Here at Manchester Young Professionals, we weren’t massive fans of Wednesday’s – you’re as close to Monday as you are to Friday, the weekend just gone is a distant memory, and the one coming up is too far on the horizon to get excited about. Wednesday’s are made even worse during these unprecedented times that we’re all currently living through (otherwise known as the Covid-19 pandemic), so, we thought, ‘how can we make Wednesday’s memorable, fun, and help improve people’s physical wellbeing and emotional wellbeing, all at the same time?’ That’s when the idea of Well-being Wednesday came to us!

While we joke, the idea behind the series of activities and initiatives that we’ll be hosting in the coming weeks, which we’ll explain in more detail below, is designed to give everyone a chance to get some much needed midweek energy during these difficult times, open them up to new experiences that they can enjoy from the comfort and safety of their home, and improve their mental health and overall mood.

So, in today’s blog, we’re going to be detailing our plans for the months of February and March so that you can participate in Well-being Wednesday with your family, parents, children, fellow employees, or friends. We’ll also look at the important reasons behind it, and why now, more than ever, people need to, from time-to-time, give themselves space for self-care.

To learn more, be sure to check out our Instagram page or events page on our site, alternatively, why not get in touch with us? We love chatting and would be delighted to answer questions you may have about Well-being Wednesday, or any of the other events we run, such as our Mentoring Programme! You can get in touch by email at info@mcryoungprofessionals.com or give us a call on 0161 327 1385.

Wellness Wednesday With MYP – What You Can Expect From These Activities And Classes

Our Well-being Wednesday’s began on 10th February with a high-intensity body workout that was run by the team at M3 Perform, this was followed up on 17th February with a breathwork and meditation masterclass from Craig Seaton. These first two events kick-started a 6-week program with new and exciting things coming to your screens every, yep you guessed it, Wednesday!

Each week will see us do different activities and all our events will be free – all you have to do is sign up, and log-on! We’re so grateful to M3 Perform for kicking our schedule of events off, it was a well-attended class that featured some pretty gruelling exercises such as the ‘M3 Tens’ and the ‘Lockdown Prowler’, all of which were high-impact and designed to shake people out of any negative feelings that may have built up during the working week.

The second class was a slightly more sedate affair, but no less impactful. We’re all about looking after one’s mental health, regardless of whether there is a pandemic or not, so to have the chance to work with an expert such as Craig Seaton who is a breathwork and meditation coach, and a Kundalini Yoga teacher for a whole hour was a unique opportunity. By the stillness of things on Zoom, it seemed that each person was slowly seeing the benefits of centering themselves and taking a moment to empty their mind and focus on the simple act of breathing.

We’re super grateful to both parties for taking time out of their day to showcase these activities for us. To be the first to know about Well-being Wednesday sessions, be sure to sign up to our mailing list, or keep your eyes peeled to our Instagram stories which will give you all the information you need to be able to attend.

Announcement: Well-being Wednesday Class #3 on Wednesday 24th February

For the latest Well-being Wednesday session, we are delighted to be joined by Clare Bethan, for a free Zoom Yoga class on Wednesday at 7pm.

Clare teaches LYT method yoga – a style that promotes safer, smarter and more conscious movement patterns. With a focus on functional and sustainable movement, you don’t need to be a bendy Wendy to take part!

Clare’s classes are designed to make you feel challenged and empowered on the mat, to become more resilient in your spirit and your body, so you can take your practice off the mat and into the rest of your life.

All you’ll need is some space and a mat if you have one.

Why We Do It – The Importance Of Leisure Time For The Mind, Physical Health

Our charity partner over the past couple of years, Manchester Mind, published a report in June 2020 titled ‘The Mental Health Emergency’ which stated ‘the coronavirus pandemic will leave a deep and lasting scar on the mental health of millions in this country’ and that ‘prioritising mental health has never been more critical than it is now’, because ‘more than two-thirds of adults with mental health problems reported that their mental health got worse during the lockdown. As a direct consequence of the pandemic and all that follows, many people who were previously well will now develop mental health problems.’ 

Clearly, then, the need for individuals to look after their mental health is vital which is a key reason we started this Well-being Wednesday campaign. To emphasise the point, even more, we’ve compiled a few statistics from the report, that surveyed over 14,000 adults aged 25+ and 1,917 young people aged 13-24, which outline the importance of schemes such as Wellness Wednesday.

  • More than half of adults (60%) and over two-thirds of young people (68%) have said their mental health got worse during the lockdown.
  • People with experience of mental health problems are more likely to see their mental health worsen as a result of coronavirus restrictions.
  • Nearly three quarters (73%) of those with an eating disorder, PTSD (72%) or OCD (72%) said their mental health got worse during the pandemic.
  • Almost half of the young people (44%) and adults (43%) have not or rarely felt relaxed during the lockdown.

Get In Touch To Learn More

One of the best ways to combat poor mental health is through activities, classes, and engagement schemes such as Well-being Wednesday. We’d love for you to join us in the coming weeks! As we’ve said, keep an eye out on our social media to find out what our upcoming events are going to look like. Get in touch with us at info@mcryoungprofessionals.com or give us a call on 0161 327 1385.