Stand Taller And Stronger With This Simple Sequence
Americans have a posture problem. Whether youre hunched over a computer, phone, book, or even a plate of food, we spend too many of our waking hours in the same position: shoulders rolled forward and neck sloping toward the ground.
This not only affects us physically, but also mentally. Healthy postural alignment is vital to the functioning of our whole body and mind, says Terecita Ti Blair, the 2017 SilverSneakers Instructor of the Year. Standing tall can have an effect similar to forcing yourself to smile. By looking up, we are meeting the world with our eyes, she says. Good posture can also aid in breathing more efficiently, which can help a number of systems function more smoothly in the body.
The following yoga poses can help improve posture and, as a result, reduce muscle aches, fatigue, and the strain that often comes from sitting for long periods. These movements also help strengthen the muscles in the back of the body and open up the muscles in the front of the body, providing postural support and creating more room for deeper breathing.
Try to do these poses three to five times per week, if not daily. Youll start with mountain pose, which helps you find grounding, and then return to it between each move to ensure youre stable on your feet.
How To Qualify For Silversneakers
Unfortunately, Original Medicare plans dont cover a SilverSneakers membership. SilverSneakers is considered a gym membership or fitness program, and the Medicare website explicitly says it wont cover those.
However, there is the chance that a Medicare Advantage plan will cover it. A supplemental plan could also cover the SneakerSilvers program. The SilverSneakers website says the program is covered by one in four Medicare programs, though the organization doesnt specify if this is 25 percent of Medicare Advantage plans or 25 percent of all Medicare plans.
You can check if your Medicare Advantage or Medigap plan covers SilverSneakers on the programs website. You can visit that same link if youre in the market for a Medicare Advantage or Medigap plan and want to find one that include SilverSneakers in its coverage.
Beginner Yoga Pose #: Mountain Pose
Hold the pose for 5 breaths
How to do it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Roll your shoulders up, back, and down.
Check your posture. Your head should be up, and your chin should be parallel to the floor. Ears should be over your shoulders. Shoulders should be over your hips. Knees and toes should be pointing forward.
Stand tall, feeling your feet rooted to the floor. Breathe deeply for five breaths.
Make it easier: Do the pose sitting tall in a chair with good posture. Want more tips? Check out our guide to mountain pose for beginners.
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Staying In Shape And Feeling Good Is Important At Any Age
Do you want to:
- help improve your blood pressure and bone health?
- better manage conditions such as diabetes or arthritis?
- take advantage of exercise and activity options at the gym, in classes and through videos at home?
- meet other active folks and make new friends?
Start Your Yoga Practice Safely And Confidently With These Poses You Can Do Standing Or In A Chair
Can one workout improve your breathing, posture, flexibility, balance, and mood?
Absolutely.
Even better, what if you can do it without any experience or equipment, and you wont have to get down on the floor?
Convinced?
Get to know these five yoga poses that are perfect for beginners and older adults. All you need is yourself, some clear space, and a chair if youd like.
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Beginner Yoga Pose #: Hands To Heart
Do 5 reps
How to do it: Stand with your feet together. Roll your shoulders up, back, and down.
Reach your arms out and overhead, bringing your palms together. If youd like, gaze up at your hands. With palms together, bring your hands in front of your chest. Thats one rep. Do five reps.
Make it easier: Do the pose sitting tall in a chair with good posture. If its uncomfortable to lift your arms overhead, lift them out to your shoulders, and bring your palms together in front of your chest.
Beginner Yoga Pose #: Lateral Bend
Hold the pose for 5 breaths per sideHow to do it: Stand in mountain pose. Press down through your feet, and reach your arms overhead. If youd like, gently grasp your right wrist with your left hand.
Inhale, and then exhale as you reach your arms and torso to the left, feeling a gentle stretch on the right side of your body. Return to center, switch the position of your hands, and repeat on the other side. Hold the pose for five breaths per side.
Make it easier: Widen your stance for a little more balance, or do the pose sitting tall in a chair with good posture. If its uncomfortable to lift your arms overhead, rest them on your hips or keep them down by your sides.
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Active Lives For The Healthy Aging
The YMCA offers Active Older Adult fitness and aquatic classes to help senior citizens stay strong and independent. We also offer social events and activities at both of our locations. Contact , Active for Life Director, at 269-459-4856 for more information.
Arthritis Aquatics
Designed to help with increased flexibility, mobility, range of motion, muscular strength, and endurance, along with trunk stabilization and balance. An instructor will lead you through exercises that have been approved by physicians and physical therapists.
Class Locations
- Portage
Arthritis Aquatics Deep Water
Designed to help with increased flexibility, mobility, range of motion, muscular strength, and endurance, along with trunk stabilization and balance. Exercises have been approved by physicians and physical therapists. Participants must be comfortable in all depths of the pool classes use both shallow and deep ends.
