Non-traditional exercises and physical activities for seniors in the Laundry Community Center
10/05/2021
Photo: CSOP Prague 5 (as well as pictures in the article)
Caption: Exercises for seniors in the Laundry Community Center
The Prádelna community center in Prague’s Smíchov provides a rich program for all residents of the whole of Prague 5, a large number of activities are focused on active seniors. The need for exercise and movement are perhaps even more important in advanced age than in youth, the center offers seniors who have longer sports and health activities, including less traditional ones, “says Councilor JUDr. Petr Lachnit.
For several years now, gymnastics for seniors has been held twice a week in the community center under the guidance of a qualified teacher, Mgr. Marta Roubalová. This experienced trainer, herself also in her senior age, prepares very popular and suitably structured movement zones for visitors accompanied by music. There is a constant great interest in her lesson and it forms an integral part of the center’s regular program.
Table tennis, yoga and tai chi
In addition to gymnastics, there is a regular table tennis room, which records an ever-increasing number of people who test their strength every year in the traditional January SENiors Table Tennis Tournament.
Table tennis in the gym of the Community Center Laundry
For the fourth year, there are tai chi lessons and regular yoga classes. Tai-chi and yoga were the first “non-traditional” physical activities to offer seniors, and their response confirmed the seniors’ interest in less common exercises. Therefore, since last year, they have added stabilization exercise lessons with elements of yoga, which offer seniors dynamic exercises and strengthening under the guidance of experienced teachers.
Marietta dance ensemble
We must not forget the Marietta dance ensemble. Part of his training is also warming up and stretching for the public, interesting things are regular oriental dance workshops for joy, relaxation and health, which are women of all ages.
“So it’s really enough, but I still feel that the demand exceeds the capacity of our space.
Marietta dance ensemble
In today’s hectic and hectic times, these exercises not only help seniors slow down, stretch the body, calm the soul and maintain life stability. During their exercises, he pays great attention not only to his body, but also to his mind, which must pay attention to their strength, flexibility and comparison, “says councilor Lachnit, adding:
“Yoga and these related exercises are an ideal way to not only improve your physical health, but also tune your mind to mental well-being. The balance plays a very important role in the exercise. If we can manage it, we will strengthen the muscles very effectively, we will gain better control over our body and at the same time calm our minds. Keeping in balance helps us with the correct position of the body, focus on movement, but also the abdominal muscles, which help keep the torso in the right position, and are therefore key in maintaining balance. If you strengthen the body safely and securely, you will also improve coordination, which means that it will have a positive effect on the correct posture, but also on its functionality. This exercise can be recommended in the prevention of back pain. “
The right movement helps, advises JUDr Lachnit
“Old age is currently required by high morbidity – the issue of chronic diseases, deteriorating physical fitness and self-sufficiency dominates. This is demonstrably preceded by regular exercise and movement, as I have already disappeared. Exercise for seniors helps reduce morbidity and can keep them active for a long time. At the same time we can also the ability to learn, especially short-term memory and has an effect on quality sleep. It is clear that at a more mature age it is no longer appropriate to perform exercises and it is necessary to make sure that it is the most gentle and at the same time the most effective movement family.
Regular exercise helps seniors a lot
Seniors usually suffer from back and joint pain, high blood pressure, poor sleep and depression. But these are all difficulties that are largely caused by our way of life and lack of exercise. Proper physical exercise and proper breathing training can alleviate or even eliminate most of these difficulties. Today’s research speaks for itself. Movement in old age is not just a prevention, it is necessarily a necessity, not only for physical, but especially for mental health, which is usually a decisive factor in the overall satisfaction of seniors. According to surveys, Czech seniors show worse mental well-being compared to their peers from other countries, and also have reserves in sports and maintaining social contacts. Therefore, they should be a society-wide effort to incorporate appropriate movement that respects health restrictions into the daily lives of seniors.
In the list of positive benefits of movement, we must not forget the social aspect, when seniors find new friends in lessons, with whom they share and possibly develop other interests. I see this overlap almost every time during a visit to our Prádelna Community Center, where there is a truly natural community in which people feel comfortable, ”concludes the councilor.
Entered by: Markéta Vančová