We are a group of retirees aging from 60-80+. Yoga keeps us physically + mentally fit. We meet for coffee /outings to keep us socially active and alleviate loneliness and isolation. Modern technology means we need a laptop.
Description
We are a group of retirees who enjoy yoga instruction, with a registered tutor, every Tuesday morning in Saltcoats Town Hall. We have 25 members, all over 60, most over 70 and several over 80 years of age. Our current hall cannot accommodate any more than 25 and this is a sufficient number for our tutor to oversee safely. We operate a waiting list and we are inclusive of all retirees. Our group has been going for almost 20 years. Yoga keeps us physically active and improves our strength,flexibility, stamina and balance, which is imperative as we age to keep us from falling. Yoga also helps us menally, by coping with stress, when we do our breathing exercises and relaxation at the end of each class.
Many of our members are now widowed or dealing with the illness of a partner and have consequently lost much of their social life. We have one member who is registered blind and several who are hearing impaired. This all leads to isolation and lonliness. Covid has had a massive effect on many of us but we set up a WhatsApp group to enable us to keep in touch via phone calls and messages and to offer support when we need a shoulder to lean on. We like to have coffee meet ups and/or lunches which allows us the time to talk together and find out if anyone is going through a rough time and perhaps needs some support. We also try to have a day trip and a Christmas Dinner each year. This allows us to the have the time to just enjoy a day or an evening out together to have fun. As we all know the cost of living is increasing rapidly and we live in an area of deprivation, so to be able to fund some get togethers and outings means a great deal to those who are no longer able to work.
We are all finding that technology is moving too fast for us, but as a group, we are there to offer assistance, if possible, and try to figure things out between us. We struggle sometimes with so many things having to be done online i.e. applying for funding, making bookings, accessing menus or information and even at times trying to make a GP appintment or order prescriptions. It's getting more difficult to access hard copies of forms and menus etc. Even when shopping ' It's all online' we hear them say. A laptop of our own would make things much easier .as phone screens are too small for to see and are difficult for those with arthritic fingers. We could hopefully learn together, and from one another, how to use a laptop effectively and erase the need for paper copies to be printed thereby helping the environment too.
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