Chinese Exercises for Seniors

Swinging the Arms

Stand up straight but relaxed with legs spread to shoulder width. Place the tip of your tongue against the palate and relax your arms at your side with fingers open. Begin by swinging both arms up in front of you to about the level of your navel. Then swing them down and backwards. Keep doing this for somewhere between 100 to 200 times. As fitness improves, you can increase the number of repetitions as high as 500. Try to keep the whole body relaxed while you do this exercise, swinging the arms not overly rapidly or slowly, somewhere around 50 swings per minute. This fitness exercise for seniors will help improve digestion, circulation and promote a general feeling of health. It also may prevent a typical malady of older age, frozen shoulders or stiffness in other areas.

Half Squatting

Start as above standing straight and relaxed but with the feet at a natural separation. Take a step to the left with your left foot and bend from the knees and hips as you do so going to a half-squat position. At the same time, bend your elbows and press your hands towards the floor. Move up and back to the starting position, then do the same with the right foot and squat. Repeat this between 8 and 10 times. This should improve your hip and knee joint flexibility as well as make the legs stronger.

Hitting the Arms and Legs

To stimulate and improve circulation in the peripheral circulatory system, sit down with your legs crossed. With the right hand, slap the upper left arm, then use the left hand to do the same to the right arm. Follow this with similar slaps to the thigh and lower legs with both hands at the same time. Repeat the whole sequence for about one minute. It is one of the easiest of the Chinese exercise programs for seniors.

Handling Two Chestnuts with One Hand

You can do this exercise while standing up or sitting. Put two small rubber balls or marbles (or chestnuts if you have them) in the palm of your right hand. Move them around with your fingers for two minutes, and then switch to the left hand for the same time period. This particular fitness exercise for seniors helps to improve circulation in the arms, hands and fingers.

Resources

Zhui, Dahong. Chinese Exercises & Massage for Health and Longevity. (Vancouver, B. C., Hartley & Marks Publishers, 1998).