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Experts believe that comic books are not
just for entertainment; in fact, they believe
that in difficult situations comic books en-
courage creativity and contribute to fluency,
greater observation capabilities, attention,
and concentration.
When the workshop was completed, plans
were made to include within the “Nuestra
Casa” magazine published at the residen-
ce, a comic strip written and designed by
those who collaborated in this initiative.
Yoga classes adapted to the retirees
Another workshop organized, with great
success, was the yoga classes given by
Carmen Gómez García “Renuka” one Fri-
day each month. About fifty people partici-
pated in the first session on 5 October.
These yoga workshops, adapted for the
elderly, are important because this activity
is very beneficial for health and well-being.
Practiced regularly, yoga exercises help to
improve mental, emotional and physical
equilibrium. In the words of the monitor,
yoga creates the “life-integrating bridge”.
It is quite normal for the elderly to feel stress,
anxiety, and frustration. This aggravates the
feeling of loneliness and abandonment,
and leads many elderly people to become
lethargic and to lack motivation to partici-
pate in their own lives except for covering
the basic needs for survival.
Very beneficial for health
Practicing yoga increases, in a natural way,
night sleep, allowing the nervous system to
relax and renew itself. Relaxing also helps
the brain to secrete greater amounts of en-
dorphins (the hormones of well-being, joy
and happiness), contributing to the equili-
brium of the mind and body.
In this first workshop, Carmen and her
students practiced very simple postures,
focusing primarily on the spinal column to
alleviate minor discomforts and correct bad
posture habits.
Breathing exercises were also performed to
improve lung capacity and relaxation, sup-
ported by concentration and visualisation
exercises.
The class ended with group therapy whe-
re residents were able to share their emo-
tions and feelings. The Director of Corpo-
rate Responsibility, Javier López-Galiacho,
gave Carmen, as a sign of appreciation, a
painting from Artedown, the special emplo-
yment centre
Carmen Gómez García has been a yoga
specialist for over the past fourteen years.
She is also a specialist in craneo-sacral
therapy, foot reflexology, quiro-massage
and reiki.