You can listen to Episode S3E5 right here!
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Hello, and welcome to the Third Age Design podcast sharing essential information on senior environments. I’m Lori Pinkerton-Rolet. And this is the fourth and final episode of our special series entitled ‘Designing for the Other Four Senses.’ Of course, as designers and architects we’re always reviewing operational needs and what things look like when we’re designing for care and dimension retirement. But what about sound and smell and taste and today’s topic, touch. The nice thing about podcasts is that they’re always there. So if you missed one of the earlier episodes, please do check them out on your local podcast provider or through our own website. Our special guest today is the Director of Namaste Care International. And we’ll be talking about this meaningful touch treatment and how to design spaces which can accommodate it. And in our ‘Innovation Spotlight’ this month, we stay with the topic of touch, as we review some touchy-feely interventions for designers and operators that they can add into facilities for stimulation, and even for beauty. Dame Jane Goodall a personal hero, and a well known primatologist, and anthropologist who’s now 89 years young says: “What you do makes a difference. And you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make”. Well, I want to research and deliver a podcast sharing global information so we can learn from one another. What about you? If you’re listening to the podcast, it’s likely that this topic is also something that you care about. So if you haven’t done so already, why not go to our website at ThirdAge.Design, and hit the ‘Join Us’ button where you’ll automatically receive this quarters, ‘A TAD Extra’ exclusive information for our community members. And I gotta tell you, I learned something each and every podcast and I’ve been working in this sector for literally decades. Plus, it’s entirely free. The Third Age Design podcast is supported by Innova Care Concepts whose mission is to enhance quality of life through innovation, from hydrotherapy pools to furniture, you’ll find quality, aesthetics and functionality in all unique Innova products. Innova Care Concepts the leading edge of health care. Okay, let’s get started. Today my guest is Rishi Jawaheer, and he grew up in a home with his parents who provided care and services. And the Jawa group now operates three services within the United Kingdom. He’s also Director of Namaste Care International, which promotes meaningful activity to dementia users. In fact, the Jawaheer family has been nominated as finalists in National Dementia Care awards and categories of Best Care Home and Lifetime Achievement in Dementia care. Rishi formed a collaboration with leading software developer Sharib Sarfraz…I don’t think I pronounced that correctly can you correct me?
Rishi Jawaheer
Sharib, Sharib Sarfraz, but it was close. Lori, pretty good.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
I gave it a go to create care vision, a solution built from the challenges of providing care and recording information in real-life situations. Rishi thank you so much for joining us on the Third Age design podcast.
Rishi Jawaheer
It’s my pleasure Lori, thank you for having me along.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
We have an understanding that the word namaste means ‘to honour the spirit within’, now I know that from taking yoga classes, and Namaste Care honours the individual receiving its services, according to the website, and it was developed and pioneered in the US, I understand and in other countries by Professor Joyce Simard, of University of Western Sydney and Australia. I understand it has two basic principles: loving touch interactions and a calm environment. Am I okay, so far and in my understanding?
Rishi Jawaheer
This is great.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So can I just ask, Rishi, how you became involved in the particular movement?
Rishi Jawaheer
My involvement really, I guess it starts at the beginning and you touched a little bit on my story there. So my dad is originally from Mauritius. My mom is from a lovely country called Sri Lanka. And both of them came to the UK in 1970 to work for the NHS. So they both worked as nurses and they work their way up through the NHS system. And in those days as well the UK relied heavily on skilled workers coming from overseas to come and support the hospital services. And you know, even today, we still have the these, this still have this need. And in other countries as well, you know, there’s a great need for that support. So my parents came along. And they worked their way through the NHS, they they’ve got enough money for a small property. And they’re in this small family house, my mom, dad, my sister, and myself, we lived in one room at the top of the house. And they they started one of the first care homes in our borough. And I grew up in that home until I was about 16. So it was a lovely experience, where we lived as a family, with my five uncles and my four Auntie’s. So Lori, that was really the start of our journey. And lots of the ways in which we cared for people was very much within that family unit. And even though we’ve got a little bit bigger, in more recent years, in terms of how many people we support, we still try to get back to that original family home where we didn’t wear uniforms where we had that connection with people. So really, a lot of the lessons and teachings that I learned from my parents and the other teams that we were working with, they’ve really ring true, a lot with the ethos of Namaste. And that principle, as you touched on, as I see you, you see me, I honour the spirit within you, you honour the spirit within me. And there’s this two- way magic that happens between us when we connect. And this is something that was always important to my parents. So when I first learned about Namaste, with Joy Simard, it was almost like going back to that family home again. And my parents reminding me the importance of touch, and contact and how that might be the only touch that that person receives from another human in the day, and how important that is.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And it’s quite a different sort of touch to somebody taking your blood pressure or doing something else, which is of a more clinical nature, it’s a more from what you’re saying…it’s a direct interaction with another human being that isn’t necessarily based on the fact you are, quote, unquote, staff, and you’ve been tasked with this job. Is that correct?
