Compass Support Services, the charitable arm of The Pioneer Group, is offering fun and interactive wellbeing sessions at The Sanctuary to all residents over the age of 50 living in Castle Vale and surrounding areas.

Funded through Erdington NNS, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind aims to assist people with their confidence to lead a healthier lifestyle and encourage improvements on their physical health, all of which can have a big impact on mental health, isolation and loneliness. Through the sessions, Compass Support aims to help older adults to become physically fitter through exercise and raising awareness to promote healthier food choices.

The fun, physical activity sessions will be complemented with group awareness sessions of all types of health-related topics, including nutrition and diet advice in a relaxed, informal setting. Anyone can join, the physical sessions will be fun, energetic and will be varied to suit abilities.

Activities will include basic circuit sessions, strength & tone sessions, and fun taster sessions including parachute games and badminton. There will also be some outdoor sessions, teaching people how to make use of the free outdoor equipment, as well as walking and exercise groups.

The sessions will run over six weeks for all individuals, and with support one of the tasks will be to create a personal health journal to understand how the programme has improved their wellbeing. The team will be on hand to support everyone during their journeys and tailor needs/exercises to support the individual.

Leonie Hammond, Health and Project Coordinator at Compass Support, said:

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind is a brand new programme for the Health and Wellbeing Team at Compass Support and an exciting opportunity for anyone wishing to improve the physical health and overall wellbeing in a fun, relaxed way. My favourite session will most definitely be the healthy cooking session, using fresh and healthy ingredients on a budget. Healthy Body, Healthy Mind has been designed for people of all abilities; is free of charge and takes place in an environment of support and encouragement.

For further information, please contact Leonie at 07943079496 or leonie.hammond@compass-support.org.uk for more information or to register.