Minds in Motion is starting up again in Steinbach this February, connecting people who have dementia.
“It is a great time to come and connect with other people who are on the dementia journey,” says Meg Pfeifer-Brandt, Regional Coordinator for the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba. “We all get together, have coffee, and do some exercises. The biggest one that everybody enjoys is ball drumming, so we get those huge yoga balls and we get drumsticks and we have a great time banging away on those drums and it's just so much fun.”
Minds in Motion welcomes people with a diagnosis of dementia or mild cognitive impairment to come with their caregiver or a companion to exercise and socialize with other people on the dementia journey.
Pfeifer-Brandt emphasizes this program is not so much educational, and the focus is heavily on socializing.
“We want to use it as a time for people to come together, enjoy each other, maybe get to know some different friends and some new people. Not so much as an educational thing.”
She says they like to have fun, whether it be doing crossword puzzles, or playing games like giant Jenga and balloon volleyball.
“We tend to try and get things that help people be active in a physical sense and active in a cognitive sense.”
Anyone along the dementia journey, or caring for somebody who is, can feel quite lonely at times.
Pfeifer-Brandt says there can be a stigma surrounding talking about dementia, and people can find it difficult to relate to a person with a diagnosis.
“It's still a friend, it's still the same person, and it can be quite long and difficult to go through and very isolating.”
Minds in Motion is a place where people can feel welcome to just be themselves and not worry about the stigma.
“A place where we can be ourselves, enjoy time together, and find community.”
They try to keep it around 8-10 people, or 4-5 pairs, as they don’t want to feel crowded in the room as they do activities in the Pat Porter.
To learn more or to sign up, you can call the Pat Porter Active Living Center at 204-320-4600 or you can call Meg Pfeifer-Brandt at 204-326-5771.
It is $65 for the 8 sessions.
“But if you are not sure and you just want to come try it out, you absolutely can come and just give it a shot and see if it's something that you would like to do.”
Sessions start on February 7th, and run Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm.
With files from Judy Peters
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