Rishi Jawaheer
That’s so true, Lori, but this is where namaste takes that every day family element, and it elevates it to becoming a cultural approach. Because why not? When you’re taking someone’s blood pressure, that is a moment of contact. So you can do that with loving kindness. We have staff coming in carers of nurses coming from other organisations, they’ll come to take somebody’s temperature or blood pressure. And you know, what they do? They put gloves on. And then you think to yourself, how would you feel if I put out my hand to shake your hand, and then somebody says, Wait a minute, hold on, they get a glove out, and they put the glove on, you’re making, you’re taking away the humanity of that person, you’re making something else. So really, that’s when Namaste takes it to that next level, Lori, because it becomes part of your culture, when you’re taking someone helping them to the loo when you’re taking their blood pressure. Why not do that with loving kindness.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So it extends past an actual namaste therapy session, per se, into the overall ethos of how you’re running your facility and what it means to be working or engaging in in that situation. For people that aren’t familiar with Namaste therapy, quote, unquote, what exactly is involved? And how have you personally seen it help?
Rishi Jawaheer
So Joyce Simard, an amazing 82 year old woman that she is now she was a social worker. And she was working in Vermont over in the US and she was working in a nursing home out there. And one of the issues that she had was that the families would keep coming back to her and saying, look, my dad all day, he’s just sitting in a room. He’s got it back to the to the wall, and he’s just watching TV. He’s not even watching the TV, but the TV’s on. What can we do to find my dad again? How can we how can we get him back? And so Joyce devised something called the club and this was the beginnings of in a Namaste it was almost like a date Club, where people could come and hang out, they drink loads of tea, and they would just have some time together to socially connect where actually the TV was off. And actually there’ll be more stimulation, there’ll be more conversation and interaction. And this was really the start of that. But then I said, Well, how am I going to reach those people that can’t talk? And that can’t say that they’re in pain that can’t walk If that can’t move, how can we reach those people and that’s when they must they came in. So the principle behind the namaste is, again about that loving touch. But to do that in a way, where we’re using some of the other amazing interactions that we picked up along the way, so every day at 1030, in my homes, what happens is, it’s namaste time. So we prepare the space, we don’t have a dedicated namaste space, we convert one of our lounges, to that namaste space, we have sari, materials from the windows, we infuse lavender into the room, we make people feel welcome into the space. So everyone, when they arrive at 1030, we say welcome to Namaste. And then we greet them, we get them to have a lovely seat, we wrap them in a blanket, and then we commence our namaste so that everybody knows that actually hold on, this is different to the lounge. Now this is this is a different space now. And I can allow myself to relax. Whilst we’re we’re you know, making people comfortable, we would then do some one to one care where we might do something like a hand massage or head massage, where we’re giving that person that quality of attention, and that focus, where we’re dedicating that time to them, whilst people are in a relaxed state having this lovely massage and this, you know, smelling the lavender and, and hearing the lovely music, we’ve got these high calorie snacks and, and smoothies and lots of drinks so that people as they’re getting older, or as they’re in different conditions, they might not hydrate themselves, might not eat very well. So in a really nice way, we’re helping them whilst they’re in this relaxed state to take on more food and fluid, right. So that’s gonna help with a lot of things. So the premise behind namaste is to run this on a regular consistent basis so that this 1030 session is going to feel like normality to me. And then as a result of that consistent approach, I’m then going to be a lot calmer, and then going to sleep better at night, I’m then going to have more appetite, I’m going to be better hydrated, all these benefits come just as a result of that consistency of approach.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Presumably you have something it’s an event, if you will, that you could also look forward to. So it’s it’s dotted within the day, as you’re saying on a regular basis, it becomes the something you’re aspiring to for the following day. That was lovely. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Rishi Jawaheer
Look forward to it. It’s an amazing thing to do. And actually, it’s a great way to involve the families. Because once the families hear about this, sometimes, you know, if mums lost the ability to communicate, how can I come and have a visit with mum where I can feel that connection? Well, what better connection then giving mom a massage and maybe mum giving you a massage back. And we’ve had people you know, leave our room in tears, just from the power of those moments interested in somebody, a daughter would say, You know what, this is what my mum used to do to me when she was reading my story at nighttime, you know, and it can spot those connections. This is the amazing thing about Namaste.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So that’s, that’s one of the ways that you can judge sort of success on it. I know, it’s really become an international movement. Are you aware of any research which has specifically been conducted as to, you know, proving its its success to any anybody that may be on the line of considering this?
