Creative Yogance

for Healthy Aging

The body thinks, and the brain dances.
David Gere

Advance Research in Dance

Presentation by: Jacqueline DAmico
November 2017
 Definitions & Terms
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
Combination of nursing homes, assisted livings, etc.
Caters to seniors healthcare & assistive needs in later years of life

Anne Green Gilberts BrainDance

Holistic movement exercise targeting the physical, social, emotional, intellectual body

Geriatric
Older adults (aged 60+)

Chair-based Yoga
Inspired from the Baptiste methodology
Modified practice using a chair or other assistive devices as props

Quality of Life
Overall well-being
Encompasses positive & negative aspects of life
Includes physical, emotional, mental health
 Introduction
Background
Dance is for every body benefits the mind & body connection
Yoga as a physical & mindful practice to spiritual self-discovery
Improves balance, strength & gait, cognitive functioning, social interactions,
emotional well-being
Population
Older adults (65-75 years of age)
Rationale
Aging population is increasing rapidly
Increased need of quality of life interventions long-term care
Contribution to New Knowledge
BrainDance is under explored
Bridging the gap between two different movement practices creative dance &
yoga
 Purpose & Problem
Explore the BrainDance & Chair-based yoga as a
creative movement intervention in the geriatric
population
Review the BrainDance & Chair-based yoga in
literature and find the gaps in current study
Create a creative yogance curricula based on Anne
Green Gilberts creative dance lesson plans and adapt
the Baptiste yoga methodology for a chair-based
practice
Explain the future of and limitations of present
research
 Working Hypothesis

I hypothesize that the combined movement

intervention of creative dance and chair-based
yoga as compared to a single intervention of either
treatment will have a greater benefit on
promoting healthy aging practices for an older,
physically-inactive population
 Limitations
Few case studies and empirical-based research designs

Qualitative data & small sample sizes

Dance as multimodal challenging to measure &

assess

Delimitations
Time
Financial Support
Resources
 Method
Pilot study with a pre-post
intervention assessments
Quantitative & qualitative Questionnaires & Tasks
collection of data
Modified Timed Get Up and Go Test
Creative yogance (Gine-Garriga, Guerra, Mari-Dell'Olmo, Martin, & Unnithan, 2009) 6 items

movement intervention Sit to stand

Kick the ball
Use of survey & Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale (Schlotz,
questionnaires Yim, Zoccola, Jansen & Schulz, 2011) 23 items
When I fail at a task...
When others say something incorrect about me
Older People's Quality of Life
Questionnaire -Brief Version (Bowling, Hankins,
Windle, Bilotta & Grant, 2013) 13 items
I enjoy my life overall
I look forward to things
 Procedure
Informed Consent

Pre-intervention measures taken

Creative Yogance Program Example Session (30-60min)

1-2+ per week 1. Opening Seated Meditation
8-24+ weeks 2. BrainDance
3. Various chair-based
Post-intervention measures postures
taken 4. Standing structure-
improvisational movement
Debriefing & Further Benefits phrase
5. Verbal Reflection
6. Closing Meditation
 Thank you for listening!

Movement is the medium in which we live our lives.

Marian Chace

Any questions?
 References
Bowling, A., Hankins, M., Windle, G., Bilotta, C., & Grant, R. (2013). Older People's Quality of
Life Questionnaire--Brief Version [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t28733-000
Cruz-Ferreira, A.,Marmeleira, J., Formigo, A., Gomes, D., & Fernandes, J. (2015). Creative Dance
Improves Physical Fitness and Life Satisfaction in Older Women. Research on Aging,
37(8), 837-855. doi: 10.1177/0164027514568103
Dhami, P., Moreno, S., & Desouza, J. F. (2015). New framework for rehabilitation - fusion of
cognitive and physical rehabilitation: the hope for dancing. Frontiers in Psychology, 5,
1-15. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01478.
Gine-Garriga, M., Guerra, M., Mari-Dell'Olmo, M., Martin, C., & Unnithan, V. B. (2009). Modified
Timed Get Up and Go Test [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t23752-000
Hui E. Chui BT-k, Woo J: Effects of dance on physical and psychological well-being in older
persons. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2009;49(1):e45e50. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2008.08.006.
Hwang PW-N. The effectiveness of dance interventions to improve older adults' health: a systematic
literature review. Altern Ther Health Med. 2015;21(5):64.
Schlotz, W., Yim, I. S., Zoccola, P. M., Jansen, L., & Schulz, P. (2011). Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale
[Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t11928-000
Tew, G. A., Howsam, J., Hardy, M., & Bissell, L. (2017). Adapted yoga to improve physical function and
health-related quality of life in physically-inactive older adults: a randomised controlled pilot
trial. BMC Geriatrics, 17, 131. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-017-0520-6
Thornberg, K., Lindquist, I., & Josephsson, S. (2012). Experiences of healthy elderly participating in a
creative dance workshop. Advances in Physiotherapy, 14(2), 71-77. doi:
10.3109/14038196.2012.662696.
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life. International Journal of Yoga, 4(2), 4954. doi: 10.4103/0973-6131.85485