Pilates For Seniors

The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Yogamigos Pilates For Seniors

Anyone who’s been to or watched a pilates session might think it’s a little bit too intense for the senior citizens of an aged care facility, but think again! Yogamigos are specialists in teaching pilates to seniors. We believe everyone should be able to enjoy the health benefits of pilates, so we’ve modified traditional workouts to suit the physical needs of seniors. We frequently get asked about our pilates for seniors, so we thought we’d let you know a bit more about it.

How Do Yogamigos Modify Our Pilates Sessions For Seniors?

We use gentle movements. While the techniques we teach still promote strength, flexibility, and balance, they’re far more gentle. We focus on deep breathing and slow deliberate movements in our seniors’ pilates classes so we can teach older people how to exercise safely.
Chair and standing pilates for seniors. We try to tailor our Yogamigos pilates sessions for each group. We have standing pilates techniques and exercises that encourage sitting in a chair so that seniors with all levels of mobility can enjoy the session.
Plenty of communication. We make sure we’re regularly checking in with our seniors to ensure they’re feeling comfortable. Our instructors consistently watch for body language between verbal check-ins that indicate someone might need to take a minute to rest.
We teach people how to listen to their bodies. Understanding and listening to your body is one of the most important things we teach in our seniors’ pilates classes. We encourage people to take their time doing the exercises and sit and rest when they think they need to.

Some FAQs About Pilates For Seniors

As experts in pilates for seniors, the team at Yogamigos are always answering questions about our classes. We’ve compiled some of the most frequently asked questions here.

Is pilates good for osteoarthritis?
Yes, Pilates is an excellent exercise for sufferers of osteoarthritis. It’s a low impact exercise that focuses on muscle strength, posture, joint movement, and flexibility. Because pilates encourages circulation, it relieves soreness, aches, and pains associated with arthritis.
Does pilates teach mindfulness?
Not in the same way that the Yogamigos yoga and mindfulness classes do, but pilates does teach mindfulness to a degree. We teach deep breathing techniques and encourage people to focus intently on their body in the present moment, erasing all other chattering thoughts.
What are the benefits of pilates?
Pilates for seniors helps to improve both physical and mental health. It can;
Tone and strengthen muscles
Improve flexibility
Alleviate joint stiffness and soreness
Improve posture
Provide stress and anxiety relief
How often should seniors do pilates?
For a well-rounded exercise routine, we’d suggest a weekly pilates class combined with bi-weekly yoga, weekly mindfulness, and a weekly aerobic exercise. If you’d like to organise yoga and mindfulness classes for seniors, Yogamigos can help.

How Can You Organise A Seniors Pilates Class?

Organising a Yogamigos pilates class for aged care facilities, retirement villages, and nursing homes is straightforward.

Find a time for the class. First, you need to allocate a 30-60 minute time slot for a mobile Yogamigos pilates instructor to come out and host a session. We’d recommend hosting a pilates session at least once a week so residents can get the most out of them.
Contact Yogamigos. We’ll provide an experienced, professional pilates instructor to run the class. Make sure to let us know how many people will be attending and how long you’d like the sessions to run. If we’re unable to come to the aged care facility, we can run the class via an online Zoom session.
Help us tailor our session. At Yogamigos, we believe pilates should be accessible to everyone, so we incorporate gentle movements and focus on standing pilates for seniors. Those unable to stand for extended periods are welcome to join from the comfort of a chair. To provide the very best pilates session we can, we ask that you let us know the physical abilities of the residents participating so we can tailor the lesson to meet their needs.
Set aside a space for the class. You’ll need to provide each resident with around 2sqm of space, so they have room to move without knocking their neighbour. We can run the session in a recreational space like the lounge room, dining room or garden.
Reduce distractions. We find that running the yoga sessions generally take place in the communal lounge room and recreational space. So it’s great if we can schedule your chair pilates sessions outside of mealtimes.

How Much Does Seniors Pilates Cost?

Gifting your residents with tailored pilates and wellbeing sessions is priceless! However, if you’re interested in the numbers, costs may vary depending on how many residents attend the class, the duration of the sessions, and the number of sessions you wish to book. The more sessions you book, the cheaper the rate. Here is a rough pricing guide below based on up to 25 people per session:

INTRO SESSION – One 1-hour session: $229 plus GST

WELLBEING BUNDLE – Six 1-hour sessions: $199 plus GST per session

ZEN BUNDLE – Twelve 1-hour sessions: $189 plus GST per session

Depending on your location and teacher availability, travel fees may also apply.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

All aged care services with Yogamigos are now provided by Vivatree, your one-stop shop for wellbeing and lifestyle programs in aged care centres. Vivatree offers wellbeing programs including chair yoga, seated dance, tai chi, sing-along sessions, live entertainment, art programs, and gentle fitness classes to ensure your community receives the best care and support.

For over a decade, Vivatree has been dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for Australia’s elderly population through movement, connection, creativity, and meaningful engagement.

Our team of caring, friendly, and highly trained instructors has a wealth of experience working with seniors, including those with varying mobility and cognitive abilities.For more information about Vivatree’s services, please visit the Vivatree website.

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