Rishi Jawaheer
Yeah. So this is this is how namaste came to me. We started practising the namaste in our homes, we were amongst the first time was in the UK to actually be practising namaste, Joyce and I got very close with each other. And I just thought that actually this is an amazing thing. Why shouldn’t every care facility in the world be doing namaste and I wanted to help Joyce sort of take this out to other people. So this is where we brought in this international feel. And then we actually created champions in each of the countries that are practising Namaste. And they’re sort of beacons within the organisation to spread the word to spread training to spread, you know, spread the message of Namaste. And, you know, that’s been you know, how sort of namaste has taken on a new form. And through this international community that we’ve created, we learn so much because namaste in Iceland looks so different to namaste in the UK, Namaste in Singapore looks different to how it looks in the US. So, this is the nice sort of melting pot of ideas that we have.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And is that because there are cultural differences between those countries, and so therefore, it’s reflected in the type of hand massage or whether or not one’s doing a foot massage and whether that’s appropriate in that culture, for example,
Rishi Jawaheer
Spot on Lori. So, for example, in the UK, it has become a standard and the regulation that if somebody is within care that they have their own room, their own bathroom, so privacy, for dignity reasons. In Singapore, if someone is on their own in a room, it’s considered a punishment.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Okay, so it’s very culturally different. Yes.
Rishi Jawaheer
Actually, the norm there is to share a room with three buddies. So I’m going to share him with three buddies, I’m going to be in a room with a space. So again, namaste looks totally different,
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Okay. So if I were to ask you Is she in the UK, the staff to resident ratio during one of your namaste sessions, it would be quite different to that of Singapore.
Rishi Jawaheer
That’s right. Even those approaches would be different, the kind of music the kind of snacks in Iceland, they like having hot chocolate during their musty session. And they like having little bits of dark chocolate to nibble on. I mean, that’s really cool. Whereas in the, in the in the UK, if you came to one of our namaste session, we’ve got fruits, we’ve got smoothies, we’ve got sort of different approach. But again, it comes down to looking at that individual. How can I honour Lori, what does Lori like? What’s individual to Lori, that makes her special? What can I do in that in that vein, you know.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Right. And in terms of Dr. Simard, has she captured anything in a documentary fashion? As to as to benefits specifically do you know?
Rishi Jawaheer
Yes, sorry. Coming back to your original question, I went off piste there. So Joyce has written an amazing book relating to domestic care and the journey. And through those through that writing, we’ve had the University of Wooster, the University of Lancaster, that have been involved in in research trials, we’ve also got the University of Durham as well looking at some clinical research at the moment. So we’ve got a few academics within our organisations that are sort of taking this stage further. And now, you know, all the regulators, the governments across the world, they want those hard, cold facts. Some stats, even though we know namaste works, they want to see it in black and white. So this is our sort of area of travel. Now Lori, we’re really trying to get some of this this under our belt as well.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
Right? And how many countries do you think you’re currently in where you have these people sort of that are, that are blazing the trail for you in the individual countries? How many countries are involved thus far?
Rishi Jawaheer
I think we’ve got about 14 countries around . But some of these countries are massive in itself. So America, China, you know, as well, we’re working on a champion in each province, because of the size of all three. So, you know, within, again, within China, there’s different cultural, you know, cultural differences that again, might be observed and approaches. So it’s great. Yeah, we really are international.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
It’s that’s very, very, very interesting. I mean, that’s, that’s what’s interesting about us doing the podcast as well is we’re International, it’s about sharing these ideas and seeing how they can be implemented in other countries. So the fact that you’re saying it’s different is ideal, because you just can’t cookie cutter anybody’s living experience. You know, anywhere really, what what would you say are the questions that you get asked most frequently about this topic?
