During Volunteer Week 2024, we wanted to say a big thank you to Sophia!
Sophia began volunteering for US Active in September 2023, and has been involved in all sorts…supporting fundraising events, youth voice, social media and events for young people.
Last week, Sophia attended our Wellness Workshop at Sound Mind and Body. Read her blog which captures her thoughts about the event and the themes being promoted:
“Wellness is an active process which can be achieved by working on improving a combination of mental, physical and social health, and this is exactly what was featured in the May Wellness Workshop. The aim of this session was to develop healthy habits that can be used to support people through daily life, which are key for general good health and happiness.
The first part of the session was a discussion led by Dom on the many benefits of a healthy diet and good nutrition to support wellness. This is not only a major factor of physical health, but also mental health, as nutrition is also an element of mood and directly affects mental and emotional wellbeing.
Following this, the group quickly jumped into a quick full body exercise circuit, focusing on various functional movements which can be worked on from the home. These exercises were good foundations for developing general strength as well as improving stability and posture, as they can be adapted to suit any individual person.
It was wonderful to see everyone able to participate and benefit from moving their bodies in a way that they felt comfortable with, and even surprise themselves with their abilities while doing certain exercises they had not done before.
To conclude the afternoon, Lucy conducted a mindfulness session, where the group learned techniques to regulate their breathing and the ability to ground their minds when practicing mindfulness. This is a really important skill to have as it can be applied in any situation, such as managing and reducing stress, as well as understanding emotions. It is also a brilliant way to practice relaxing and being calm by allowing yourself to concentrate on just your body and your breathing. It was a great way to end the session and take that time to reflect on what we had done and the progress we had made.
It was an informative and engaging workshop to be part of, and it was especially inspiring to see the progression of the participants in such a short period, most importantly in body language and facial expression. It was a really uplifting atmosphere and I hope to help with and be part of many more workshops like this one in the future!”
