New fitness class become resident favourite at Kingsley homes

If you asked residents at Kingsley Healthcare care homes to divulge their favourite activity, you might be surprised by the answer.

For many, a highlight of their week is not some traditional care home activity such as bingo, but a seated exercise class, based on yoga, live-streamed all the way from Sri Lanka, 5,500 miles away.

Kingsley founders Daya and Sumi Thayan, who both practise yoga, originally came from Sri Lanka and were familiar with the wellbeing sessions offered by Ayush Wellness - they were confident residents in their homes would love the classes.

Sophia Mahendran, who heads Ayush’s team of eight trainers, said they delivered live online yoga and wellness sessions across Europe and America as well as in Sri Lanka. However, Kingsley was the only UK care group with whom they were working.

She said: “We construct individual programmes for each care home, tailored to the different health conditions of their residents.”

 “Our sessions generally include a variety of chair yoga and wellness activities such as stretching and breathing exercises, neck and shoulder strengthening, finger, hand and arm stimulation, twisting movements, clapping and tapping exercises and leg exercises.

“We use everything from brain games and sound therapy to tai chi movements and punching exercises.

“Crucially, we make sure it is fun. We truly look forward to these sessions and the residents seem very happy to see a different face on the screen,” she said.

Across Kingsley care homes, residents were experiencing real improvements in their physical and emotional wellbeing, from increased mobility and reduced anxiety to brighter moods and stronger social connections. 

Julie Wilson, Customer Relations Manager at Brackley Care Home, in Northamptonshire, said the sessions had taken off slowly to begin with and a few of the residents were a bit sceptical.

"Yoga? For me?", might have been the consensus then. But fast forward three years and there isn't a single free seat in the house,” she said. 

“Our residents have gone from cautious beginners to absolute pros—and they’ve mastered the art of not taking themselves too seriously along the way. Expect plenty of stretches, great mobility work, and even more laughs.”

Resident Rosemary Murphy summed up the positivity, saying: “I always try my best at every class and think that I am getting better at it.”

Another resident remarked: "This is fun! I always try to do as much as I can, and I usually find I can do it!"   

Sinead Lambert, manager at Woodbridge Lodge Care Home, in Suffolk, which recently won a Best Performing Home award from Ayush Wellness, said: “Thanks to the enthusiasm of our activities coordinator Sam Harvey, we have had a consistent 10 to 11 residents every week since July 2025.

“These sessions have really made a difference to the physical and mental wellbeing of our residents.”

Kingsley’s Group Hospitality Manager Gihan Karunarathna said: “What began with a few homes has grown into sessions being delivered across the whole group. Its success has been a truly meaningful experience for me. 

“We are delivering this as a free service to our residents.”