Love to Move is a chair-based, age- and dementia-friendly gymnastics exercise programme developed by the British Gymnastics Foundation.
Research published in 2016 based on the original Japanese programme concluded that it significantly improved walking speed. The programme has also been shown to:
improve cognitive function
help reduce depression in participants
improve balance and
improve the ability to undertake activities for daily living
The programme achieves this by carefully integrating gymnastic foundation skills, cognitive stimulation, and social interaction activities, all performed to music.
The movements used during Love to Move exercises help to develop coordination, balance, core strength and flexibility.
They can also enable new brain pathways to develop as well as stimulate old, undamaged but dormant brain cells to start working again, so great for neurological conditions and those with difficulty in producing coordinated movement.
It has a proven record of enabling a higher level of functioning including fall prevention and the ability to perform tasks like dressing, standing and moving more freely.
The full programme consists of the following key elements/sections:
warm-up
pulse raiser
alphabet activity
fine motor skills
clapping rhythms
spoken rhymes
strengthening
bilateral Asymmetrical patterns (fun co-ordination!)
movement through visualisation & cognition
games
partner work
social songs
a group finale and
cool down
The use of music is a big part of the Love to Move programme. Music can stir emotions in people of all ages, lifting people's spirits and bringing a fun atmosphere to a class.
Almost every part of Love to Move is based on bilaterally asymmetrical movement patterns. This is understood to benefit older people and those with dementia and mild cognitive impairment, by enabling the left side and right side of the brain to process information independently; thus improving cognitive function, coordination and the ability to carry out activities of daily living more independently.
Love to Move traditionally took place in care homes and community settings and was aimed at older participants. However, as knowledge of and research into the programme expands so does its reach and it is increasingly being utilised to support younger participants offering the opportunity for people with a range of conditions to access the benefits of the programme.
Find out more and try some videos at home on The British Gymnastics Foundation Love to Move Page.
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