When you have Parkinson’s, staying active is one of the best ways to manage your symptoms. While It’s not entirely understood why, something about consistent intense exercise that keeps your heart rate up and lungs filling with deep breaths has a profound effect on reducing tremors and stiffness, improving balance, mental health and more.
With the cooler Canadian months already upon us, it’s important to begin planning how to stay active indoors. One silver lining of exploring indoor workouts is the chance to try new exercises! We’ve done a roundup of exercises for you to consider trying until the warm air returns and the buds sprout once again.
Indoor cycling
Using a stationary bike in the comfort of your own home, in a gym or at a spin class offers you the kind of high-intensity exercise well suited for improving your Parkinson’s symptoms. With plenty of benefits, Canadians living with Parkinson’s are choosing cycling more and more often.
Read How to Get Started with Cycling to learn more about the benefits of cycling, the steps to take to get started, and the annual events where Canadians impacted by Parkinson’s gather to raise funds and celebrate their cycling successes.
Aquatic exercises
Canadians living with Parkinson’s can benefit in many different ways from doing exercises in the water. The therapeutic effects of warm temperature water on the body’s muscles and experiencing buoyancy and weightlessness gives us a chance to move our bodies and practice exercises like “sit-to-stands” with minimal fall risks and with less fatigue on our muscles.
Support groups are excellent sources of information and a great way to connect to others in the Parkinson’s community who may be a source of information, referrals and experiences in your area. Connect with your local support group to see if anyone has been involved with aqua fitness in your area.
Another option for finding an aqua fitness program is to reach out to your local YMCA or recreation center about what is available in the area.
Have access to a pool but no programs running specifically for people with Parkinson’s? Here are 10 exercises you can do in shallow water over the winter months to keep your body moving and feeling better.
Yoga
While not typically thought of as an exercise that gets the heart racing, don’t underestimate the benefits of committing to a consistent yoga practice when outdoor activities are limited during the winter months.
Yoga is one of those exercise options that meets you where you’re at and can be modified in limitless ways to work for you. Many people with more advanced Parkinson’s still participate in chair-yoga, a modified yoga practice done while sitting in chairs or holding onto chairs to eliminate the need for good balance.
Unlike some other workout options that require equipment (like a bike) or a facility (like a pool), yoga is easily accessible. Whether you’d like to travel to a local studio, try a class through your local recreation center or tap into a virtual class from the comfort of your home, yoga only requires your willingness to experiment with new movements in your body.
Parkinson Canada works with wellness partner Elisabeth Kolenko, a registered yoga instructor who specializes in providing yoga classes for people living with Parkinson’s. Feel free to reach out to her with any questions you have about how to get started with yoga this winter.
Dance
Not only does dance get the blood flowing and the feel-good endorphins pumping through your body, dancing has shown significant usefulness for people with Parkinson’s who experience a freezing gait.
Watch our webinar on dancing with Parkinson’s to learn everything you need to know about its benefits, how to get started, and to see how its changed people’s lives.
Note this webinar was an information-packed hour-long session. The recording begins a half an hour in, where the benefits of dance are discussed, with everything you need to know to get started, and it ends with a personal video of Cyndey, someone with Parkinson’s demonstrating how dance immediately and drastically solves a difficult moment of frozen gait.
If you’re interested in trying dance as your winter go-to workout, Parkinson Canada’s wellness partner, Dance for Parkinson’s Network, can point you in the direction of your nearest class, or help you tap into virtual classes to do from home!
Boxing classes
Boxing brings out an inner strength we sometimes forget we have, especially when facing a progressive illness like Parkinson’s. There is something empowering about throwing a punch and having the strength to do it with some follow-through.
Like yoga and dance, boxing can be done with minimal equipment and can be accessed both in-person or virtually. We encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zones when it comes to trying new exercises, so make time to spar with an imaginary opponent!
Parkinson Canada works with wellness partners Boxing 4 Health and Rock Steady Box. You will find both very helpful when seeking out where to get started with boxing this winter.
Stay active this winter!
Cozying up with a good book and a blanket with a hot beverage is an undeniable pleasure during the cold Canadian winter months. It can be a challenge to find the motivation to get up and moving. However, remaining active is critical to your health, so if you haven’t dabbled in stationary cycling, aqua fitness, dance, yoga, or boxing, this is your year to try it!