Exercise Classes Go Online
April 12th 2020
Staying Active
A large part of the treatment of MS is symptom management and many people living with MS have impaired mobility. Many can experience spasticity which can be alleviated by gentle exercising and stretching. Whilst the pandemic continues and many people are self isolating, maintaining levels of mobility is something that can be difficult given the situation.
Research tells us gentle exercise can improve your mood, mobility, muscle strength, balance and general heath. This in turn reduces the risk of falling, can help with fatigue and alleviates anxiety and stress. The benefits of staying active and sustaining levels of mobility are obvious.
Exercises, stretches and balances (such as those found in Pilates) can be specifically adapted to the mobility and energy levels of people withMS. So when the group had to cancel face to face exercise classes during the current Covid-19 lockdown, we were keen to find a solution that was safe, maintaining the social element and offering the individuals participating in the class the opportunity to exercise.
Online Exercise Classes
After some trial and error and a period of trying to understand the technical aspects, we now have two weekly exercise classes .Our Pilates MS with Eve has moved from 1pm to 11am every Tuesday. Understandably we could not continue the weekly Aqua classes but we have asked Sophie to host a more general Exercise class every Friday at 11am.
No special equipment is required. Ensure you have a nice strong and stable chair to sit on and space around you in a safe environment. A couple of tins of soup, beans or whatever takes your fancy can be used as improvised hand weights. Having a stretchy long sock, a cushion or a toilet roll may come in handy too.
We have also made the classes free for the immediate future. We would love you to come online and participate and to do so you can download Zoom and we are sending an email invitation weekly to all subscribers.
Eve Firth-Blackbond, our Pilates instructor, has also produced a short online video specially for our Group. If you would like a copy then please email us halifaxcaldervalley@mssociety.org.uk