Old News but still good

Whole Body Therapy old news but good news!

Older Peoples Week 2015

We received funding from LBBD to celebrate Older Peoples Week . We did a special session of fun games and activities to promote health awareness.

We had a lovely turn out and played Healthy Bingo and Falls Jeopardy where the winners received a variety of fruit to help towards their 5 a day target.

October 2013

Sarah recently got invited to speak at the Health plus Care Show held at the Excel Exhibition Centre in June. Community Catalysts asked her to attend to explain to the attending healthcare professionals the skills and dedication that micro providers can offer to their local communities. Sarah said " It was a great privilege that Leanne from Community Catalysts asked me to speak. It was nerve wracking in front of a large audience, however being given the chance to explain that as a micro provider Whole Body Therapy can attend the local populations needs and that more opportunities to provide a tailored service should be made available to small unique providers was a valuable experience which will not be forgotten quickly".

​February 2013

 Sarah supported the half marathon runners of Havering and Brentwood Bereavement Counselling Service at the Brentwood Half Marathon. ​They are a charity which provides bereavement counselling services for children and adults. They also offer counselling for carers in Havering who are caring for a loved one with dementia.

Sarah volunteered her services for pre and post run massages and also applying supportive strapping before and after the event.

HBBS said on Facebook "Thank you to Sarah from Whole Body Therapy for being hand to take special care of all our runners warm up, cramps and strappings. "

 It was a very cold day with temperatures not rising above freezing, but all their runners were in good spirits as they were raising money in aid of their Children's Bereavement Service. The runners managed to raise  a massive £12k! Which deserves a massive congratulations!

If you would like to find out more information on the what Havering & Brentwood Bereavement Counselling service do then please click on the 1st picture above or visit: http://www.hbbscounselling.org/

October 2013.

Older Peoples week Tea Party in Kilsby Walk.

With funding from LBBD we decided to get together with a local community group called Sustrans to promote socialisation in the older community. We had a lovely afternoon playing games, eating cake and drinking tea. We also invited the local Safer Neighbourhood police team to come and speak to people about staying safe in the community.

January 2013

​Just before Christmas Sarah volunteered at The Parents of Autistic Children Together ( P.A.C.T) pamper evening in Dagenham and did an evening of seated chair massages for their dedicated volunteers. They were a lovely group of people which support individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and their families. ​​

If you do not try, you will never know!

Well, its been a while since the last time I did this.
I should write about our great achievement at winning the Social Enterprise and Community Involvement Award at the Barking and Dagenham Business Awards in the summer. 
This was for the work we do with the elderly in the borough such as our falls prevention exercise classes, our massage in care homes and our general partnership work in the community.

It was great to be recognised for our achievements in such a short space of time.

New set of classes starting on the 23rd May. Limited places available for reduced price course.

Contact us now to secure your place!

We have already begun one class in March and so far so good for the attendees.

We warm up first to get the circulation going

Sarah helps make sure that all the exercises are done correctly to get the maximum benefit.

Stretching away


Balance exercise with full support

Strength and balance retraining course information.

Our new strength and balance course for the older population begins on the 21 st of March 2014. Call now to book your place whilst the course is subsidised. 

Voices are meant to be heard

Its now coming to the end of 2013 and I thought I would do a round up of the year.

 Back in January I had a vision of using the skills I had learnt in sports massage to aid people rehabilitate and prevent injuries from daily living and leisure activities. But what it also included was helping the older generation with the positive touch side of massage. The people who forget what its like to have some quality time spent on them being pampered and who have their well being increased through the positive touch and the chat that comes with it.

The clients that I have talked to over the year have been some of the funniest and honest people I have known. Who though in severe ill health still had a sparkle in their eye and a smile on their face,(also some of them had a very naughty sense of humour!)

 Sadly, quite a few of them have passed away along the line, which has upset me as I have never been one to witness death well. But I am so glad to have met and known them while they were here. They have all left an impression on me that will stay forever.

Really, that's what it is about. Leaving a memory of you behind. Letting people in, to know you and you to know them.

