‘This helps people’s mental health and helps to build resilience to deal with what the outside world is throwing at you.’
Manchester City of Sanctuary has been running their sessions online throughout the pandemic, allowing people to stay connected and resilient during this difficult time. They have engaged with over 146 people over the past 6 months and deliver a range of simple sessions that provide a regular support network to their participants.
Their yoga sessions have proven to be very successful, Liz telling us that it has changed the daily life of the people doing it, increasing their positivity and helping them to feel relaxed and calm. They have found Yoga has been particularly successful as you don’t need language to engage with it, it is still accessible even if you don’t share a language.
One woman is having physio to recover from surgery and it’s not going well and she’s not been connecting to it. Manchester City of Sanctuary provided data so she could access zoom and attend the yoga classes. She looked visibly better, her face lifted and she was in less pain. The movements are calm and you can get involved from home. Being in that group has had such a big impact on her and the other women.
Asylum seekers don’t always have a choice where they live and due to the sad reality of prejudice and hate crime, they don’t always connect to their local community and can be isolated. Being able to link people up with those who understand their experiences and background is a really big deal and these sessions have been helping them experience a crucial feeling of community in this difficult time.
| Attachment | Size |
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 Yoga Classes.pdf | 2 MB |