HoliVision Announces Cranium Crunches and iStand Falls Prevention® Are Joining Forces to Strengthen Mind and Body Balance
Birmingham, AL (PRWEB) August 20, 2013 -- What do tai chi and memory match games have in common? Quite a lot when it comes to seniors’ health and wellness, and a new collaboration between Cranium Crunches and the iStand Falls Prevention® Exercise Program is bringing the benefits of both types of ‘exercises’ to seniors nationwide. The launch of this recently announced partnership is designed to help seniors stay mentally and physically fit for active aging as long as possible with easy-to-use online programs – one targeting falls prevention and the other targeting mental acuity.
iStand, a product of HoliVision, is a first-of-its-kind mobile app that provides exercise routines designed to help minimize the risk of falls for seniors, stroke victims, and employees. The program teaches simple activities and movements modeled on two of the most recommended exercise programs in the world - Tai Chai and the Otago Exercise Program (OEP) - that seniors can do to improve balance, strength, awareness, and minimize their risk of falls.
Cranium Crunches is an online brain training site that helps people work on cognitive abilities like attention, memory and executive functioning using mind games and puzzles. The program has players from all over the world, and all of the games are designed to keep the brain sharp at any age. They typically mimic real life circumstances and what might happen in the context of one’s own life. Many of the games are picture-based and derived from travel experiences that are then transformed into brain game activities.
The game ‘Scrambles’ for example, involves the player selecting a particular photo album on the screen, studying the photo for five seconds, and then when the photo disappears the player is supposed to click, drag, and drop the photo ‘pieces’ back into their correct place in the original photo. There are also varying levels of difficulty that can be selected.
The founders of iStand and Cranium Crunches stress that the two programs offer a natural complement to the mind-body connection that is important for overall health and wellness, especially as people age.
“Everyone, especially seniors, can benefit from keeping their minds challenged and engaged,” says Ruth Curran, founder of Cranium Crunches. “And when it comes to preventing falls, being mentally focused is critical. Someone who is not keeping their brain strong can be at greater risk of falling.”
Curran founded Cranium Crunches in 2011, several years after a car accident left her with a serious brain injury. She underwent rehabilitation, went back to school to earn a degree in cognitive psychology, and then started Cranium Crunches. The games focus on searching and sorting strategies, improving processing speed, practice with placing things in categories, and reviewing skills that contribute to managing and controlling life.
“Cognitive health is a big factor in physical stability and balance,” says Mazy Holiday, creator of iStand, and founder and CEO of HoliVision. “The offerings of iStand and Cranium Crunches make for an ideal synergy of holistic fitness for mind and body that can help prevent the epidemic of falls while improving cognitive functionality.”
One out of three seniors over age 65 falls each year according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Falls are the number one cause of death from injury among this age group. The death rate from falls among seniors has risen sharply over the past decade and is expected to grow as the population ages; 10,000 people per day turn 65 and that trend will continue for the next 19 years.
The iStand mobile app is the first of its kind for a worldwide falls prevention program, which includes exercise routines that seniors can do at home with a friend, caregiver or physical therapist. Even seniors who are frail will benefit from the stretching and movements as long as they have a caretaker with them. The iStand program is also available for licensing by companies and organizations that wish to provide the content to their visitors, residents, and employees.
The app, available for download from iTunes, recently received a ‘thumbs up’ rating and was recommended for use by The Senior List, a community-driven, online portal focused on linking families to quality products and seniors’ services. The iStand program which promotes 'Less Falling, More Living' also hosts an online social community called
HIP (Help. Interact. Prevent.), that allows seniors to engage with each other and with their physical therapists online. By logging on to http://www.istandfit.com seniors can report falls to their physical therapist and discuss their exercise routines and other healthy activities with each other. In addition to iStand, its creator Mazy Holiday developed the cushioning technology and holds patents for The SupportSafe Walking Cane® and The SupportSafe Walker®.
For more information about Cranium Crunches, inquiries can be sent to info(at)craniumcrunches(dot)com. To learn more about iStand Falls Prevention® visit http://www.iStandFit.com
Mazy Holiday, HoliVision LLC, http://www.istandfit.com, 888-721-9777, [email protected]
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