Rishi Jawaheer
I would say in terms of the the question most frequently our you know, I guess people do they want to know what Namaste is, like how we started off today, they want to understand that. As well, people sort of say that actually 10:30 every day, can I manage that? Isn’t it gonna become really difficult for us to how we’re going to find the time and with the million things that we’re doing during the day. So again, our approach to that is, you know, all the tasks that we do during the day when we’re helping somebody with supporting somebody go to bed or go, you know, go go to the toilet, have a wash, whatever it might be, these tasks are really important, but that not that is not living, that is not life. And we need to do all these tasks. We need to complete our records really, to buy that 30 minutes, that 10 minutes, that one hour of quality of attention, where you and that other person are the only two people in the world? And how important and how magical can that be, however big that time is. So that’s what we aim for is the quality of attention, which everyone needs. And, and I think even if it starts off in a small way, people can do that. So that’s another common question that comes about. And I think the other thing is, you know, does it work? How does it actually work? You know, how do you know that it’s working. And, you know, with many things, like, there’s so many things, you know, just because, you know, but as well, we know, because we keep stats, we keep, you know, data on everything on how people are sleeping, how they’re eating, what medication they’re on. And we found, you know, through our own services, that actually, we’ve reduced the amount of anti psychotic medication, we’re reducing falls and injuries within the home because people, you know, more settled and stable, you know, we having people that are better hydrated, they’re not losing weight as much. So these are evidence, you know, to show that it’s working. So again, that’s a common thing that comes back. And we can often, you know, have evidence to support that.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
And I’m imagining that the relationships between the people that are working there, and the people that are having this interaction, become deeper relationships, just sitting talking to somebody looking them in the eyes, and then adding that extra level of actual the intimacy of touch, just hand on a hand must affect the quality of those relationships, do you do you find that?
Rishi Jawaheer
We do, we do. And this is when Namaste, reaches beyond our senses. Because some of the people that we’re supporting with Namaste, they might have a diagnosis of dementia, they might have limited vision, or limited sight. So somebody would say, Well, you know, how can they connect with you. But you’ll be amazed that even someone with limited sight, the ability to pick up on somebody’s voice on the familiarity of their touch, is going to be more strong and prevalent than then a person with with perfectly, you know, 100% in sight and hearing so. So, you know, it’s these nuances, that means so much to those people that we support with different challenges. And this is where, like you said, that connection is deeper than just seeing somebody’s face and recognising it, it’s recognising their soul, effectively,
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
The one-on-one person to person sort of contact because people could, let’s say they had someone at home that they were caring for who has dementia…let’s use that as the example. And you were saying you you change an existing room in order to accommodate Namaste. What would people do at home? Or what would we as designers and architects do to support this therapy? For example? Do you need a sink? nearby? Do you need storage for facilities? What sort of lighting what sort of music? Can you give us some, some pointers of things that we can integrate into spaces to make this to facilitate this?
Rishi Jawaheer
Yeah, fantastic question. You know, this is where again, people sometimes can overthink, and they think, oh, you know, I need to have a long list of items, you know, and things like that. And again, you can make the best of your situation, I would recommend that if somebody has a regular spot to spend a majority of their day that a Namaste session session would take place somewhere that is outside that normal spot, whether it be a different corner of the room, if there’s limited space or another room entirely, I think taking them out of their normal regular space and having a dedicated space, even if it’s a corner of a room with a backdrop or whatever it might be. That is enough. So it’s for people to feel I’m in a different space. This is Namaste. I think that that’s important. As far as sinks and other things like that, you know, in terms of practical needs, what we normally have when we’re practising Namaste is a little trolley next to us. And on that trolley, we might have some things like some massage creams and similar things to smells and other elements like that. So having that on hand is quite nice. So that when you you need some extra oil or you need something else that you don’t have to sort of interrupt the session to do that. But other than that, really you can make it as you make it I think the environment and the setting should be as free from distraction as possible and everything that’s within that space should be to lend itself have to focus more on Namaste. So So those would be the only criteria that I would say that you’d have to follow, you know, in terms of in terms of the space itself.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
So it could be, you know, lightly touching your hands on someone’s shoulders or a light shoulder massage, it could be a hand massage, or hand an arm massage. While you’re talking. You mentioned music earlier. Now, we know that as people get older, they require brighter lighting levels in order to see contrasts and things particularly well, in this sort of setting, do you lower the lights? Do you do you make it a an overall quieter atmosphere, both visually and in terms of sound?
