Activities of SEI Movement Disorders Support Group

We are currently holding our monthly support group meeting on the second Monday each month at MonteVista Hills Healthcare Center at 11:00 am 1071 Renee.

Monthly luncheon is the second Saturday each month at the Pocatello Senior Citizens Center 437 No 6th from 12 noon to 3 pm.

We offer two boxing classes each week Poky4Parkys. One class is held Monday and Thursday at 9:30 am and the other is held Tuesday and Friday at 2:30 pm both at the Pocatello Senior Citizens Center 437 No 6th.

A Move and Shout exercise class is held each week at 5:00 pm on Tuesday at the Monte Vista Hills Healthcare Center 1071 Renee.

We have a therapeutic dance class for those with movement disorders on Thursday each week at 4:00 pm at the Sullivan Mobile Home Park 1935 So 5th.

Calendar

Activities of Southeast Idaho Movement Disorders Support Group

We are currently holding our monthly support group meeting on the second Monday each month at MonteVista Hills Healthcare Center at 11:00 am 1071 Renee.
Monthly luncheon is the second Saturday each month at the Pocatello Senior Citizens Center 437 No 6th from 12 noon to 3 pm.
We offer two boxing classes each week. One class is held Monday and Thursday at 9:30 am and the other is held Tuesday and Friday at 2:30 pm both at the Pocatello Senior Citizens Center 437 No 6th.
A Move and Shout exercise class is held each week at 5:00 pm on Tuesday at the Monte Vista Hills Healthcare Center 1071 Renee.
We have a therapeutic dance class for those with movement disorders on Thursday each week at 4:00 pm at the Sullivan Mobile Home Park 1935 So 5th.

Calendar

Poky4Parkys starting Monday December 2

Starting classes Monday December 2 at the Senior Center 9:30 am.

Move and Shout class November 10

Our class is growing. We have recently added Gay and Paul Kidd to our exercise class. Paul has Parkinson's and Gay comes to support Paul and to get in some exercise for herself. Last week we had Susan Bringhurst lead the class. She added voice exercises to some of her regular Yoga movements, a very good class.

Addition of boxing class for Parkinson's patients

Starting Monday December 2, 2019 we will be conducting boxing classes at the Senior Center 427 North 6th Avenue on the following schedule. The classes will be conducted two days each week. The enrollment is limited to 10 each class. The first class will be Monday and Thursday from 9:30 to 10:45. The other class will be on Tuesday and Friday 2:30 to 3:45. The classes will consist of instructions in boxing techniques and related exercises. Practice will be on regular boxing bags and punching bags. We are calling the class Poky4Parky

Monthly luncheon

Beginning September 28 the group began having a monthly luncheon gathering. The first luncheon took place on that date, Saturday September 28 at the Cotant Park picnic shelter in the northwest corner of the park. It was raining that day but the participants stayed dry under the shelter as there was no wind. We had a good attendance in-spite of the weather. It was decided that we would hold the luncheons each month on the second Saturday. We will tentatively hold them at the Pocatello Senior Citizens Center.

Monthly Meeting September 9, 2019

We had a presentation today presenting the activities of our support group now and coming up.

Statement from Davis Phinney:

There are a myriad of ways to get out and be involved in your community like joining a Parkinson's-specific exercise class, using your connections to fundraise, participating in a support group or growing your care team. Plus, new research shows that social connections are just as important as exercise for Parkinson's, so consider having friends over for dinner or attending a support group. No matter what form your community takes, it's essential to nurture and grow it so that you have a consistent support system in place.

Power for Parkinson's Move and Shout Exercise at powerforparkinsons.com also U-tube

Video of our dance class

In the future:

Monthly luncheon

Quarterly Activity

Anounced September 28, 2019 potluck picnic with biking or walking opportunity at picnic shelter in northwest corner of Cotant Park in Chubbuck

Change in time for dance class.

Starting with the dance class September 5, 2019 the Thursday class will start at 4:00 pm rather than the previous 3:00 pm start time. The location will remain the same at Sullivan Mobile Home Park at 1935 So 5th in Pocatello.

Therapeutic Dance Class August 1, 2019

We had a very good time at our dance class last night. Ivan and Linda from the regular dancers were there in support as they usually are. We really appreciate them. Something very special has been created with the support and the willingness to help that has been there from the beginning. Beginning in September the class will be moving to a 4:00 time due to a scheduling conflict (mine).

Classes

Activity exercise classes sponsored by our Parkinson's Support Group:

Therapuetic Dance Class

The dance class involves instruction and practice in dance movements emphasizing learning of dance steps to voice commands. Benefits include movement and exercise of the brain. Techniques of square and round dancing to benefit those with movement disorders of all types. It will be held Thursdays at 3:00 pm at Sullivan’s RV Park 1935 S 5th Avenue and will start June 6.

