Mind Body Soul - Thursday 10 October

Good health isn’t just about the physical body. Our mind, body and soul are interconnected and affect each other tremendously. The event didn't only bring a smile to the face of our guests for a day, but provided an opportunity to take away many things guests can do in your daily life to achieve overall wellbeing.

We ate, sang, made music, exercised and flower arranged, as well as recognising the amazing achievements of the people we support - what a day it was!

The event was a day of celebration, awareness, laughter and friendship. There was performances, creative stalls and an award ceremony, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the people we support and our volunteers.

From smoothie making to flower arranging and learning more about mindfulness, the day was a truly unforgettable day.

Guests arrived bright and early to enjoy a breakfast sandwich and to take in beauty of The Manchester Monastery. The event was launched by our CEO, Rachel Peacock and our guest host, Jo Howarth, founder of The Happiness Club.

We broke the ice with the help of Mark from Creative Team Events, transforming into a colourful boomwhacker orchestra, creativity vibrant music and coordinating five different harmonies.

Physical activity is good for your body – having a healthy heart and improving your joints and bones are just two, but it’s also beneficial for your mental health and wellbeing.

Samim and Sophie from Blackburn and Darwin Healthy Living taught us basic chair exercises suitable for all ages and abilities, so much fun that it didn't even feel like exercise.

We were joined by The Manchester Mental Health Choir, led by Choir Master Dan McDwyer who was featured on One Love Manchester.

The choir gave a brilliant performance of Emeli Sandé's wonder, where they announced to guests that they will be joining Emeli live on the Royal Variety Performance.

Stalls

On top of all the fantastic main event activities, we wanted to make sure guests got as much out of the day as possible, the stalls, which were located in the welcome wing, were open all day to give guests choice over how they spend their day. Each stall had its own way of balancing either your mind, body or soul.

People were able to send a postcard to their future selves and remind themselves of what they did and how they felt during the event. The fundraising team were on hand to show guests how they can raise money and get involved in fundraising events, as well as running a name the bear competition.

We captured the fun and special moments of the day in the campervan inspired photo booth, and even got a personalised print to take away. To beome more mindful and to inspire us to find a way to relax that is simple and rewarding, guests were able to flower arrange and take their bunch home!

A masseur provided chair and hand massages to encourage guests to take time for themselves, whilst a mindfulness workshops provided tips and techniques to build mindfulness into our day, helping us to be more attentive, less stressed and improve our mental wellbeing. For a wellbeing activity and healthy refreshment, we make our own smoothie whilst also keeping fit with the help of The Smoothie Bike Company. Those guests with a competitive edge raced against another guest to see who made a smoothie the quickest.

Congratulations to this year’s winners

• Excellence - Anne Jennings
• Knowledge - Diane Lawton
• Integrity - Susan Shannon
• Respect - Mark Braithwaite
• Collaboration - Rosemary Stephens
• Stand Out Award - Eli Sherriff

Thank You

Through a cross-functional project team, consisting of people we support, Trustees and employees, we planned, organised and hosted a very successful event.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to be with us. The day wouldn't have been possible without everyone who helped us: our brilliant volunteers on the day who gave their absolute all, our employees who supported people on the day, and to the people we support who got involved in the organising of the day, you're support is truly valued.