What is Namaste Care?

& Namaste Sensory Arts

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'Namaste’ (nah-mah-stay) is a Hindu greeting which means

‘to honour the spirit within’,

or 'the light in me sees the light in you'.

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Namaste Care was developed by Joyce Simard for people in the later stages of dementia, it changes the focus and structure of care given, focusing on enjoyment of the senses, physical and  emotional well-being through connecting

with the heart of the person in a respectful way and through loving touch and creating a peaceful environment, rather

then purely functional care.

 I bring the essense of Namaste care into all of my work not only when working with people in the later stages of dementia, as I believe that it is about enabling people to live a more fullfilling and enjoyable life through enjoying all their senses and expressing themselves.
 

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Joyce Simard, the creator of Namaste Care, wrote:

Elizabeth is 84 years old. She has lived with Alzheimer’s disease for the past eight years. She no longer walks, sometimes she makes sounds but most of her day is spent inbed; she becomes invisible. John has dementia and is ‘parked’ in front of the nurse’s station for hours at a time. He occasionally cries out but no one can understand why.If he cannot be calmed, he is put back in his room; he becomes invisible. Emma, Julia and Harry are unable to participate actively in any of the activity programmes offered. They are taken to a ‘day room’ where they stare blankly at a television set; they are silent and become invisible as staff rush to help more vocal residents.Residents like these are typical of thousands of nursing home residents with advanced dementia who are well cared for medically,given medication, vitals taken,groomed, changed, fed and bathed. Is this quality of life? Are we meeting spiritual and social needs? Are we providing meaningful activities for the person with advanced dementia? Who is listening to their silent cries?

Taken from: Simard38 (2007)

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Alzheimer's Society Namaste Care Article link