Caring For My Body
The journey of a caregiver can sometimes begin unexpectedly and tumultuously, particularly in sudden onset of illness of the older person with little time to prepare for the caregiving role. The older person may also have changes in mobility, mood, cognition, personality and ability to perform daily self-care activities. At the same time, there are multiple duties that require attention and can be overwhelming for a new caregiver. Thus it is important to understand the various challenges and how you can care for yourself, while caring for your loved ones.
八段锦是中国古代发明的一种健身方法，由八个动作组成，故称八段锦。
八段锦有站式和坐式两种。站式八段锦的肢体活动较大，比较适合体质较为健壮的人士。坐式八段锦的肢体活动较小，而且是坐着锻炼，比较适合体质较弱（特别是下肢较弱）的人士。
有研究表明：坚持3个月以上的锻炼，可以降低血糖、改善血脂水平。坚持6个月以上的锻炼，可以改善心功能、增强肢体的肌肉力量。还有人研究：长时间锻炼，可以提高人体的免疫功能，还可以延缓衰老。
曹氏基金会的顾法隆中医师在古代坐式八段锦的基础上，进行适当改良，结合了对于一些重要针灸穴位的按摩，以达到健脑、明目、聪耳、强心、健脾、补肾的功能。这样更适合中老年人士，特别是体质较弱的老年人士进行锻炼。
华美坐式八段锦锻炼的注意事项：
1， 贵在坚持，每天锻炼一至二次。
2， 锻练时要专心一致，不要分心。
3， 不要在十分疲倦、刚吃饱饭或饥饿的情况下进行锻炼。
4， 锻炼时穿着的衣服要宽松。
注：以下视频摄于2014年
Caring for someone who needs help everyday can be a very daunting and challenging task. Here’s a simple mindfulness exercise which can help you to relax and develop a more positive sense of well-being.
不久前，我们上载了一段帮助看护者关爱自己的身体扫描放松练习视频。今天分享的视频是特别献给那些刚开始接触放松练习，或者会对专注于呼吸而紧张又或者因为快节奏生活而需要短暂放松的人。我们这次是通过五官，慢慢地让自己放松，体验内心的平静。请记得，我们的‘身’‘心’是紧密相连的，有着平稳的心境，我们也可以舒缓因长期压力而导致的一些病症与疼痛。
希望你能经常练习，也邀请你尝试我们其他的放松练习。
Mental well-being has been highlighted as an important element to look out for during Singapore's fight against covid-19, especially with the implementation of additional circuit breaker measures from 7 April 2020 onwards. The team from Hua Mei Counselling and Coaching hoped to support their clients and caregivers of older people thus they put together some caregiving tips in this video. The video comes with an additional Prioritising Activities Checklist which you can download below.
疫情期间，由于实施社交隔离措施，协助看护者的资源有所限制，而看护责任却更重了，大家正面对新的挑战。我们想通过这个视频与您分享如何简化我们的日常看护，减轻看护压力。相信通过整理我们的心情，选择适应新的方法，我们一定能克服难关，让我们照顾家中长辈的良好心意能持续下去。欢迎和我们交流分享你的经历和你尝试的新方法！
Stress is a common experience in the current society. It presents itself not only mentally and emotionally but also, physically (e.g. headaches and lower back pain).
Quite similar to Yoga and Tai Chi where they use breathing and movement to attain a sense of well-being and balance within the body, a body scan exercise can help us 1) be attuned to our body and its sensations in a non-judgemental way, 2) increase focus of the mind and 3) release tension within the body and attain a sense of well-being.
As caregivers navigate through their busy daily lives, with blurred boundaries, it is hoped that they could tap on such a method to release tension, increase their focus and recharge.
压力已变成现今社会一个普遍的现象。它也呈现不同的面向，心理方面，情绪方面，甚至是生理方面（例如头疼，背痛）。
身体扫描练习与瑜伽和太极有些相似之处。瑜伽与太极结合专注，呼吸与姿势调整，让大家培养良好平衡的身心。身体扫描练习训练我们 1）关切，不加以批判地察觉身体上的感受与压力 2）透过专注，呼吸与观想释放所累积的压力，从而得到良好的身心平衡。
与有固定下班时间的上班族相比，看护者的日常可能没有较为清晰的界限。因此，我们希望看护者能腾出时间，运用此练习释放，安抚并补充能量。
Having a good night's sleep is important, as it helps us to function well during the day, gives us energy to concentrate on our work and provide care to our loved ones at home. The COVID-19 pandemic has created many changes in our lives and may have impacted the quality of sleep for some of us. We may be asking ourselves on how it has affected us and what are the ways to improve our sleep during this trying period.
Our Clinical Programme Consultant, Dr Ng Wai Chong, will share his expertise on promoting quality sleep.
良好的睡眠对我们的健康非常重要。 因为它有助于我們在日间能够顺利运作,让我們能专注精神于我們的工作和照顾家中的亲人。
2019冠状病毒(COVID-19) 疫情带来的改变可能影响了我們的生活习惯, 同时可能间接地影响了我们的睡眠品质。 我們可能疑惑有哪些因素影响了睡眠, 可以采取什么方法对症下药改善它呢？
我們的临床项目顾问黄卫众医生将通过这个视频分享他的专业经验,帮助大家学习在疫情期间如何安眠。
由于需要长期照顾家人，许多看护者难免会感受到压力，在2019冠状病毒(COVID-19) 疫情期间，压力更大。时间一长，这些压力会对看护者造成身心的影响，例如头痛、 失眠、胃肠道不舒服和情绪不稳定等等。除此之外，看护者也可能因常常需要搀扶看 护对象而容易引起腰背部和肩膀部的肌肉或韧带损伤，造成疼痛。
同时，在疫情期间，拥有良好的免疫力也格外重要 - 身体强壮，抵抗力好可减低病毒 侵犯的风险。而看护者保持健康，减低感染病毒的风险，也是保护年长者的一个重要 环节。
我们特别邀请曹氏基金会华美针灸中医中心医药总监，顾法隆中医师和朱平中医师通 过这个平台和大家分享一些中医保健的方法，包括简单的自我按摩，帮助看护者缓解 身心问题和疼痛，以及如何通过食物与草药提升我们的免疫力。
看护者自我保健按摩（一）–《压力》, 笔者顾法隆中医师
看护者自我保健按摩（二）–《腰背痠痛、肩膀痛》, 笔者顾法隆中医师
疫情期间如何从食物与草药提升免疫力, 笔者朱平中医师
A balanced and nutritious diet is not only for people whom we care for – it is equally important for us caregivers too. To sustain yourself as a caregiver, one of the important areas is to have balanced and nutritious food to give us the energy, boost our immune system and improve our mental health.
Healthy Eating for Busy Caregivers
