An advent calendar is a December essential in the lead up to Christmas, but Age & Opportunity are offering a different type of advent calendar for older people this year. They have planned 24 days of seated and standing movement snacks for all abilities and motilities, kicking off on December 1st.
“It is often said that people find it difficult to find the time to exercise,” said Paul Gallier, Active Programme Assistant Manager at Age & Opportunity. “With our Movement Minutes Advent Calendar, we hope to show older people that including even small movement snacks throughout their day can have a positive impact on their overall health and well-being. A little a lot is a better than a lot a little. We hope that as many people as possible will join us to uncover a new movement each day up until the 24th December.”
Age & Opportunity is the national organisation that provides a range of opportunities for older people who want to get more involved in arts and culture, sport and physical activity, civic engagement and personal development.
The videos will be released every day at 11am on their Facebook page and will also be available on their website and YouTube channel. These movement snacks can be easily incorporated into daily life whether it is during the TV ad breaks, boiling the kettle or waiting on a bus and have the added benefit of keeping us moving better for longer.
Paul has been leading ‘Movement Minutes’ active sessions for older people on Facebook since the pandemic kicked off. The feedback on the sessions has been overwhelmingly positive. Usually there are three sessions a week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but December will be an extra-special month with 24 days of activity.
Paul and Barbara (Active Programme Trainer) will deliver a new movement snack each day until Christmas. Keep an eye on the Age & Opportunity Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AgeandOpportunity and their website https://ageandopportunity.ie/.