Class Locations
- Maple
Classic Strength
We’ve combined components of Enhance Fitness® and SilverSneakers® Classic to offer a chair fitness class that focuses on exercises to enhance activities of daily living. Classic Strength is a no-impact/low-intensity cardio, strength, and balance class that uses hand weights, resistance bands, ankle weights, and small balls. Not all of the equipment listed is used for every class, instructor’s choice. This is a healthy aging-focused class however, adults of all ages and abilities are welcome.
Class Locations
- Portage
- Portage
Monday Tuesday & Thursday Ss Classes Meet In The Gym Please Park Up By The Gym And Sign
The SilverSneakers® Fitness Program* is the nations leading fitness program designed exclusively for older adults promoting healthy, active lifestyles through unique physical activity programs and venues. SilverSneakers Classes are designed for older adults and SS instructors receive specific training that focuses on working with and teaching senior adults.
With the SilverSneakers® Fitness Program, qualified individuals receive a free YWCO membership and may take advantage of all the YWCOs fitness, aquatics, and mind and body classes as well as the pool, weight room sauna, and whirlpool. Individuals interested in the SilverSneakers® Fitness Program can bring their insurance cards to the Athens YWCO to see if their healthcare provider participates in the SilverSneakers® Fitness Program.
*To qualify for SilverSneakers® individuals must be 65 or older.
SilverSneakers classes offered at the YWCO:
-
SilverSneakers Classic
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What Is Silversneakers
SilverSneakers is a fitness program that focuses on getting elderly people out of their homes and into the gym and their community in order to improve overall well-being, strength and social aspects in seniors.
The program was started in the early 1990s by Mary Swanson, who dedicated her career and life to help elderly people address their health and get in shape. Now, millions of seniors are enrolled in her program.
- More than 15,000 gym locations across the country
- All the equipment in the gym
- Amenities like pools and courts at the center
- More than 70 styles of classes offered by SilverSneakers with certified instructors
- Online resources that include diet and fitness tips
In addition to fitness, SilverSneakers prides itself on creating a social environment for elderly people. According to a a member survey, 88 percent felt they have a better quality of life since joining, more than 90 percent said their health was good, very good, or excellent at the time of the survey, and 75 percent said theyve made friends because of the program.
According to a a member survey, 88 percent felt they have a better quality of life since joining, more than 90 percent said their health was good, very good, or excellent
Reaching For The Stars
How to do it: Stand in mountain pose with your feet, knees, and hips facing forward. Keeping your hips, knees, and feet facing forward, inhale and reach both arms up to the left as if reaching for an item on a high shelf. Exhale and bring that item across the center of your body and behind your right hip, twisting gently from your belly button to the top of your head but keeping hips facing forward.
Return to mountain pose. Repeat for three to five breaths, then repeat on the opposite side.
Make it easier: Do this movement as you sit tall in a chair.
Make it harder: As you reach up for the imaginary item, come up onto your tiptoes. Lower onto your heels as you exhale and twist.
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Fitness For Seniors In St Cloud Gym
Fitness CF believes in healthy living for everyone and that means being fit and active well into your senior years and beyond!
Silver Sneakers is a program designed for mature members to enhance flexibility, strength, range of motion, and balance. Exercises are led by certified experienced instructors who encourage everyone to work at their own level of comfort. Chairs are available for support or seated exercise for safety.
Hand weights, tubes, and a ball are often used during the class for resistance.
Stay active, be energized, meet new friends, and feel good inside and out! Visit our gym in St. Cloud to learn more about senior fitness options. Fitness CF St. Cloud also offers a free pass to help you get started.
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Our group of gyms are located in Orlando, in the Dr. Phillips area, Clermont, South Clermont, Mount Dora and Saint Cloud. We offer Fitness Classes, Spin Classes, Yoga, Personal Training, Child Care and much more.
Ease Stress Increase Flexibility And Build Strength With This Do
If you can spare seven minutes, you can melt away stress, stretch your whole body, and feel stronger on your feet. Thats the power of this quick yoga flow from Terecita Ti Blair, the 2017 SilverSneakers Instructor of the Year.
Your breath is a key component throughout the sequence. Breathing is vital to life and becomes especially important as we are moving our bodies through space and tapping into the mind-body connection, Blair explains. Breathing throughout the yoga practice creates stability and support as well as ease and fluidity.
Thats why youll return to your breath after challenging posesto help you stay relaxed after exerting effortand at the end, so that your body and mind can rest before you return to your day.
This yoga flow can be done anywhere and is easy enough on your body to do it every day, if you wish. Move at your own pace, and let your breath be your guide. Rather than thinking about perfect poses, ask yourself if you can breathe, Blair says. If not, make adjustments.
Ready to get started? You can follow along with the video above or read over the steps below to do it on your own. Remember: The yoga poses here may be different or more advanced than those youll experience in a SilverSneakers class. If you have a chronic condition , an injury, or balance issues, talk to your doctor about how you can exercise safely.