A large part of improving your social well being is talking and sharing time with others. In Older Peoples Week we decided to create an event that would get the local population together to talk and share ideas. We had the support to run this with a grant from the council and from another local project called DIY Porters Lodge which is a community led street redesign project with Sustrans and the local council.

Playing hangman and everyone is concentrating

Carrot Cake!

This was a great first event for us where we put on a large spread for the locals to enjoy, games to interact with, and information at hand about local activities. The safer neighbourhood team also attended to share their knowledge with the residents and the event was shown in the Barking and Dagenham Post.

Everyone had a good time and it was very noisy! Which is good because that meant everyone was getting to know each other, talking, listening, laughing!

So, over the year Whole Body Therapy has decided to widen its services to meet the communities needs.  In the new year we will be setting up a new exercise class which aids in retraining balance and improving the strength of the older population, but will also be facilitating a community session which other than talking about how to reduce falls in your home, we will chat over tea and biscuits, discuss community events and ideas and be on hand to direct people to services which will help them.  But it is also to create a sense of community, to build friendships, share smiles and laughter and to let people know that they are not alone in the world. There are people who care and want to share their time with you.

I will talk more about the details of the project soon, but just wanted you to have an insight of how life experiences can change your perspective, alter your goals and aid your personal growth. as it has done for me this year. How building friendships with others can improve your overall well being and how taking that small step into the unknown or uncertainty can lead to greater rewards.

So for 2014, I would say this, if you have wanted to try a new activity or hobby ( something healthy of course) then give it a go! Keep an open mind and an open heart as life has a funny way of whizzing by very quickly. Look after your mind, body and soul but also your loved ones too.

From all of us at Whole Body Therapy we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tea Party Event to Celebrate Older Peoples week

Event Flyer

To find out more information about the days activities please visit our Facebook page

Fancy being part of something interesting??? Read on....

 

 Whole Body Therapy is now recruiting for volunteer management committee members. Here is the vacancy advertisement. Please have a read and if you are interested then feel free to contact me for some more information.

Our Vision:

·         To equip members of the local community the knowledge and skills to improve their long-term health and wellbeing.
·         To improve the health and well-being of the cared for population.

Our work aims:

We are a social enterprise which began in 2012 which is based in Dagenham and offers massage therapy to residents in the boroughs of Barking & Dagenham and Havering.

Our services are split into different areas:

Working with the elderly and disabled to:

·         Increase or maintain their mobility and dexterity whilst being cared for in their home or within a care home

·         Creating a positive touch one to one experience, therefore relaxing and calming them.

·         Aid in injury prevention and rehabilitation

·         Relieve joint pain and stiffness

Working with unpaid carers to:

• aid in injury rehabilitation
• aid prevention of stress related illnesses
• give relaxation 
• advise them about main stream services available to them.

Working with the younger generation and general population to:

•  make people more aware of their posture and mechanical faults therefore aiding injury prevention in later life.

Also to give general health advice and guidance to all which in connection with the massage intervention should improve their wellbeing and their quality of life.

 We are looking to recruit  volunteers at present for our management committee which currently consists of 4 members. We are interested in acquiring a range of skills to assist the governance of Whole Body Therapy and to push forward our aims and objectives within the local community.

We would need you to attend a minimum of 4 trustee board meetings a year.

Being a trustee offers opportunities to use your skills and experience for the community, make new contacts, develop new skills and improve career prospects and to make a difference in the area.

 In addition to the above opportunities we can offer you access to training and can cover reasonable travel expenses (up to £5 per meeting).

If you are interested in becoming part of Whole Body Therapy’s unique organisation and supporting us in our governance and developing our strategic direction please contact Sarah Allman; wholebodytherapy@hotmail.co.uk and she will email you an application form and more information.

Whole Body Therapy is committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation and encourages applications from all communities. If you are not sure about what a trustee’s role includes then please contact us for more information.

We look forward to hearing from you.

www.wholebodytherapy.org.uk

Closing date for applications: 17^th May 2013.