Programs

Vintange Music Therapy for Memory

Care Center Resident Visiting

Caregiver Resources Group

Health Chats

Coming Fully Alive Presentations to Groups

Kathy, 44 "...my mom loves the music - she sings along, she remembers when the songs were new... I'm amazed at how much she knows..."

Our new DVD
"Laughs and Brains"
is an hour program of laughter therapy
and can be used by care centers,
home care agencies, and groups of older adults.

Coming Fully Alive as You Age

The following courses are listed by subject, followed by a list of suggested session groups. All of these courses can be adapted for Assisted Living so that the attendees may remain seated.

Music and Pets

All music memory sessions may include sing-a-longs. In addition, these sessions can be modified for Assisted Living, including the use of chair movement to the music.

• Who Sang It? Music from the 1930's - 1960's: Guess who sang old songs which make you smile with memories. Competitions and prizes.
• What Movie Was it?: Themes and famous songs from the movies.
• Who Sang It? Music for Seasons: Become nostalgic with songs about different seasons.
• Who Sang It? Love Songs (Valentines): Love songs and poems through the ages, emphasis on 1930's - 1960's.
• Graduations memories: Songs they played at your graduation dances, emphasis on 1930's - 1960's.
• Dancing through the decades: Dance songs from the 1920's - 1970's.
• Holiday songs: Irish songs for St. Patrick's Day, Winter/Holiday songs at Christmastime
• Songs from the Television series
• Place songs
• Emotion songs
• Songs about / by girls / guys / groups
• War years songs
• Birthday Songs & Songs About Specific Persons: Custom for each group/session
• Music and Our Memory: Explore the reasons behind our remembering the songs of our youth, and how recent research uses music as the most powerful treatment of dementia and Alzheimers.
• Music from the Heart to Feed the Soul: Explorations in traditional and improvisational music with the Native American flute, Irish Whistle, and frame drum.
• Therapy of Pets: Tickle your funny bone and warm your heart with stories of the healing value of pets. Share your own pet stories, learn about therapy pets and pet training programs.

Joy and Humor

• The Power of Humor: Uplifting of spirit; use of humor; enjoying the
  present moment; looking at the positives in our lives.
• Laughter and Jewish Humor: Enjoy Yiddish humor and share favorite Jewish comedians' stories and jokes.

Brain Fitness

• Laughter and Brain Fitness: Learn how laughter, exercise, rhythm, and meditation affect memory and brain functioning. Practices and exercises.
• Brain Fitness Alive!: Incorporates related brain fitness exercises into the four courses Finding Meaning in Life, Being Fully Alive, Aging as a
  Journey, and the Power of Humor.
• Brain Fitness: A fun, interactive workshop or series of 4 classes based on the work of Susan Diamond.  Learning, discussing and activity for maintaining optimum brain fitness as you age.

Exercise and Movement

• ABCs of Fitness: Write your own ABCs to fitness and nutrition; variety of fitness exercises and practices; behavioral change measures.
• Meditation, Movement and Dance: Try meditation styles in a supportive context, extend this time into movement and dance experiences.

Visitation Training

Home Visitor training with special emphasis on listening to the legacies and stories of seniors and Helping the Homebound to Come Fully Alive (4 classes or one six-hour workshop). Click here for more information.

Environment

• Introduction to Elders as Earth Advocates: Explore the idea of Tikkun Olam, the healing of the world, and what elders can do towards sustainability and to help rebalance the earth. Identify opportunities for civic engagement.
• Most Important Things in Life: “The most important things in life aren’t things.” Discover true passions. Discuss slowing down, minimizing waste and consumption of resources, teaching others to do it, being a role model.
• Simplicity: Discuss and share ideas about voluntary simplicity, the works of Jose Hobday and Duane Elgin on different kinds of simplicity.
• Where Do We Go from Here?: Brainstorm Green Action ideas; gifts of nature; de-cluttering; growth in awareness.
• Brain Fitness and Healing the Environment: Benefits of studying the environment, landscaping and gardening on brain fitness.

