After four months of weekly sessions, Jan and Martin are enjoying the benefits of Love to Move.

The couple from Northwich, Cheshire have been part of a pilot scheme with the Alzheimer’s Society in Cheshire where Love to Move sessions have been running during the winter lockdown over Zoom.

Love to Move is a seated movement and cognitive enhancement programme based on fundamental gymnastics movements and is aimed at older people from 55 to 105. Love to Move particularly benefits people living with dementia or other cognitive disease.

Martin lives with early onset dementia (PCA) which affects his sight.

“Initially I was unsure whether he would be able to participate in the programme and whether it would be beneficial for him,” said Jan.

“He did find the first session quite challenging, and it made me more aware of some limitations he had – particularly in relation to fine motor skills and upper body flexibility.

“Our course leader, Nicole was quick to recognise his difficulties and worked with us on a 1:1 basis to overcome these.

“With Nicole’s constant praise and encouragement, Martin soon gained in confidence and we were able to work at our own pace adopting mirroring to aid his sight difficulties.

Despite early difficulties, Jan started to see Martin progress over the weeks with improvements with certain exercises along with his timing of movements with music.

“In such a short time, Martin has made really good progress with the activities which has had a knock-on effect in his everyday living. I have noticed how it has become easier for him to raise his arms when dressing and he is now able to fasten some smaller buttons. It also has a mood enhancing effect. On occasions we might have had a stressful start to the day, but Martin always leaves the session with a smile on his face!

“I enjoy the sessions too! They have really challenged my own thinking and I love sharing some of the activities with friends and family!”

Nicole, one of the British Gymnastics Foundation’s Love to Move deliverers added: “It has been a pleasure working with Martin and Jan.

“They join my class every week and they continue to practice in their own time different parts of the Love to Move programme.

“The encouragement and positivity from Jan helped Martin gradually build the flexibility and coordination skills needed to make everyday tasks easier.”

This week (17^th – 23^rd May) is Dementia Awareness Week. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, nearly 1 million people live with dementia in the UK and their families are struggling to get the support and care that they need and deserve.

The British Gymnastics Foundation has helped 440 people to come through the Love to Move training course to deliver the programme to thousands of people living with dementia across the country.

See more about our Love to Move programme below.

For the last two years, Robert and Marion from Brampton, Cambridgeshire have been enjoying the benefits of our Love to Move programme.

Love to Move is a group movement class that helps to improve strength, flexibility, finger dexterity, core stability and cognitive enhancement, particularly with elderly people, and people living with dementia, supporting independent living and a better quality of life.

In his younger days, Robert was a keen swimmer, water polo player and wind surfer and he later went on to volunteer and run swimming and windsurfing clubs in his local community. Unfortunately, in 2018, Robert was left with severe dementia after a knee operation. According to his wife, Marion, Robert did not know who she was or where he was and one of his knees was left permanently bent.

Robert’s condition was picked up by a doctor that Marion went to see. During one of Robert’s appointments, they were recommended to go and find relevant exercise classes and that’s where they came across Love to Move.

“I knew I was in the right place immediately,” Marion began. “There was a cheerful welcome and I found that I vaguely knew one or two people.

“It soon became a lifeline. Somewhere to discuss what had happened and not feel an outsider.

“Robert was always happier afterwards. It also helped him accept his plight. It helped him to go out with friends, as a couple we were able to go out for lunch. Something we had not done since his op.”

Towards the end of 2019, Robert’s condition deteriorated and when the pandemic struck in March 2020, all Love to Move sessions were suspended.

In response to the national lockdown, all sessions became available online on Zoom and our Facebook page.

“It was a relief when they started. They are good and they help make sure Robert does as much as he is able to.”

Although Robert’s dementia is very limiting, Marion and Robert continue to take part in the online classes.

This week (17^th – 23^rd May) is Dementia Awareness Week. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, nearly 1 million people live with dementia in the UK and their families are struggling to get the support and care that they need and deserve.

For every pound invested in Love to Move, there is a social return on investment of £28.24.

The programme is flexible and easy to introduce and our research finds that 100% of carers who have experienced Love to Move would recommend our sessions.

See more about our Love to Move programme below.

Before and during lockdown, the benefits of Love to Move have been felt by a couple in Cambridge.

George and Chris first started taking part in Love to Move in 2017, as part of a community class introduced in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

The seated programme helps people to keep active and healthy as they age; promoting mental wellbeing by enabling friendship to reduce social isolation; and creating opportunities for all to enjoy an activity through supportive networks.