Move and Shout Exercise Class

The Move and Shout class is a group exercise program involving movements and coordination with voice exercises. Can serve as a follow-up group practice for LSVT BIG and LOUD therapy. It will be held on Tuesdays at 5:00 pm at Monte Vista Hills, 1071 Renee, Pocatello starting June 4.

Boxing Class - Poky4Parkys

The boxing class will include participation in group boxing activities with gloves and bags. Activities involve leg/foot and arm/hand coordination along with voice exercises. The boxing classes will be held on Monday and Thursday 9:30 to 10:45 and on Tuesday and Friday 2:30 to 3:45, location will be Pocatello Senior Citizens Center 427 No 6th Ave. The classes will start the week of December 2, 2019

July 11 Dance Class

We had another successful dance class last night. The regulars who come out to help us are very supportive and helpful. We really appreciate them! The five of us for whom the class was organized have attended every week. Would like to draw more people, it's on our calendar and is listed on the Idaho State Journal Community Calendar every week.

Passing of Brent Grigg

It is with sadness that we note the passing of Brent Grigg on June 29. He and his wife Darla Packer Grigg were the face of our Parkinson's support group for many years. We send our condolences to Darla and the family.

July 2 Move and Shout Exercise Class

July 2 Move and Shout exercise class

We had a very good class today with the three regulars in attendance, Dean, Kris, and Spencer. Susan Bringhurst visited the class to check us out on the types of exercise we do. She could help us develop additional exercise routines for the future.

June 11 Move and Shout class

The class was held today with two new people, one of them from MonteVista Healthcare Center. Dean Hazen didn't make it but he had a cold and got busy doing yard work. He'll be here in the future. We had a good class.

June 6 Dance class for therapy

We got off to a bit of a slow start for this class. The only ones who came were regular dancers from Steve Sullivan's group. However there was one Parkinson's person, two with Essential Tremors, and one other dancer with physical limitations. There were enough regular dancers who came to assist with the dancing that we were able to do regular squares. More will come in future weeks as the word gets out, I'm sure as they have been asking about the location etc.

June 4 Move and Shout class

We started our Move and Shout class today using the CD. Dean Hazen and I were the only ones there but we both enjoyed the class and felt it was a good and beneficial exercise class. We planned to continue the class with a possible rotation of the CD classes. The Power for Parkinson's group also has many classes on U-tube. See you next week.

June 10 Monthly Meeting Chris Owens Pharm.D

Our regular meeting on June 10 was also a very good meeting Chris Owens gave an excellent presentation on Parkinsonism and the medications used for the treatment of symptoms of Parkinson's. He had a handout that he gave us rather than a slide show presentation. It contained much good information about the medications and their uses in treatment. This meeting again was well attended with some new people as well.

June 3 extra presentation Patrick Nicholson MD

As Dr. Nicholson wasn't able to meet with us at our regular time, we held this extra meeting at 7:00 pm on Monday June 3. He gave an excellent presentation on Parkinson's and other movement disorders. There were many questions and we ended up staying after the regular meeting time. We had good attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy the presentation. A precursor to a start of some exciting happenings with our group with the launch of two exercise classes.

May 13 Monthly Meeting Kathy Olson, RN

We had an excellent meeting with Kath Olson today, everyone seemed to enjoy the activities and participated. She gave us information on Yoga as a benefit for Parkinson's patients. As she had reviewed the Move and Shout exercise material for me previously she conducted the exercises we did today like Move and Shout. As stated before everyone who was there participated and seemed to really enjoy the activity. We had a good number of people in attendance. It was a good meeting.

Calendar

To see the calendar click on the blue words here:

Current Calendar

In the calendar the items in blue are our support group sponsored activities and the other colored items are suggested community classes and activities that are available.

Support Groups

Support group

In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy.

Guiding ideals

The new classes are planned to begin in June and are based on the idea that for Parkinson’s patients: There is one proven way to help yourself and that is to be fit and exercise! Adding exercise to your routine will be sure to improve your overall health and sense of well being. Exercise is the one thing individuals can do to delay the progression of Parkinson’s disease! Time and time again research has shown the benefits of multiple forms of exercise.

The initial programs are anticipated to start the first week of June. We will offer three classes that vary with the type of exercise utilized. Our initial classes will be a dance class we are calling Therapeutic Dancing, a class called Move and Shout that exercises the voice along with the muscles, and a boxing class focusing on movement of feet along with arms.