Listening, Legacies, and Writing

• Memoir Writing and Journaling: Two hour class that describes these two different personal writing styles and gives participants the opportunity to write in both styles. You can expect to find which style better suits you for the moment and when to use the other one.
• How to Make a Legacy: Identify what is important; questions to get you/the interviewee going, active listening skills.
• Making a Legacy: (optionally Videotaped) (Optionally Recorded) interviews. Excellent for gifts!
• Capturing our Life Stories: Guidance in reflecting on our life often brings back forgotten memories and meanings. Join us as we create and share our stories with others, get to know ourselves and peers in a more intimate way.
• Journaling to Find Positives: Explore various approaches, including Open and Free Writing, in order to discover positives of aging and how to become a "sage."

Booming and Beyond

• Finding Meaning in Life: Finding purpose; living life to the fullest; being versus doing; positive aspects of aging; becoming a "sage."
• Being Fully Alive: Meditation; care of the body and self; coping with physical limitations; finding a passion for life.
• Aging as a Journey: Finding hope; letting go of expectations; making sense of suffering; forgiveness and healing.
• Aging as a Spiritual Journey -- Going Deeper: Achieve balance in later life; moving meditation/sign cho do.
• Creativity and Aging: Explore creativity in later life with the works of Gene Cohen and Julia Cameron.
• Rituals in Later Life -- A Path to Developing Inner Life: Rituals to transform ordinary experience into a means of growth. Examine our everyday lives and then explore the potential role of ritual in life celebrations.
• Relationships -- Communication and Intimacy: As we age, we realize that our key values center more around relationships and less around acquisitions and professions. Enhancing our
  communication skills with friends and loved ones.

Assisted Living

• Cultivating Joy: Learn how attitudes affect your feelings and emotional state of mind. Practice
  affirmations and gratitude.
• Communication in Later Life: Enhance communcation skills with loved ones and caregivers. .
• Spiritual Balance in Later Life: Experience various ways of keeping balance spiritually, including a moving meditation practice (Sign Chi Do).
• The Gifts of Age: Develop new views of aging, emphasizing the gifts rather than the losses, hope rather than suffering.
• Simple Abundance: Develop ways to be aware of blessings in the present, to reminisce in healthy ways about the past. Use a gratitude journal.
• Living with Passion: Explore ways of teaching by example. Discuss living with passion and pursuing your passion.
• Advocating for Yourself: Learn what you CAN do. Avoid learned helplessness. Exercise power through letter-writing. Share stories of inspiring elders.
• Leaving a Legacy: Begin to develop your spiritual legacy. Answer the question, How is the world better because I have been given the gift of a long life? Learn about writing down or taping your legacy. (See also the subject Listening, Legacies and Writing above)
• Transitions: Review your life, noticing special transition points and reflecting on how you survived them. Consider skills for making transitions.
• Elders as Earth Advocates: Explore ways elders can help heal the earth.
• Coping Skills in a Crazy World: Make sense out of everyday events by focusing on gratitude, blessings, hope.
• Self-forgiveness: Consider aspects of your life which need the healing of self-forgiveness.
• Wisdom of the Later Years: Harvest your life experiences.
• Creativity and the Brain: Explore Gene Cohen’s work, create something in class.
• Balance and Fall Prevention: Learn the importance of preventing falls and discuss suggestions. Practice balance techniques.

 

Below are suggested courses for grouping into multiple sessions.

Coming Fully Alive as You Age

• The Power of Humor
• Finding Meaning in Life
• Being Fully Alive
• Aging as a Journey
• Laughter and Brain Fitness

Creative Aging for a Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit

• Laughter and Brain Fitness
• ABCs of Fitness
• Creativity and Aging
• Aging as a Journey
• The Power of Humor

Looking Forward, Looking Back

• Meditation, Movement and Dance
• Journaling to Fine Positives
• Rituals in Later Life -- A Path to Developing Inner Life
• Relationships: Communication and Intimacy

Elders as Earth Advocates and Partners with Youth

• Introduction to Elders as Earth Advocates
• Most Important Things in Life
• Simplicity
• Where Do We Go from Here?
• Brain Fitness and Healing the Enviromment

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