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Can I Join Silversneakers If My Medicare Plan Doesnt Cover It
No, this is a program that partners with Medicare plans only. SilverSneakers is funded through Medicare providers, and there is no membership fee you can pay in order to take part in the classes.
If you want to join a Medicare Advantage plan that covers SilverSneakers, you can switch from Original Medicare or your current Advantage plan during the Open Enrollment Period, which lasts from October 15 to December 7 every year. And if youre interested in getting physically active in your community but dont want to switch to a Medicare plan that covers SilverSneakers, contact a local gym or fitness center and inquire about the classes they offer for elderly people and their rates.
Beginner Yoga Pose #: Cactus Arms
Do 5 reps
How to do it: Stand in mountain pose with your arms at your sides.
Inhale, and reach your arms out and overhead. Exhale, and keeping your chest lifted, bring your arms out to your sides with palms facing forward and elbows bent 90 degrees like a cactus. Thats one rep. Do five reps.
Make it easier: Do the pose sitting tall in a chair with good posture. If its uncomfortable to lift your arms overhead, simply lift as high as comfortable.
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Where Is Silversneakers Offered
SilverSneakers has more than 15,000 locations at participating gyms, community centers, and fitness centers around the country. This includes some of the countrys largest chains, like LA Fitness, the YMCA, and Planet Fitness.
In order to find the SilverSneakers classes that are available in your community, visit the SilverSneakers website, enter your zip code on the map, and discover all your fitness opportunities.
If you have any questions regarding the SilverSneakers program, how to enroll in it and have it covered by Medicare, and where you can attend a class, visit the SilverSneakers website or contact your Medicare Advantage provider.
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How To Use These Beginner Yoga Poses
You can perform these poses standing or seated, and you can do them with or without shoes on. Choose what feels safest and most comfortable for you.
You pick one or two poses to try at a time, or you can do them together as a yoga sequence. Get your blood flowing by walking in place for five minutes, and then perform the poses, focusing on good form and proper yoga breathing. Repeat the sequence up to three times.
As always, safety is key. The yoga poses here may be different or more advanced than those youll experience in a SilverSneakers class. If you have a chronic condition , an injury, or balance issues, talk to your doctor about how you can exercise safely.
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Beginner Yoga Pose #: Cactus Arms Open And Close
Do 5 reps
How to do it: Stand in mountain pose with your arms out to your sides, palms facing forward, and elbows bent 90 degrees like a cactus.
Inhale, and bring your arms together, tucking your chin to your chest and rounding your back. Exhale, and open your arms and chest. Thats one rep. Do five reps.
Make it easier: Do the pose sitting tall in a chair with good posture. If its not safe for you to round your back, simply open and close your arms while keeping your torso still.
As You Age Its More Important Than Ever To Maintain Muscle And Bone Strength And Mobility And Being Fit Fitness Centers Is Here To Help You Maintain And Achieve Your Fitness Goals
We offer several discounted fitness classes tailored to active seniors, from Silver and Fit and Silver Sneakers to Pilates and Gentle Yoga. All of our classes are taught by specially trained and certified instructors, and are designed to help seniors stay fit and healthy. Each class focuses on improving muscle strength, range of movement, and cardiovascular health they are also a fantastic way to meet new people in the Mira Mesa area.
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Chest Expansion With Hands To Shoulders
This pose helps open up tight shoulders and chest muscles so you can breathe more easily.
How to do it: Stand in mountain pose with your feet, knees, and hips facing forward, arms at your sides with palms facing forward. Inhale, lifting your arms out to the sides with your palms facing up toward the sky. Your body will form a T shape.
Exhale, keeping your chin parallel with the floor and bending at the elbows to bring your fingertips to touch the tops of your shoulders. As you do this, move your shoulder blades down and together, and continue to lift your chest. Pause, then return to mountain pose. Repeat for three to five breaths.
Make it easier: On your exhale, keep your arms out to the sides in a T shape, expanding your chest without bending your elbows.
Make it harder: Make this a moving meditation. Inhale arms out to a T shape, exhale to touch your shoulders, inhale your arms back out to a T shape, and exhale back down to mountain pose. Thats one round. Do three to five rounds, moving with your breath.
Guide To The Silversneakers Program
Your physical health is a primary concern at any age, but it becomes especially important as you transition into your elderly years where health concerns, doctors visits, and prescriptions can pile up. All of these factors can inhibit your ability to stay active, but its as important as ever to remain physically active and engaged as you age.
SilverSneakers does not sell sneakers, nor does it provide you with sneakers to use.
In fact, your doctors will likely encourage you to be more active, because exercise and healthy eating can help as part of the treatment plans for many of the most common conditions found in elderly people.
These conditions include:
As a way of encouraging physical activity in the elderly, the program called SilverSneakers was created in the early 1990s. Well now discuss this free program and its benefits in addition to how you can qualify and enroll in it.
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SilverSneakers is a fitness program that focuses on getting elderly people out of their homes and into the gym and their community.
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