Are you in or near retirement age and navigating new waters? Are you living with a chronic health condition like diabetes, chronic pain, or cancer, or caring for someone else trying to manage this along with the rest of life’s challenges? Do you find yourself worrying about things like falling or getting injured due to changes in your body and how you are able to get around?
Any of these situations can be stressful, especially during this COVID-19 era. Region 2 Area Agency on Aging offers several easy-to-join, free, online workshops that help people just like you connect to others and learn ways to better manage your health and lifestyle concerns from the comfort of your own home. There are no age requirements for our Evidence-Based Programs, and anyone in Michigan can take our virtual workshops free of charge
Aging Mastery is a 10-session webinar series that aims to help baby boomers and older adults take key steps to improve their well-being, add stability to their lives, and strengthen their ties to communities. Expert speakers present on topics including exercise, fall prevention, sleep, financial fitness, advance care planning, healthy eating, medication management, healthy relationships, and community engagement. Sessions meet twice a week for 3 hours on Zoom.
Diabetes PATH is an interactive workshop that helps individuals with pre-diabetes or Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes improve how they manage their situation to cope and feel better. Topics include: monitoring and balancing blood sugar, creating meal plans, decreasing stress, dealing with difficult emotions, and preventing complications. Sessions meet 2.5 hours once a week for 6 weeks on-line using Zoom. Participants will need a webcam and a microphone to participate.
Chronic Pain PATH is an interactive workshop that helps individuals with chronic pain improve how they manage their situation to cope and feel better. Topics include: pacing and planning for optimal energy, dealing with difficult emotions, managing pain and fatigue, getting better sleep, eating healthy, staying active, and positive thinking. Sessions meet 2.5 hours once a week for 6 weeks on-line using Zoom. Participants will need a webcam and a microphone to participate.
Cancer PATH is for individuals with any kind of cancer. Whether newly diagnosed, in active treatment, or living beyond active treatment, this program helps survivors improve how they manage their situation to cope and feel better. Topics include: dealing with difficult emotions, managing pain and fatigue, getting better sleep, eating healthy, staying active, and living with uncertainty or fear of recurrence. Sessions meet 2.5 hours once a week for 6 weeks on-line using Zoom. Participants will need a webcam and a microphone to participate.
Matter of Balance is an interactive workshop where people who have concerns about falling learn to view falls and fear of falling as controllable. They set goals for increasing their activity levels and make changes to reduce their risk of falls. Participants learn and practice exercises to help with their balance. Sessions meet twice a week for 2 hours each via Zoom. Participants will need a webcam and a microphone to participate.
To attend you can use either your smart phone or a computer. We even offer the technical support to help get you started and have loaner tablets available if needed if you live in Jackson, Lenawee, or Hillsdale counties.
Here’s what attendees have to say about the programs:
“The program helped me understand what being an active participant in life means. I hope to make exercise part of my lifestyle….Thanks for making these sometimes hard discussions easier to navigate.”
“Facilitators were well prepared to bring valuable knowledge on how to thrive living with serious illness. They provided a safe place for sharing difficult topics…”
“I truly enjoyed sitting back with others and discussing our issues with them and realizing I am not alone on certain thoughts and emotions. I hope my participation helped others to take the future head on and live life to the fullest! Get out there and do it! You and your family will be better for it!”
Find our program offerings listed at www.r2aaa.net, or CALL the Region 2 Area Agency on Aging to learn more about, and register for, our on-line workshops for: 517-592-1974 or email livingwellprograms@rwaaa.net.