Chair Yoga With JASA

Name: Benjamin Winokur-Applebaum

Social Justice Group: The Rights of the Elderly

Date of Fieldwork: December 6, 2017

Name of Organization: JASA

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Various elders & chair yoga teacher

Type of Fieldwork: Direct Action

What I did: I went, with my group and Thorrun (Dora’s mother), to a JASA senior center on 24th street.  There, we all participated in a chair yoga class.  Chair yoga is stretching and movement, but in a chair instead of on the ground (because the seniors are frail and can’t get on the floor).

What I learned: I learned that the common stereotype that seniors are lazy and fat is mostly untrue.  A lot of seniors love to get out of the confines of their houses and stretch out with all of their friends together.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork: I learned how hugely important it is for a senior to get outside.  Since seniors are just as much human as adults and kids, they need physical upkeep as well, getting out daily or at least a couple of times a week is just as important to them as to us.  However, not a lot of seniors, or adults, know about this, so it is important to encourage exercise in older adults.