The Bright Side

Seniors on the Move

Use it or lose it. So goes the adage and Leslie Eckstein of Studio Lakeville and Green Café is helping seniors at Noble Horizons to keep their strength and agility during the corona crisis.

She has been conducting twice-weekly ZOOM sessions with the elders, helping them to retain their balance, flexibility and strength during a time when most of the seniors have been shut in and isolated.

The sessions, which last a half-hour, have been growing in the number of participants and now may be increased in length. “I think they can go longer and they like the chat time,” she said. “My son, Jacob, has been helping by demonstrating the chair exercises and they like to see him and my dog.”

Indeed, the exercise sessions have been as much about social life as they are about physical well-being.

“I can see them and they can see each other on the screen,” she reported. “If someone doesn’t show up, they check on each other. I look forward to seeing them as much as they want to see me—I have gotten to know who has a sore shoulder and who has a bad hip.”

She said the thought of extending the service to Noble Horizon came to her when her gym was forced to shut down. She had to conduct classes online and create a new video every day. “When I started doing it, I thought I should do a video for seniors and beginners. Then I thought of reaching out to Noble Horizon to see if they would be interested and they said, ‘Absolutely.’”

She said doing ZOOM sessions was daunting at first for both her and the seniors, but that all have become comfortable with it. “They help each other and one of the men even helped me one day. We have been learning from each other.”

Eckstein said she will reopen her gym June 17th but that she will not stop the online sessions. “I will keep it going as long as they want,” she said.

The sessions are also available for anyone else on her Facebook page.