benefits.

Aim to do this at least once a day.

It’s especially recommended before meals.

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Upward Patakara Exercise

Boost your swallowing power dramatically! Upward-facing Patakara exercises – Oral Care Channel 542 (Oral Care Channel 2 #215)

When your swallowing ability declines, you’re more likely to choke, and food or saliva can more easily enter the airway by mistake.

If this leads to pneumonia, it can have a major impact on your health.

To help prevent such aspiration, we’d like to introduce the “Upward Patakara Exercise,” which strengthens your swallowing ability.

It’s very simple: just pronounce “pa-ta-ka-ra” while looking up.

Doing only this can strengthen the muscles around the mouth and help maintain and improve your swallowing function.

Doing it before meals helps prepare your mouth, and continuing daily can make it even more effective.

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Gymnastics with reversed words

For seniors! Mouth exercises with word play [Moriya City, Ibaraki Prefecture]

Some older adults may have fewer opportunities to interact with others and thus have fewer chances to talk.

Speaking uses the muscles of the mouth, tongue, and cheeks.

When these muscles weaken, it can affect articulation and make swallowing during meals more difficult.

For this reason, why not try simple oral exercises such as palindromes or tongue twisters? A palindrome is a sentence that reads the same both forward and backward.

Well-crafted sentences like these may be entertaining for older adults.

Tongue twisters are made up of words that are hard to pronounce—give them a try.

Practice difficult words repeatedly to train your muscles.

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Nakajima Junko

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Gymnastics to the song “Antagata Dokosa”

[Oral Exercises for Seniors] Super Funny and Fun: Antagata Dokosa

Let’s try doing oral exercises with the children’s song “Antagata Dokosa”! It should be easy for older adults to engage with since it’s a familiar tune.

Change every “sa” in the lyrics to “pa,” add hand claps, and open your hands wide as you go.

Pronouncing “pa” with the lips firmly closed helps prevent food spillage and drooling.

Some older adults may be hesitant to do oral exercises while singing at first.

It’s fine to do it within a comfortable range—such as together with a few other older adults—so please enjoy giving it a try.

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Nakajima Junko

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A-I-U-Be Classic Exercise

[Recommended for Autumn and Winter: Mouth Exercises] A-I-U-Be Exercises × Classical — Gymnopédie Chill MIX ♪ Infection Prevention Measures / Exercises for Older Adults

Let’s add a touch of classical music to the “AIUEBE” mouth exercise used to help prevent colds and influenza.

You can use a slow, gentle melody like Gymnopédies, or a classical piece that older adults enjoy.

Doing the exercise to one’s favorite classical music makes it more enjoyable for seniors, too.

Move your mouth widely to the melody—“a, i, u, be”—and stick your tongue out and lower it.

This exercise is especially recommended in dry seasons like autumn and winter.

Give it a try!

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Nakajima Junko

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