Healthy Body and Mind (Next Step)

Course description

Revisit the incredible benefits of yoga, Pilates and tai chi, through our Healthy Body and Mind course!

Our Healthy Body and Mind course is designed to enrich your life through the harmonious integration of body and mind practices. This Next Step course spans 18 weeks, building on the skills and knowledge gained on the First Step. 4-6 weeks will be dedicated to each discipline: yoga, Pilates, and tai chi, along with relevant input regarding anatomy, physiology, nutrition, stress management, and breathwork along the way.

This course is perfect for those with some knowledge of yoga, Pilates and tai chi, ideally you will have completed our first step course. It will explore at a deeper level the world of yoga, Pilates and tai chi.

Additional areas of focus for the Next Step course includes:

Yoga

• Exploring the seven chakras: their location, significance, associated colour, symbol and mantra.
• Digging into the bandhas of yoga (four main locks within the body, their benefits and how to activate them).
• Mantras.
• Mandala and Yantra meditations.
• Further breathwork techniques such as bhramari (humming), ujai (Darth Vader breath), nadi shodan (alternative nostril) in addition to revisiting those from the First Steps Course (box, ratio, three part, diaphragmatic and cooling breath).

Pilates

• Pilates posture and head positioning workshop.
• Use of belts to increase intensity of exercises.
• More variations offered for each key / core stretch to allow those with improved levels of strength and control to continue to work at their maximum capability on any given day.
• Basic principles of Alexander technique.
• Further stress relief breathwork exercises.

Tai chi

• Further tai chi (Yang style) exercises and flow sequences, mostly QiGong based practice.
• More complex sequences from the cloud and the form which will be broken down each week into bite-size chunks and put together during the full course. Many of the individual moves will have been covered off during the First Steps course so it’s not a wall of new content to break through but will be challenging in concentration, coordination, and memory.

As well as the practical element of the course, through the Use of videos, group discussion and handouts we will also discover an array of useful topics to enhance a healthy body and mind such as:

• Sleep hygiene: top tips and its importance.
• How to recognise stress triggers and minimise their damaging impact on the body (including the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems).
• Use of safe and effective isometric and breathing exercises to reduce blood pressure.
• Learn a number of practical stress reduction breath techniques which also boost your lung capacity.
• Understanding the negativity bias: what is it, how does it impact me and how to combat its impact on wellbeing (primary and secondary stress triggers).
• Anatomy and physiology of key areas of the body eg. spinal column, and how to minimise wear and tear of important tissues within the body eg. cartilage, hip flexors and planta fascia.
• Top tips and easy hacks to improve your nutrition including how to optimise your personal microbiome to enhance your immune system and boost your mood.
• Understand the relationship between mind and body, and how you can harness the power of the body to have a positive impact on your mental health (mind-body feedback loop).

During the term, students will put together a detailed and bespoke ‘at home’ practice plan designed to produce maximum impact for their physical and mental health and help generate a life long habit/practice of tailored self care.

(You will be expected during course time to reflect on your learning through the completion of a ‘Individual Learning Plan’ and to participate in regular class/group discussion – see progress section below for more detail).

Course level

Next Step - The aim of these courses is to take your learning and confidence to the next stage. You will learn more about applying your skills further and delve deeper into the subject. For learners who have completed the First Step course.

Who is this course for?

Residents of Calderdale aged 19+ who can follow instructions and operate independently. A degree of physical flexibility and prior knowledge of yoga, Pilates and tai chi is required for students to enrol on the Next Steps course eg. home or class practice for 12 months or more or alternatively completion of our Healthy Body and Mind (Next Step) course.

Some of the course will be seated/mat based but plenty of physical teaching aids/adjustments are used to ensure everyone is able to participate fully so we are absolutely not looking for those at their peak of physical fitness. Just those keen to delve a bit deeper into the world of physical and mental wellbeing that yoga and Pilates can deliver. Tai chi can be an effective rehabilitation tool which is why it is often recommended by doctors and physiotherapists (eg. for arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, back pain patients) because exertion levels can be adjusted to suit your needs and physical condition. Much of tai chi is taught standing but students can find it useful to sit for periods of the class – no one is left out !

What do I need to bring?

• A curious mind and yoga mat if you have one, but they can be provided by CAL if you forget yours or do not have one of your own. 
• A small to medium sized towel to support your neck during certain exercises and a small blanket are advisable though not essential.
• Wear loose fitting clothing!
• You must be able to access the web-based learning platform Google Classroom during the course. To do this you will need access to IT equipment such as a smartphone, laptop, PC or tablet, and a stable internet connection. You’ll also need to install Google Chrome Browser if you do not have this already – it's free to download and use, please visit: www.google.co.uk/chrome.