When you are about to retire, you are looking forward to having the time of your life. As you will have more freedom and time, you can pursue several meaningful, fun, and interesting activities. However, after the initial excitement of retirement, things may feel monotonous and boring. If you are afraid of being bored after retirement, here is a useful read for you. As one of the leading senior citizen homes in Bangalore, we have curated a list of tips to make the most of your free time. Plan before you retire: If you do not plan your retirement years well, you may end up feeling bored. When planning for retirement, you should plan how to fill your days. You certainly do not have to settle only on one goal. You can choose multiple hobbies and pursuits. Note: Remember that retirement  is not static. Things will change and interests will evolve. You should create a plan and be ready to adapt it. Have a purpose A fulfilling retired life is one that is fun and at the same time purposeful. Finding a cause that you are passionate about is a great way to do meaningful things. For instance, volunteering with a non-profit organisation can be a good way to give back to society and use time more productively. Make new friends According to a study, pursuing activities with friends is associated with increased life satisfaction amongst seniors. A good way for you to make new friends is to sign up for a hobby class where you can meet people with similar interests. You can also join fitness clubs or walking clubs to meet new people. Embrace the luxury of time While there are many benefits of having a structured day, it is also important for you to let go of the urge to plan the days to a T. The whole point of retirement is to enjoy the freedom it brings along. For instance, inviting friends over a movie marathon, organising a picnic, or playing board games can be some impromptu activities that do not require too much planning. Make a to-do jar One simple way to combat retirement boredom is to write down the things you want to do and put them in a jar. Take out one chit out every time you feel like doing something new. To shake things up, make sure that the chits include a mix of physical, spiritual, creative, and intellectual activities. Looking for senior citizen homes in Bangalore that have an active social calendar? Our retirement homes in India have a monthly calendar that includes creative and meaningful activities. Our premium senior citizen home in Bangalore will have a monthly calendar of activities that will include yoga sessions, movie screenings, dance classes, and group outings. To get details such as how much does a retirement home cost or monthly cost of living in a retirement home,  call us at +91 8884555554 or book a virtual tour.

“All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.”  -Swami Vivekananda, spiritual leader    The concept of spiritual awakening has been around for centuries. Spiritual awakening happens when you start looking at your life from a new perspective. In simple words, it is a journey of living a life with purpose and meaning and embracing yourself exactly as you are. Spiritual awakening is also called nirvana, enlightenment, or bliss. Often when people grow older, spirituality becomes a very important part of life. As one of the leading senior citizen homes in Bangalore, we share with you a few useful insights on spiritual awakening:    Analyse your beliefs: One of the most important things to do is to be conscious of and intentional about what you believe. Explore your spiritual core and analyse your inner thoughts. Doing this is important to consciously acknowledge your yearnings and  curiosity. Reading spiritual books can help you answer some of the most important spiritual questions such as  Who am I?  What is my purpose?  What do I value most?    Answering these questions will lead you down to a road of self-exploration.    Experience inner peace through meditation: Meditation is one of the most effective spiritual practices you can try whenever and wherever you want. Sitting at one place and focusing on your breath can be a bit difficult at first but with regular meditation sessions it can become a habit. The benefits of meditation practice are numerous. Besides helping you calm down and connect with the supreme being, it has been found that meditation can help reduce stress and anxiety.    Try yoga: Yoga can help improve your spiritual wellness. Yoga involves intense asanas, stretching, and deep breathing which promote mindfulness. Experts suggest that mindfulness can cultivate greater awareness, consciousness, and improved quality of life. Making yoga a part of your lifestyle will foster a stronger relationship with your spiritual wellness.    Connect with community: For different people, spiritual wellness can have different meanings. For some, it can be connecting with others. If you are one of them, you can volunteer at a local charity or attend cultural gatherings to improve your spiritual health.    Want to know more about premium community living for seniors in Bangalore?    Explore our premium senior citizen homes in Bangalore that will help seniors lead a fulfilling retirement life. Our retirement home will have a clubhouse, open-air swimming pool, rooftop bistro, restaurants, fitness centre, spa, and salon. To know more about our retirement home facilities, call us at +91 8884555554 or book a virtual tour.

