We’re pleased to welcome yoga instructor Heather Tharpe to our Parkinson’s Fitness team!
“I began my journey as a yoga skeptic in the early 90’s. It took a few years to find the ‘right’ yoga for me. Once I did, it became my goal to find a way to draw ‘everyday people’ like myself to yoga.”
Participants in Heather’s class will learn basic yoga knowledge, postures, form and breath work, while building physical strength, flexibility and balance necessary to improve movement and posture, loosen tight and often painful muscles, and build confidence.
Comfort and safety are ensured by using a chair, wall, and other yoga props for individual variations and modifications as needed.
This newest weekly program is offered free of charge to participants. Classes are held on Wednesdays from 1:00 – 2:00 PM at the Hamilton Council on Aging, 299 Bay Road, South Hamilton.
Click here for a schedule of all Parkinson’s Fitness programs
Roy Alcalay, MD, assistant professor at Columbia University and medical adviser with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, states, “For people with Parkinson’s disease, yoga has been shown to increase flexibility and posture, ease stiffness, and possibly improve balance.”
According to Kaitlyn Roland, PhD, and yoga teacher at the Parkingo Wellness Society in Victoria, BC, Canada: “Stooping is common in Parkinson’s disease due to changes in muscle strength and balance. Becoming more aware of posture and strengthening the muscles that hold the body upright improves walking, balance, and even digestion.”
To practice the yoga “mountain pose”:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your back to a wall. If your heels don’t easily reach the wall, keep them slightly forward.
- As you improve, move the heels toward the wall.
- Press into your toes and heels at the same time to engage the arches of your feet.
- Draw your belly button in toward your spine and slightly up toward your ribs.
- Gently press the backs of your hips, lower ribs, shoulder blades, and head into the wall.
- Keep your head in line with your spine and tuck your chin slightly.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep for adults aged 18 to 64, and 7 to 8 hours for those older than 65.
An article in the February/March 2017 issue of Neurology Now magazine about the importance of getting adequate sleep and its affects on the brain relates that sleep “allows the brain a chance to do some much-needed housekeeping”. According to Jennifer Rose Molano, MD, FAAN, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, when we’re sleeping, our brain’s glymphatic system clears waste products that clog the brain by releasing cerebrospinal fluid that flushes toxins out.
So, overall, what can we do to promote better sleep?
The 2012 journal Sleep stated that people – especially women – with insomnia who exercise in the morning rather than in the evening averaged 70 percent better sleep. Dr. Beth Malow, professor of neurology and director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Division at Vanderbilt University in Nashville reports that researchers speculate that morning exercise sets the body’s clock for a day of activity and a night of sleep.
Avoid afternoon caffeine after 3 PM, whether from coffee, caffeinated teas, dark chocolate, or diet drinks.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine recommends eating a light dinner high in fiber and low in saturated fat.
Cool the bedroom temperature. If the room is too warm, it can interfere with the body’s natural temperature dip and promote restlessness throughout the night. Setting the thermostat around 68 degrees helps create an optimum atmosphere.
Avoid watching television, using the computer, reading a back-lit e-book, or using the telephone for 90 minutes before going to bed. The blue light emitted from an e-book suppresses melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone. When lying wide awake or restless in bed for approximately 20 minutes, leave the bedroom and do another relaxing activity in another room such as reading or listening to soothing music until feeling sleepy again.
Avoid over-the-counter sleep aids that contain diphenhydramine and doxylamine. Older adults who regularly use these drugs show more memory problems and appear to have a higher risk of dementia, according to an Indiana University study published in JAMA Neurology last April. NEVER USE SOMEONE ELSE’S PRESCRIPTION SLEEP AID!
This post can be particularly helpful for those of you who are care partners.
The video link below offers tips for assisting a person with Parkinson’s with getting dressed. Hopefully, the suggestions will help readers understand the frustrations that performing activities of daily living can cause all parties involved, and how modifications to clothing and methods of assisting may create less stress.
http://caremap.parkinson.org/dressing
Our dear friend, Winnie, proves over and over again the wisdom of this quote from C. S. Lewis:
“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.”
In her 80’s, Winnie participates in our fitness programs at the Danvers COA (almost always twice a week!), the Danvers YMCA, and at the Hamilton COA, too! She was a practicing member of our th
erapeutic drumming sessions where we also learned a West African Gahu dance, and currently she and her husband sing with our “Shake-It-Up Singers” music group in Beverly!
A quiet member, Winnie always has a smile and a twinkle in her eye!
And by the way, she and her wonderful husband, Bob, joined everyone at our bowling fundraiser too! 
This week, Strength-in-Motion instructor, Kim Crowley welcomed 11 people to our new Thursday-morning class at the Beverly Council on Aging! After introductions, it wasn’t long before the music was playing in the background and we were engaged in energetic movements that targeted our major muscle groups…all while still seated! Resistance loop bands and floor “slider” discs functioned as our equipment, and now we know why the class is referred to as Strength-in Motion!
Then, while up on our feet and exercising our way toward the end of class time, Kim introduced us to a few Salsa dance moves! And we DID it! Great way to feel!
Click here to see descriptions about this and other Parkinson’s Fitness classes
Have you noticed that some of the hardest promises to keep are the ones we make to ourselves? Lots of those promises come bearing the title “New Year’s Resolutions”. Truth be known, most of us could use some strategies for creating the motivation to KEEP those promises/resolutions that we know are important.
Take heart and take a look at these helpful tips from the National Parkinson Foundation! As for me, at this moment, three cheers for the dog in the cartoon!
“If people were meant to pop out of bed, we’d all sleep in toasters.”
– Jim Davis, Cartoonist (creator of “Garfield”)
Tips for getting out of bed: (http://www3.parkinson.org/site/DocServer/Practical_Pointers.pdf?docID=194)
1. Bend knees up, feet flat on the bed.
2. Roll onto your side toward the edge of the bed by letting the knees fall to that side. Reaching across with the top arm, turn your head and look in the direction you are rolling.
3. Lower feet from the bed as you push with your arms into a sitting position.
✦ A straight back chair anchored at the side of the bed or a bed rail can help you roll more easily.
A satin sheet or piece of satin material tucked across the middle of the bed can make it easier to turn over.
Flannel sheets and heavy blankets can make it more difficult to turn over.
Make sure the pathway from the bed to the bathroom is well-lit. A nightlight or a closet door left open with the light on works well.
Keep the bedroom floor clear of things that could cause tripping and falling. For example, don’t leave shoes, books or papers on the floor.
“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you find yourself.” -Mark Caine
“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
“A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you’re at home.” – Anonymous
“I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.” – Anonymous
“When nothing is going right, go left.” – Anonymous
“I did a push-up today. Well, actually, I fell down but I had to use my arms to get up – so, close enough!” – Anonymous
We’re pleased to welcome yoga instructor Heather Tharpe to our Parkinson’s Fitness team!
