Movers & Scarf Shakers

Time

4 3 2 1 Mid-Late Stages

Benefits

What you need

A selection of brightly coloured small scarves
Slow, uplifting music

Intro

This incredibly gentle, yet fun movement activity involves waving brightly coloured scarves to music. And it’s a great way to keep people active.

We’ve split it into 3 sections: a warm-up, main activity and cool-down. You can do these together or separately if certain movements suit people better. The beauty of this exercise is that you can be seated or standing and lots of people can get involved.

Just make sure that people don’t overexert themselves, especially if they have joint problems or other health constraints.

The Activity

Give each person a small, light scarf
Turn on the music and make sure everyone has a moment to enjoy the music and relax before they start to move
Begin with a warm-up, repeating each exercise with both hands as you go and encouraging everyone to follow your lead:**
Lift your scarf in your hand above your head and as you do, take a deep breath in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth and bring the scarf down to the floor
Throw the scarf above your head and catch it as it floats down; repeating this movement twice
Holding the scarf in the right hand, stretch out your left arm and then swirl the scarf around to the right and then around to the left. Swap hands and repeat
While seated, take the scarf in your right hand lift up your right leg and use the scarf to polish your shoes. Repeat this movement twice
Move on to the main section, remembering to repeat the movements on each side of the body:**
Put the scarf in your hand and start to clean the windows, in a circular motion from top to bottom and then back up again
Holding the scarf in one hand, wave it from side to side 4 times
Lift the scarf in one hand above your head and then down to the floor 4 times
Put the scarf in one hand and bend down to the floor as far as you can. Then wave the scarf from left to right 5 times
With the scarf in one hand, wave it above your head as you march on the spot (sitting or standing). Do this for 30 seconds
While seated, lift up one leg in front of you and rotate the ankle round to the right 4 times and then to the left 4 times. Swap legs and repeat
While seated, put your scarf in the right hand and lifting up your right leg, rub the scarf down the leg and back up again. Repeat this 4 times
Move on to the cool-down section:**
Wave your arms in the air and wriggle them all around Lift up your legs and shake them about
Gently shake your whole body, whether in your chair or standing
Lift your scarf in your hand above your head and as you do, take a deep breath in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth and bring the scarf down to the floor.
Repeat with your other hand