At the time they joined the class, George was living with dementia and struggled physically and verbally.

Qualified Love to Move Deliverer, Kim Hall, said: “At first, I positioned George opposite myself in the sessions so that he could easily follow me. His partner Chris sat next to him to support him one to one.

“At first George couldn’t follow me at all so I would frequently work one to one with him during the session, working directly in front of him. This gradually began to change and eventually George did try and mirror the movements that he was able to do.”

Over time George grew to love the sessions that he and Chris attended regularly, often arriving early to chat and share stories with the other carers and individuals living with dementia within the group.

When Covid-19 hit in March last year, the Love to Move sessions moved online. With no device available to access the classes, George and Chris were unable to take part. It wasn’t until five months later that Kim was able to resume contact with them.

With lockdown still taking place, Kim decided she would take matters into her own hands: “I sadly discovered that George had deteriorated a great deal during the lockdown.

“I arranged to visit George and Chris at their home, working with George from his back garden, so as to maintain a safe distance from them, without any physical contact with them both. Chris would sit George on a chair by the patio doors and I sat in the garden to work with him.

“Chris was overjoyed when we found that despite George’s deterioration over the lockdown and the fact I hadn’t seen him for five months, that he reacted to the music from the sessions and the movements. Despite a break of five months, he remembered so much.

“We continued the weekly sessions from the garden despite the weather, with me sitting in the rain in a pop-up tent!”

George then unfortunately deteriorated further before testing positive for Covid where he was admitted to hospital for a month. Incredibly, George pulled through and is now back home, reunited with Chris, albeit on palliative care.

During the month in which they couldn’t see one another, Kim worked with Chris to help master Zoom, so that she could continue to take part in online Love to Move classes. This also meant that when George returned home, he too was able to listen to the sessions.

Love to Move has been shown to offer great benefits for those in palliative and end of life care, particularly for someone who has a real connection with the sessions.

“Chris initially propped the iPad up on the end of Georges bed so he could see and hear. At the beginning of the class George waved to everyone and joined in with little sections, even making some of the letters of the alphabet section with his arms managing the letter ‘L’ and the letter ‘T’ showing a ‘thumbs up sign’.

“To see them both smiling and sharing something positive with each other and others has been a very humbling experience.”

This week (17^th – 23^rd May) is Dementia Awareness Week. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, nearly 1 million people live with dementia in the UK and their families are struggling to get the support and care that they need and deserve.

We believe Love to Move can help to support this need. A recent study found that 100% of carers would recommend Love to Move – carers have found understanding, companionship and respite due to the programme.

After a year of doing Love to Move, Mike from Cambridgeshire has managed to develop his speech through regular engagement in the programme.

Mike, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia seven years ago, lives with his wife, Lesley near Huntingdon.

The couple started our Love to Move programme just after the first national lockdown last year. They have been taking part in weekly sessions with one of our deliverers, Kim Hall who has noticed a considerable improvement with Mike’s speech and physical abilities.

“Initially, Mike was very limited in what he could do,” Kim began. “He struggled with the rhythm, coordination and bilateral asymmetry sections however, he was still really engaged with the programme and with help from Lesley, he followed along with my sessions.”

“After a few months of taking part in sessions a few times a week, Mike began to verbalize in sections of the class. He began to sing some of the songs and began repeating words that Lesley and myself where saying. Mike then developed into being able to say words independently during the class. He began to find words for each letter of the alphabet particularly focusing on names and then countries and he can now independently say a word for every letter sometimes even managing two words. A few weeks ago, Mike actually said ‘I cannot find a word for that letter’, the first time I have heard him say a sentence!”

“Mike has now really improved physically. Lesley was previously a PE teacher so her support and input has been extremely valuable as we have pushed the boundaries physically with Mike.”

Lesley added: “Over the last few months, it has been noticeable that my husband is responding more to certain parts of the programme.”

“He actively listens to when the group are chatting; this being one of the few opportunities he has to ‘socialise’.”

“His enjoyment of the programme is evident in his concentration and his efforts to replicate the movements, actions and words.  He has always been a physically active person and this programme is helping to maintain this when other activities he used to participate in are no longer possible.”

This week (17^th – 23^rd May) is Dementia Awareness Week. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, nearly 1 million people live with dementia in the UK and their families are struggling to get the support and care that they need and deserve.

The British Gymnastics Foundation has helped 440 people to come through the Love to Move training course to deliver the programme to thousands of people living with dementia across the country.

See more about our Love to Move programme below.