Rishi Jawaheer
Yeah, so for our group that we work with, we do love it the lights because we find that helps enable pupils focus at a higher level. But again, in a different client group in a different setting, it might be that we need to flood the room with light. So again, it depends on on your individual’s needs. You know, just going back to the sessions itself, it doesn’t just have to be massage, it doesn’t just have to be touch. It’s also about stimulating the senses. So in springtime, we might go outside and pick some daffodils. And then we bring daffodils into the namaste session, and we might just hold and smell some daffodils, right? Why? Okay? Actually orientating people that, you know, even though I don’t get to go outside all the time, I know that it’s springtime, I can feel that or maybe during the fall, as you say, in the States or autumn time, we’re going to have autumn leaves in in a box that we can scrunch and touch and feel. So it can be anything, it doesn’t have to be that you can be creative in how you do it. The main thing is the consistency of time and the calm space, you know that you do that within what you do during this session, that’s where you can really use your imagination
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
…and some of the touch aspects because not that there’s anything wrong with sensory rooms. But the sensory rooms that I’ve experienced, while I’ve been working in the sector tends to be a lava lamp or projection, or something. It might be a table where you’re interacting with something, but even then you’re interacting with a flat surface. It’s not a textural 3d kind of life experience, if you will. So this seems like it’s it’s that sensory room taken to the next level, wherever that room may be in terms of a personal experience that somebody’s having themselves rather than something that’s just presented to them.
Rishi Jawaheer
Exactly. I think that that you know, the personal experience element is probably the most the most important part of Namaste. It’s it’s what meets that individual’s needs. What What does Lori want to see? What does Lori like? You know, what, what are the things that might touch Lori? So
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
to Lori Lori likes chocolate? We need to really do like chocolate? Yeah.
Rishi Jawaheer
But that’s where if we listen to people, it’s a great chance to have a chat and say, What do you really like to talk to the families as well? What did mom like to do? What did she and then we can really get to know someone? And you know, yeah, it’s an amazing way to really think of each person as an individual and try and tailor how you approached supporting them based on their individual needs.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
That’s fantastic. I want to thank you so much. I think obviously, Joyce Simard has has a very good spear-header for this in the UK through you and the fact that you are so passionate about it that you’ve taken it to the international market, and I hope the podcast can be part of that support for you.
Rishi Jawaheer
All Thank you, Lori. Well, any of your listeners that like to join us for our Namaste Conference on the 22nd of September, you can go along to the website and register on Eventbrite. We’d love to see that it’s gonna be an amazing day you get to see Joyce speak, you get to see me speak, and some of our countries from around the world representing namaste in their own region, so it will be great if you can join us and show your support.
Lori Pinkerton-Rolet
You’ll find direct links to Namaste Care International and additional research on today’s topic on the podcast page of this episode at ThirdAge.Design. The ‘Innovation Spotlight’ this month continues the theme of touch. We’ve discussed the one on one therapy offered by Namaste. But what about a therapy that doesn’t require quite so much of a limited number of staff? Well, out of the USA comes the Vibro Acoustic Platform. It looks very much like a very wide bench and you either sit or lay on it, and you feel the music pulse through your entire body. It’s designed to be soothing and calming. And by using calming music, you would find perhaps in a meditation, track or yoga, it’s been shown to help reduce stress, tension and anxiety and promote peace and relaxation. Or you could choose something more upbeat for a stimulating effect. The equipment has been designed for people with autism, dementia, sensory processing disorder, or emotional and behavioural disorders. The system comes in a variety of configurations, all of which use Bluetooth to stream your music. And you can find direct links on our podcast page at ThirdAge.Design. Also, we’re currently researching an alternative version of this that’s coming out of Germany shortly, which is basically an instrument on which you lie and feel the music. So we’re going to report back on that in a future podcast. Just time for a quick review of the TAD International Events Calendar. A couple first from the UK. The Care Manager Show is on at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England from the 30th of June to the first of July, and features well being and technology and quote unquote, ‘a brilliant celebrity guest’. (Although apparently if we tell you who it is, we’d have to kill you. No, I’m just teasing.) Anyway, at the same venue from October 11 and 12 we’ll have The Care Show and I’m going to be speaking there so I hope to see you if you’re in the UK in October. The 33rd Alzheimer’s Europe Conference will take place in Helsinki, Finland from October the 16th to the 18th. And as always, you’ll find further details and listings on the event page at ThirdAge.Design,. and let us know if you have an event you’d like to see listed there. Thank you to today’s special guest Rishi Jawaheer from Namaste Care International. To our producer Mike Scales. To Valerie Adler of The Right website, to Peter Thorne, who composed our theme music and is playing the piano with Mary Blanchard on flute and to our sponsor, Innova Care Concepts… the leading edge of health care. Finally, to you. Thanks for being part of a community who believes we can improve senior environments together. I’m Lori Pinkerton-Rolet and next month, we’re going to look at what is required to safely design a senior environment suitable for pets. I know that Dasher and ChiChi at my house are really looking forward to this one. And I do hope you’ll join us!