[Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
Many older adults probably do calisthenics every day, don’t they?
It’s important to make exercise a habit, but how about refreshing yourself occasionally with a different routine?
Doing exercises or dances that match the season can really lift your spirits!
Today, we’re introducing a health exercise for seniors related to this very day.
It can also be a chance to learn the meaning behind the day—something many people don’t actually know.
We’ll update this daily, so be sure to add it to your everyday routine and enjoy building your health in a fun way!
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- [For Seniors] Simple Rhythm Exercises: Recommended Songs and Routines
- Summary of exercises for seniors: introducing preventative care movements by body part.
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- [For Seniors] Find daily brain training. Today’s recommended brain workout.
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- [Recommended for seniors] Rejuvenating Rock-Paper-Scissors Exercise
- Let's extend our healthy lifespan! Care exercises to stay active and energetic forever
- For seniors: Enjoyable stick exercises. Easy workouts.
- [For Seniors] Stretching Exercises: Easy and Safe to Do
[Today’s Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors (1–10)
Autumn Song Calisthenics
Autumn is the season when it starts to feel chilly, isn’t it? It’s also a time when older adults may feel reluctant to move their bodies.
So how about trying a singing exercise with an autumn theme? If it’s a seated singing exercise, even seniors who find standing difficult can participate.
Autumn songs include pieces like “Tsuki” (The Moon) and “Donguri Korokoro” (Acorns Rolling).
By singing them during exercise, older adults can also get a sense of the season’s atmosphere.
In addition, exercising while singing can help activate the brain and relieve stress.
If you’d like, please use this as a reference and give it a try.
365-Step March Exercise
This is about moving your body energetically to the rhythm of Kiyoko Suizenji’s song “365-Step March.” By matching the powerful yet steady tempo characteristic of a march, you can put real strength into the exercises.
The routine mainly involves moving the upper body while seated in a chair, and by keeping proper posture in mind, it can lead to a full-body workout.
Incorporating steps and hand claps, and even singing along as you go, will make it more enjoyable to move—highly recommended.
Mito Komon Exercise
This is an exercise routine that moves the whole body to the theme song of Mito Kōmon, a staple of period dramas.
Because it uses a song everyone knows, the music itself is enjoyable.
Despite its powerful feel, the song’s gentle tempo is another key point; moving your body while catching the rhythm helps you generate strength.
Once you get used to moving along with the music, doing it while singing is also recommended, as it is expected to help improve cognitive function.
[Today’s Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors (11–20)
Patakara exercises in a spring brook
We’d like to introduce the Patakara exercise that you do while singing.
By pronouncing “pa,” “ta,” “ka,” and “ra,” the Patakara exercise helps train the muscles around the mouth and the tongue.
Some facilities have already incorporated it into their daily exercise routines.
Using a familiar song for older adults, such as “Spring Brook,” makes it easier for them to engage in the exercise.
“Spring Brook” has a gentle melody, making it especially suitable.
Choosing songs that reflect the season can also help older adults feel the change of seasons.
Why not try adding it to your usual exercise routine?
A-I-U-Be Exercises, Yokai Version
Let’s try doing the “Ai-U-Be” mouth exercise to a cheerful anime song themed around bright, upbeat yokai! Some older adults may have watched this anime with their grandchildren back in the day.
If the song feels familiar, it might make it easier to engage in the exercise.
The Ai-U-Be exercise is recommended for preventing mouth breathing, which can affect tooth alignment and lead to cavities.
By doing the exercise, the tongue’s position changes, making nasal breathing easier.
Adding a melody to a routine exercise may also boost motivation for older adults.
Please feel free to make use of this idea!
Aiueo mouth exercises for preventing facial sagging and wrinkles
When you talk with others, the things you’re worried about can get resolved and your stress can be relieved.
Older adults also have concerns and things on their minds.
Through communication with the people around them, we hope they can lead vibrant, lively lives.
The “Ai-U-Be” exercises are recommended because they strengthen the muscles used for vocalization.
Try adding exercises that open the mouth wide, stick out the tongue, and stretch the throat.
Once you get used to them, it’s fine to make adjustments, like matching the movements to a song’s melody.
Goo Choki Paa-ty (Rock-Paper-Scissors Party)
Shall we all try dancing the “Goo-Choki-Paa” exercise together—just watching it might lift your spirits! This routine is done standing, but it can also be done seated, so it can be adapted to the physical and mental condition of older adults.
Various animals and creatures appear throughout, and their movements are expressed with the hands and feet.
For example, a fist (goo) can represent a gorilla, and scissors (choki) can represent a crab—there are so many ways to communicate using just your hands.
Don’t forget to take a deep breath at the end to refresh your body and mind.