“Remember, there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” —Scott Adams   As you age, being intentionally kind can help you enjoy better physical, mental, and emotional health. Want to know how? Check these useful insights on kindness and positive ageing by one of the leading senior citizen homes in Bangalore:     Kindness may help you remain young: Have you ever noticed that when you do something nice for someone else, it makes you feel better too? Well, there is science behind this. When you do something kind you feel happy and when you feel happy, your body produces oxytocin. It has been found that oxytocin may slow ageing throughout the body at the cellular level. Kindness is good for physical health:Kindness also promotes physical health as it reduces stress levels by releasing feel-good hormones. According to a study, a positive emotional state lowers inflammatory responses. Kindness boosts mood: Kindness is the act of doing good for others. The act of kindness also involves an element of being altruistic. Studies suggest that kindness releases endorphins in the brain, producing a positive feeling known as the “helper’s high”. When you give to charities or help others, it activates regions of the brain associated with social connection and trust, which positively affects your mood.   You do not need a reason to be kind to people. Something as simple as lending a sympathetic ear to a friend or picking up a tab for a friend can be an act of kindness. Here is a list of acts of kindness that can make you feel happy and positive.    In addition to being kind to others, be kind to yourself. Often it is easy to acknowledge the achievements of others, but not your own. Take time to appreciate yourself and your achievements. Be kind to yourself by cultivating an inner voice that is positive and not critical most of the time.    Looking for premium retirement homes in Bangalore? Explore our premium retirement home in Bangalore. The senior living community will have a gym, spa, salon, and swimming pool. Also, there will be different types of on-campus activities that will help residents socialise with like-minded neighbours and make new friends. To know more, call us at +91 8884555554 or book a virtual tour.

If you are looking for ways to bond with your grandchildren, reading books together can help you enjoy uninterrupted time with them. Reading aloud with grandchildren not only encourages a love for reading in the children, but it also gives you an opportunity to relax and bond with them. As one of the leading retirement homes in Bangalore, we share with you 6 handpicked books that will captivate you and your grandchild:    1. Grandpa’s Wishlist by Madison Lodi: If your grandchild is a toddler, this colourful board book is a keepsake. Grandpa’s Wishlist is a picture book about what a grandpa wishes for his grandchild. The book is full of colourful illustrations that your kids will adore. 2. In Grandma’s Arm by  Jayne C. Shelton: If you are looking for a book that has beautiful illustrations and lyrical rhymes, In Grandma’s Arm ticks all the boxes. This endearing board book is about a grandma and her grandchild and the journey they take through deserts and forests. 3. Please Write Back! by  Jennifer Morris: If your grandchild is learning to read and write, this is the perfect book you should grab to encourage him or her. The beautifully illustrated book features easy-to-pronounce words. The book is about an alligator who writes a letter to his grandma and awaits a response.  4. The Magic of the Lost Temple by Sudha Murty: If you and your grandchildren love fiction, you will love this book about a city girl visiting her grandparents’ village in Karnataka. From riding bikes to learning papad making, the young protagonist experiences an adventure of a lifetime in this beautiful book, which is ideal for children above the age of 8.  5. You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman: This is one of the best books that you can read with your grandkids. It not only includes short stories but also a read-together series. The read-together series has colour-coded sentences so you can take turns with your grandchild and enjoy reading the book together.  6. Katie Morag and the Two Grandmothers by Mairi Hedderwick: This is a lovely book about a young girl who has very different grandmothers. One is from the city while the other  lives on the farm. In this beautifully illustrated book, the young girl helps bridge the gap between the grandmothers.  Looking for senior citizen homes in Bangalore?    Enjoy the peace of mind of living in a warm, vibrant, and friendly senior living community where you can enjoy a worry-free lifestyle. Our team of trained staff members take the hassle and worry out of daily living, giving you opportunities to find more joy in life’s journey. To know more about our senior citizen homes, call us at +9188845 55554.

