Variety of Benefits of Ergonomic Gymnastics for the Elderly to Maintain Fitness at the End of Life

JAKARTA - Maintaining physical health at old age is a challenge in itself, especially in the face of the risk of degenerative diseases. As one of the practical solutions, light intensity exercise is now starting to be widely looked at because it offers various positive impacts on body fitness.

Ergonomic gymnastics is the right choice. The benefits of this gymnastics for the elderly have been proven to be very diverse, ranging from optimizing the circulatory system to maintaining the stability of purine levels or uric acid in the body.

Holywings Group through the Holywings Peduli program also held a mass ergonomic gymnastics activity at Helens Night Mart Ampera, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, May 17, yesterday.

The activities focused on helping to lower uric acid levels were carried out in the context of welcoming National Senior Day which will be commemorated on May 29. More than 150 participants from the elderly community from Ragunan Village, South Jakarta, seemed enthusiastic about participating in the event.

As for Roida, who acted as an instructor, explained that ergonomic gymnastics is highly recommended for the elderly group because of its safe movement structure and minimal risk of injury.

According to Roida, the ideal duration for doing this gymnastics ranges from 20 to 40 minutes per session. In order to get optimal results, this physical activity should be practiced consistently several times a week.

"This ergonomic gymnastics is designed to be safe and easy to follow for all ages, especially the elderly. If done regularly, at least 2-3 times a week, it can help reduce joint pain complaints and maintain the stability of uric acid levels," said Roida.

Furthermore, he explained that the benefits of ergonomic gymnastics for the elderly are not limited to joint and gout issues. This light exercise is also effective in improving muscle flexibility, improving posture, maintaining fitness, and improving the quality of sleep at night. The regular series of movements are also claimed to be able to improve breathing patterns so that the body feels much more relaxed and energetic.

Another advantage of this gymnastics is its practicality which does not require complicated attributes or facilities. Participants do not need special costumes or expensive sports equipment. According to the instructor, people just wear comfortable clothes, can absorb sweat well, and do not limit the body's movement when practicing movement by movement.

"There is no special costume in ergonomic gymnastics. Participants just use comfortable clothes, absorb sweat, and do not limit body movements. This gymnastics also does not require special tools, so it is quite practical to do at home or in groups," added Roida.

In addition to providing a positive physiological impact, this physical activity carried out together is also proven to provide good psychological stimuli for the elderly. Moving actively in a sense of togetherness is considered effective in reducing stress levels and triggering a sense of happiness through the release of hormones in the body.

"When someone is actively moving or exercising, the body will release hormones such as endorphins and serotonin which are often referred to as happiness hormones. These hormones help improve mood, reduce stress, and make the mind feel calmer," said the instructor.

In addition, the Chief Commissioner of the Holywings Group and Chairman of the Holywings Peduli CSR Program, Andrew Susanto, emphasized that this initiative is a tangible manifestation of his commitment to supporting the improvement of the quality of people's health. His party deliberately chose this type of gymnastics as the main program because he saw the urgency of maintaining the health of the elderly who are vulnerable to physical disorders.

"We want to be closer to the community and provide benefits that are immediately felt. This ergonomic gymnastics is one of our efforts in supporting a healthy lifestyle, especially for the elderly," said Andrew.

In addition to facilitating joint sports and education of healthy lifestyles such as understanding low-purine food menus, the organizers also distributed a number of stimulus assistance to the surrounding community, including fogging equipment to anticipate environmentally based diseases, tables and chairs for public facilities, lawn mowers, to the provision of health check tools to support the operation of Posyandu and Posbindu in the surrounding area.