Training together to combat loneliness: Feeling at 70 like you did at 30? Seniors stay fit with rollator yoga
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Health is a valuable asset – especially in old age. To ensure that things are as good as possible for as long as possible, your own attitude towards getting older is a big factor.
On a sunny spring day, Tatjana Fanneß turns into the castle park in Köthen with her walker. The 72-year-old doesn’t live far away and often goes for walks in the park in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. Today, however, she and her companion on wheels have something special planned: they are going to do rollator yoga for the first time.
“This is not a competitive sport,” explains trainer Kathrin Fritzsche at the beginning of the lesson. She then asks the seniors – the oldest is 97 years old – to close their eyes, feel into themselves, breathe and let their joints rotate. Anyone who has one sits on a rollator. If you can walk without a walker, just sit on a chair.
Yoga, says Fritzsche, who has been running a studio in Köthen for a year and a half, is not just good for one hour a week, but is real help around the clock. Standing is not the same as standing, and the posture of the head is not the same as the posture of the head. Fritzsche wants to motivate the participants to exercise, raise awareness of conscious posture and also ensure that they make contacts outside of their living environment. The idea for rollator yoga came to her from her parents, whose motivation and exercise became less and less over the years, says the yoga trainer.
Your own attitude is crucial
In old age, the psyche and expectations of old age have a strong influence on physical health, says Aline Schönenberg from the Medical Faculty of the University of Halle. “Anyone who assumes that aging can be influenced and is proactive recovers better from illnesses, for example – studies show this,” says the psychologist, who primarily researches well-being in old age.
The best way to stay fit is to do what you enjoy, the expert recommends. “I can register for a Sudoku round, but if I don’t really like it, I won’t go there. If I prefer to have a coffee with the nice neighbors, be in the city, have some fresh air, that’s just as good because I’m really putting it into practice – and that also helps my body and mind.” In general, it’s good to do something with others to make people work together. “Combined with sport – even better, killing two birds with one stone.” It is important that the activities fit what the body and mind can still achieve.
Community against growing old
Social interaction is therefore crucial to staying healthy for a long time. If it is missing, people can become lonely. Loneliness is also a common topic in nursing, says Frieder Weigmann from Diakonie Mitteldeutschland. The problem is described, for example, when the children live far away, but also when they live in the nearest big city but the parents can no longer drive a car and live in rural areas.
However, Schönenberg emphasizes that it is not especially, or even just, older people who are lonely. “On the contrary: people over 65 are more active than ever.” High loneliness rates are more likely to be seen in young people, around 40 years of age – then the rate decreases again. “Among people in their early 60s to around their mid-70s, the rates are among the lowest anywhere. And then in old age, when your health declines, it becomes more difficult again.”
When it comes to offers for older people, for example in Thuringia or southern Saxony-Anhalt, there is a clear difference between town and country, says Schönenberg. “There are many contact points in the city. In rural areas, these offers are still missing in many corners.” Diakonie does not have good structural answers to loneliness either, according to Weigmann. “But where it is possible to create spaces and times for encounters, it is received very gratefully.”
Pensioner Fanneß ends her yoga class on her walker in Köthen with a big grin on her face. “I also do sports at home in front of the TV, but this is really great. As you get older, you have to move, otherwise you get stiff,” says the 72-year-old, who has lived in Köthen for 50 years. “I feel like I’m 30, I’m up to any shit,” she says, grins and says goodbye. “See you next time.”
This way you can stay fit even as you get older
With age, everyone develops many ailments – the body becomes weaker and can no longer do as much as it could 10 or 20 years ago. This is a natural process and should not scare you. However, you can counteract this to some extent and keep your body fit even in later years. You don’t have to be a fitness professional to do this:
For physical fitness, it is enough to exercise from time to time. Even at an older age, you still have plenty of opportunities to do this. Even with small things, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, you can become stronger and stronger again. An optimal exercise program in old age would be a combination of 60 percent Endurance training 30 percent training from agility and agility and ten percent Strength endurance training (a combination of strength and endurance that trains different muscle groups with low weights and high repetitions). In addition to physical fitness, we would also like to recommend a balanced diet. This is particularly important for your immune system, but also for your general well-being. Get advice to find out what the perfect diet looks like for you. Your mental health also plays a role here: you should work through stressful events with therapists. Maintain relationships and make sure you spend little time alone. Take time to work through conflicts. Remember that only a happy mind is a healthy one.
dpa