Chair Chi

Don’t Keep Up – Keep On

One of the phrases I often repeat in Chair Chi sessions for residents in aged care is ‘don’t try to keep up – just keep on’.

I’ve found this eases the pressure to try and keep up with other residents and it helps them to perform at their own pace and physical capabilities.

Injuries can occur if residents try and keep up when they are unable to do so.

Sometimes residents will try anyway, so if I see any signs of discomfort I’ll stop them from doing the activity and repeat the phrase ‘don’t try and keep up – just keep on’.

I do have one resident who, regardless of what’s said, will try an activity she can’t do even though it causes her pain.

When that occurs I always say to her before the activity, ‘Now, Sue, don’t raise your arms above your shoulders – keep them lower’. And I’ll repeat that statement before every repetition of the exercise.

I suppose it’s human nature to try and keep up, but as a teacher of Chair Chi I have to ensure residents just keep on – and celebrate that as an achievement.

And celebrating their achievement is what I do at the end of each session!

Chair Chi Magic Moment

By Chris Leave a Comment

One of the residents at a recent Chair Chi session sat away from the group watching us.

After a little while he started to copy our movements which was pleasing. Eventually he got up, grabbed his chair and joined the group.

Towards the end of the session he left and I wondered where he had gone. Then he reappeared wheeling in his wife, who was in a wheelchair. They both joined the group. She sat watching and he again participated.

At the end of the session I said goodbye to the group and walked towards the door. He quickly followed me and said, ‘I’ve done Tai Chi before but I’ve forgotten the moves’.

I reassured him that the principles of Tai Chi and Chair Chi are the same and the movements he had forgotten are still there – they only need to be rediscovered’. He smiled and I reckon he’ll back for the next session

It’s great when a resident decides to join in without being asked.

They are always welcomed and I think what encourages them is the good Chi in the room.

Eddie’s Story

By Chris Leave a Comment

Eddie rarely moves while lying in his tub chair – he usually just watches or falls asleep during our Chair Chi sessions.

I always gently try to encourage him to participate, but for the past several sessions he had barely moved.

Then this day it happened! He moved his arms and legs – surprising and delighting one of the staff members watching nearby. It also delighted me, so I kept encouraging him and he began participating in the activities for much longer than in previous sessions.

Because I’m at this aged care centre only once a month for an hour of Chair Chi, I don’t fully get to know residents’ levels of physical ability or cognitive awareness. All I can do is observe and be guided by their reactions.

But when you get a staff member who knows the residents and reacts in the way this one did when Eddie moved, then I know I’m on the right track.

A Portrait

By Chris Leave a Comment

One of the residents at an aged care centre drew this portrait of me. He’d asked me previously to pose for him after one of the Chair Chi sessions I run for the centre.

I’ve never had the time to do so as I’m usually off to my next Chair Chi session elsewhere.

I suggested he draw a portrait of me from a photo on my website – and the next time I visited, I discovered he’d done exactly that!

He presented the drawing to me before our Chair Chi session and was very keen to find if I liked it. I said, ‘It’s great, thanks!’ Though words weren’t really enough to express how delighted I was.

We then had a brief conversation on his passion for drawing and what motivated him to start. We got so involved in our conversation that I found it difficult to stop talking and start the Chair Chi session!

But I managed to do so and he was smiling broadly, as one of the lifestyle staff wheeled him back into the circle with the other residents.

It’s moments like this that makes working in the aged care sector so very enjoyable.

I’m a Travelling Man ….

By Chris Leave a Comment

Recently I had an email from a director in an Aged Care organisation from New York (USA) inquiring about our Chair Chi Training Program – and that’s encouraging.

So far over the past six years, I’ve run aged care workshops for staff across Australia and in Christchurch, New Zealand .

One of my dreams (I have many) is to travel internationally and run workshops in various countries.

I’ve realised part of that dream by running Tai Chi early morning sessions for attendees in Nepal and Belgium at Appreciative Inquiry conferences.

And I’ve provided Tai Chi energisers as part of Appreciative Inquiry workshops delivered by my colleague, Sue James, at an international school in Qingdao, China.

Besides Chair Chi sessions for residents and staff training workshops for aged care, I’m planning to further develop my Sports Chi program locally and eventually introduce it internationally.

It’s going to take a lot of work to fully realise my dream but, as Confucius once said, ‘A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step‘.