Holiday Retirement Celebrates Healthy Aging

LAKE OSWEGO, OR--(Marketwired - Sep 27, 2016) - Holiday Retirement residents are always on the move. Just ask Greta Kelsey, an 86-year-old resident at Thornton Place, an independent senior living community in Topeka, Kansas. In just over a year, Greta walked 2,266 miles and became an inspiration to her family, community and neighbors.

"Fitness has added a nice dimension to my life," she said. "Since I started walking, I've had more energy and I just feel peppier. Holiday Retirement has been a perfect place for me to keep fit."

In celebration of senior active living month, Holiday Retirement launched a fitness and wellness campaign, which encourages seniors to live engaging, active lifestyles. Now available is a free, downloadable e-book, "Active Senior Living Through Fitness & Wellness," which highlights 12 senior-friendly exercises. The e-book and additional senior wellness resources are available here: www.holidaytouch.com/life-at-holiday/holiday-moments/get-active.

"Engaged seniors lead richer, more satisfying lives, and physical fitness is an important component for healthy aging," said Jamison Gosselin, senior vice president of marketing, communications and resident enrichment at Holiday Retirement. "Our senior living communities offer a wide variety of programs and activities based on our seven layers of the Holiday lifestyle that encourage residents to live active lives."

Holiday Retirement is committed to their residents' well-being. The seven layers of the Holiday lifestyle nurture the mind, body and spirit, by encouraging resident engagement in physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, vocational, creative and social activities. Each senior living community offers a fitness room and active event calendars featuring everything from tai chi to chair Zumba to bean bag baseball. The company received feedback from more than 9,000 residents on their inaugural fitness survey, discovering that 50 percent of residents exercise daily and over 74 percent are satisfied with the activities offered.

To kick off the campaign, Holiday Retirement developed three how-to fitness videos and an instructional exercise poster, highlighting two senior favorites, yoga and seated tai chi, which will be shared across more than 300 communities.

"At Holiday Retirement, our goal is to make healthy lifestyle choices fun and accessible for our residents," added Gosselin. "From exercise programs to engaging games like bocce ball, our communities offer the support and encouragement seniors need to remain active and independent."

Holiday Retirement's active living campaign is a testament to residents like Greta. Each day, she climbs three flights of stairs, walks the halls and explores the pathways surrounding her independent senior living community. With help from a Fitbit given to her by her daughter, and the community support at Holiday Retirement, Greta lives a very active life.

"The most important thing about living at Thornton Place is that I feel safe and secure," she said. "I credit living here in my being able to walk so much. I can step out of my apartment and walk as much as I want, at any time."

As with any physical activity, people should talk with their doctor or other medical professional before beginning and exercise or fitness program.

About Holiday Retirement
Since 1971, Holiday Retirement has endeavored to provide its signature "Holiday Touch" to residents and their families. Today, Holiday Retirement is a trusted name in senior living and provides security, comfort, and value to independent seniors seeking a fulfilling lifestyle. Holiday operates more than 300 retirement communities, making it the second largest senior housing operator in the United States. For more information about Holiday Retirement, please call 800-322-0999 or visit www.holidaytouch.com.