5 minutes

• Welcome new people

• Formal introductions: in a circle, everyone projecting his/her voice 

• Announcements

• Optional: Parkinson medical news updates

8-10 minutes

Yoga-related

• Deep, relaxing breaths with hands slowly carried overhead (inhale), and down (exhale). Repeat 3-5 times.

• Neck exercises: turn left, right, circular rotations; chin tuck (touching chest)

• “Pistol of Love:” weight on heels, hands forming a pistol carried overhead, stretching toward ceiling while looking up at ceiling, done while leaning backwards. Repeat 2 times.

• “Pistol of Love:” this time behind back, arms down, stretching down. Repeat 2 times.

Wrists/arms/hands/fingers

• Shake out hands with arms thrust forward

• Finger grips with arms extended horizontally and fingers flexed

• Finger taps: thumbs touching each finger on both hands simultaneously

• Wrist rotation with arms thrust forward in horizontal position, wrists rotating back and forth (abduction/adduction)

Lunges

• Dual tasking: leader calls out lunges by the clock (e.g. 2 o’clock = right leg lunge forward at 45 degrees)

Torso twist

• Lateral and medial rotations, 180 degrees. Repeat 5 times (with or without ping pong paddles).

“Ping Pong Pick-Up”

• Modified deep knee bends with support of one hand on one knee (alternating) as the opposite hand touches floor; reverse hands. Repeat 2 times.

Balancing Exercises

• Standing tree

• Airplane

• Romberg: one foot lined up behind the other, eyes open, eyes closed. Hold position for 3-5 seconds

Aerobic Exercises

• Jumping jacks

• Knee lifts in place (touching elbow to knee while raising leg)

• Straddles (back and forth laterally)

Ping Pong Coordination Exercises 

• Bounce the ball off the racket 10 times, on both dominant and non-dominant hands

• Reverse hits: bounce the ball off the racket 10 times while alternating hits on both sides of the racket

• Big bounce (high bounce) off the racket and then allowing the ball to stop bouncing while controlling the racket. 

• Walking while bouncing the ball on a racket

Muscle Movements

• Wrinkle forehead (raise eyebrows) x 5 seconds

• Open eyes wide, then close eyes tight x 5 seconds

• Flair nostrils

• Mouth wide open

• Purse lips (kissing)

• Make an “o” with lips

• Grin and show teeth together (stretch cheeks)

• Stick tongue out and up

• Inside mouth: rotate tongue in circle

• Blow out cheeks

• Move jaw: up, down, and laterally (both sides)

Facial/Emotional Expressions

• Exaggerated broad smile

• Surprise expression

• Anger expression

• Frown

• Happiness

• Contempt

• Sadness

• Fear

• Disgust

Instructional block, 3-5 minutes

• A different facet of table tennis demonstrated each week (e.g., forehand push, backhand topspin) 

Approximately 45 minutes consisting of 3 or 4 rotations

• Singles tables, doubles, robot table, instructional table (one on one instruction for those Pongers starting out)

• Juggling (with an instructor)

• Light weight lifting (with an instructor)