Seniors are actively participating in green initiatives to lead an environment-friendly lifestyle. Many are embracing the idea of recycling and reusing to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators. From using pickle jars for planting seeds to buying products made from recyclable products, they are trying different ways to recycle and reuse.    Looking for ideas to recycle and reuse?    As one of the leading retirement homes in Bangalore, we share with you a few useful ways to recycle and reuse:    A. Avoid single-use plastic: Nearly 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced each year and half of which is for single-use items. Here are some tips to avoid single-use plastics:  Carry a reusable bag with you while you go for shopping.  Drink your coffee from a reusable cup.  Carry your own water bottle.  Use reusable stainless steel cutlery instead of plastic cutlery.   B. Recycle paper: Recycling paper helps the environment – it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Here are some tips to recycle and reuse paper: Use both sides of the paper.  Use scrap papers to make a notebook.   Be creative and use old newspaper for gift-wrapping  Designate a bin for used papers so they can be reused or can be sent for recycling C. Reduce waste: Before you throw something away, try to repair it. For instance, old furniture items can be reupholstered, and old clothes can be repaired or upcycled. Here are some more ideas to reduce waste on a daily basis.  Use reusable kitchen cloths instead of paper towels.  Try to fix an appliance first, before you throw it away.  Buy items that come with less packaging.  Reuse glass jars and old coffee canisters for storing pantry items.  Use old plastic bottles to store homemade cleaners. If old clothes are in good condition, donate them to a charity.  Do not throw broken dishes, you can use them as planters. Every time you recycle something, it conserves resources, helps the environment, and reduces landfill waste. In addition to recycling and reusing, today’s seniors are also actively participating in volunteering programs. Here is a list of meaningful activities that are enjoyed by seniors.  If you are looking for senior citizen homes in Bangalore for yourself or your loved ones, give us a call at +91 8884555554.

Sweet cravings are often hard to resist. The very sight of  freshly baked pies, cookies, and cupcakes can be enticing. However, desserts can seem off-limits for seniors trying to lead a healthy lifestyle as they are high in refined carbs and provide poor nutritional value. As one of the leading retirement homes in Bangalore, we have curated a few ideas to make desserts healthier:  1. Enhance sweetness with fruits: Consuming processed sugar on a daily basis is not good for your health. Excessive intake of sugar is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Instead of adding artificial and refined sugar to your desserts, use fresh fruits such as apples, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, oranges, and kiwis to satisfy your sweet tooth.  Here are some easy and simple ways to make quick and healthy desserts:  Add fruits to your ice cream. You can also replace ice cream with plain yoghurt or Greek yoghurt.  Make a smoothie with different fruits for breakfast. Place your favourite fruits on a skewer and grill until they are golden. Enjoy them with fresh cream.  Make a fruit bowl and top it with whipped cream.    2. Instead of refined flour, choose healthier flour: Refined flour is not good for seniors as it has no fibre and it slows down digestion. While preparing baked goodies such as cakes, brownies and cupcakes, substitute regular refined flour with:  Whole wheat flour  Almond flour  Coconut flour  Quinoa flour  Oat flour     Note: When you are replacing white flour with a healthier option, you may have to tweak the water and flour ratio.    3. Replace butter with healthy oils: Butter is a cholesterol-rich food. High cholesterol is not good for heart health and can increase the risk of narrowed arteries, heart attacks and strokes. Solid, room-temperature coconut oil is a good substitute for butter. You can also use canola oil, avocado oil, safflower oil and peanut oil for baking.    Leading senior citizen homes in Bangalore promote a holistic lifestyle  The Virtuoso, India’s first independent senior living community designed to international standards, is a welcoming senior living community. Designed by Perkins Eastman, pioneering architects of senior living communities in the US, The Virtuoso is designed to meet international standards. The apartments will have an array of unmatched senior-friendly amenities, premium living spaces, and world-class healthcare. It will have a wellness centre, movie screening hall, salon, swimming pool, rubberised jogging track, and a bistro. Rooftop amenities will include bar and lounge, barbeque area, yoga deck and community planting patch. To know more about our premium senior citizen homes in Bangalore, book a virtual tour.

