PACE GNO Begins Tai Chi Program
PACE began holding a Tai Chi class at the Shirley Landry Benson PACE Center at St. Cecilia as a pilot program for the State of LA Thursday, June 28, 2018. Lori LeDuff, Physical Therapist at PACE GNO and Alecia Oden, Occupational Therapist at PACE GNO, returned from Baton Rouge last week after becoming certified instructors in Tai Chi for fall prevention, seated Tai Chi, and Tai Chi for arthritis. They will participate in a study with the state of LA on fall prevention.
“Mind-body exercise, such as Tai Chi, is a type of physical exercise that combines physical and cognitive-stimulating activity. Tai Chi focuses on tranquility of mind to achieve longevity through meditation and life style modification. It is an alternate form of aerobic exercise with moderate intensity. Aerobic exercise can delay age-related brain atrophy, increase cerebral blood circulation, and stimulate neural cell regeneration. As an activity to promote cognitive stimulation, the meditation component of Tai Chi can improve attentional focus and executive function through learning a series of choreographed movements in continual sequence. As well, engaging in Tai Chi exercise in group settings allows elderly persons to maintain social contact with others, which can further benefit cognition through stress reduction and peer group support.
Systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies have reported Tai Chi training can improve general cognitive performance, memory, attention, language, and executive functions in older adults, including people with MCI. Effective management of IADL is dependent on memory, attention, and executive functions. Tai Chi can be conceived as an appropriate exercise for elderly persons to preserve cognitive health and functional abilities.”*
Classes will be regularly scheduled and held in the Wellness Center at the PACE GNO Eastbank Center.
*U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health – pub. 2018, Feb. 2; Mei-Yi-io and Diane T.F. Lee