Eleven Seniors Get Up from the Floor in Workshop

47% of people over the age of 60 who fall cannot get from the floor.  As a health and fitness professional, that statistic alarms me.  I am well aware that one of the biggest fears facing older adults is falling and being stuck on the floor with no one finding them.  Are we so focused on preventing the fall that we forget to teach what to do after a fall???

Today I taught eleven older adults at the Woodland Community Center the skills they need to get up from the floor in my "3-Step Get Up" workshop.   I firmly believe that it's best to have a plan, one that you have practiced so if a traumatic event happens, you have a plan and feel confident doing it.

This group of older adults was excited about learning and did not hesitate to practice strength and flexibility exercises and get down on the floor so they could practice getting up again. 

The first step after a fall is to breathe.  Your brain needs oxygen now more than ever.  Focus on your body, breathe, relax.  A fall is a traumatic event.   We practiced breathing patterns and giving the brain what it needs for healthy function. 

I demonstrated several ways to get up.  It's important to see how to get up, to visualize yourself getting up, without injury, before doing it.  What's more important is to practice while you're able; before a traumatic event.   

Even though I specialize in teaching people how to NOT fall down, accidents happen.  I developed this workshop to teach older adults the skills they need to get up after a fall.   This is a lifesaving skill that everyone over the age of 60 needs to learn and practice now, before a fall.

Make Friends With The Floor

I read the greatest article in the PANC Parkinson's Disease newsletter, "The Parkinson's Path", called "Making Friends with the Floor".  As a brain-based balance and mobility specialist, I found the article absolutely spot on because as much as we try to prevent a fall, accident's happen.  

To 'make friends with the floor', author Dorothy Ross of Davis PD Support Group encouraged people to practice getting down on the floor NOW rather than wait for a fall to try to get up.  This is exactly what I have been saying in my "3-Step Get Up" workshops; practice getting down and getting up NOW, while you're able, so you know what to do after a traumatic event that lands you on the ground. 

Don't wait for a fall to practice getting up.  Make friends with the floor. Get down, roll around, do some ground-based exercises and then practice getting up.  Make this a regular routine.  If you want some floor-based exercises, contact me and I will help get you started. 

If you want to know how to practice getting up, watch the video in my blog,

"3-Step Get Up" Plan.   

47% of people who fall cannot get up without help.  Don't be a statistic.  Practice getting up now so it's not a traumatic event if you fall.  You've been there, you have a plan.  Your brain loves prediction and everything we do is to improve predictability.   

How do you improve predictability?  YOU PRACTICE A SKILL.  Getting up from the floor is a skill.  You can do it.  If you fall and have made friends with the floor, the event will not be as stressful and you will be able to function.  

Thank you Dorothy Ross for the article "Making Friends with the Floor".  I love the concept and will urge my clients and followers to do just that.