An important part of living well and ageing well is staying physically active. Exercise is good for everyone regardless of age, but for older adults, it offers a host of benefits like improving their cognitive functions, helping them maintain their independence and reducing the risk of falls. Regular exercising can reduce the risk of depression, obesity, lethargy, heart disease, insomnia, poor concentration, and a weakened immunity among seniors. Here are a few more reasons why low-impact exercises are good for seniors: Exercise is a great coping mechanism: Being active can boost feel-good endorphins otherwise known as happy hormones, thus, helping in managing stress. Be it a long walk, yoga, or several laps in the swimming pool, all these exercises encourage seniors to focus on their body’s movements. Helps to keep bones and muscles strong: Ageing can take its toll on the bones, joints and muscle. Conditions such as arthritis and osteoarthritis put senior adults at greater risk of falls. Bone and muscle-strengthening exercises like walking, jogging, climbing stairs, playing tennis, lifting weights may help seniors slow down the rate of bone loss. Besides strengthening muscles and bones, these exercises help in improving posture, stability, and coordination, thus reducing the risk of falls and age-related health issues like joint pain or a hip fracture. Helps in maintaining a healthy weight: One of the most apparent benefits of regular exercise is that it aids in weight management. According to a published study from the London School of Economics, people are more likely to have a lower weight if they regularly engage in brisk walking than compared to high-intensity workout. Keeps them mentally fit: Memory loss and cognitive decline are some of the common complaints among seniors. However, seniors who engage in physical activities experience an increase in blood flow to areas of the brain associated with improved memory. A new study shows that exercise plays a significant role in combating changes in the brain associated with dementia. For senior adults, there are countless benefits of staying active. It is for this reason that days at our senior citizen homes in Bangalore and other cities start with stretching exercises. We also have several yoga classes and aerobics classes that make exercising a fun social event.

Many seniors prefer to remain in their own homes as they age. However, this is not always possible because of health or difficulty in maintaining the house. As a result, we are seeing a growing number of older adults proactively choosing to move to senior citizen homes as these facilities offer an independent living and support services. Also, senior citizen homes are inherently social settings and thus, many residents see them as an opportunity to expand their social circle while having the comfort of their own homes. If you are planning to move to senior citizen homes, you can explore our communities in Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kanchipuram, and Puducherry. Here we discuss few tips to help you plan the move: Why do you want to move to a senior citizen home? Yard maintenance, personal security and other tasks often hold back seniors from spending their retirement years exactly how they’d like to. If you feel burdened by household chores, moving to a senior citizen home can be a good choice. Some of the features that are considered important in relocation decisions are: maintaining independence, access to medical facilities, security and community activities. Often people also look for luxury features like salon, spa, restaurants and swimming pools. If you know what features you want from senior citizen homes, it will be easy for you to find the right one. Where to live after retirement? While there are many senior citizen homes in India, it’s always a good idea to take the factors related to location into account – like the cost of living in a particular city, proximity to family and friends, weather and medical facilities. What is the cost of living? When you are planning to move to a senior citizen home, compare the amenities different communities are offering and the associated costs. Ask if the maintenance fees are payable weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Find out how often maintenance fees are revised and how much will it increase in the coming months. Are there on-site provisions if you fall ill? Many senior citizen homes offer a wide range of wellness services that make it easier for residents to stay healthy. However, on-site arrangements for medical emergencies is different from wellness services and is a must. Ask these questions when touring a facility, is there a doctor or a nurse available on the premises? Is there 24×7 ambulance available? Is there a panic button in rooms? If so, who responds to the calls? What does community life look like? From yoga classes and art workshops to charity work, senior citizen homes offer a variety of experiences that help residents spend their time in meaningful ways. Check the social groups and community activities when touring a facility.