The Move-Assure App
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Dance for Mental Wellbeing
Mental wellbeing is about how we cope with the normal stresses of life in different situations.
The National Health Service (NHS) say there are 5 steps to mental wellbeing. These are:
Step 1. Connect with other people
Step 2. Be physically active
Step 3. Learn new skills
Step 4. Give to others
Step 5. Pay attention to the present moment
If you feel that you are not coping well with the normal stresses of life, then increasing your engagement with some, or all, of these five steps might be beneficial.
We have created the Move-Assure Dance for Mental Wellbeing programme to help you be physically active, to learn new skills, to help you connect with other people, to pay attention to the present moment and to have some fun.
Our 20-week programme includes a series of 60 dance sessions, weekly wellbeing tips, the mental wellbeing quiz, as well as progress tracking and a community feature.
We hope it helps you get your wellbeing back.
Let's Dance!
Dame Darcey Bussell is the creator of DDMIX. DDMIX is a full body aerobic workout based on a wide range of different dance styles with easy to follow steps.
Dame Darcey has adapted some of the DDMIX dances so they are less demanding and therefore more accessible to everyone. They form the movement-basis of Move-Assure.
60 Dance Sessions
In total there are 17 DDMIX dances to learn in the Move-Assure Dance for Mental Wellbeing Programme, plus the warm up and cool down – so that makes 19.
Dances come in many different flavours and cultural influences. We hope these dances inspire you in many different ways.
Each of the 60 dance sessions (or classes) is made up from a selection of the following 17 dances.
Dance to feel calm
Dance for motivation
Dance for social wellbeing
Dance to improve memory
Dance to improve resilience
Dance to unwind
Dance to have fun
Dance for concentration
Dance to feel free
Dance to release tension
Dance for self-confidence
Dance for strength
Dance to feel connected
Dance to feel positive
Dance to feel happy
Dance to feel energised
Dance to feel hopeful
The Move-Assure Method
You’ll progress from Class 1 to Class 60 at a steady pace. Not too fast, not too slow.
The Move-Assure Method is designed so that you have the best possible learning and wellbeing experience.
In the first two weeks you’ll learn four dances and practice the warm up and cool down.
So that you don’t get overwhelmed, each dance is taught slowly three times. This way, we hope the dance will become consolidated in your memory.
We know that some of you may want to move faster through the programme – that’s fine, you really can go at your own pace – but the aim of this programme is to dance for mental wellbeing, and for that reason we want everyone to slow down and smell the roses.
Find the joy in learning each dance three times – and take the stress and the haste out of life.
Once you’ve got to grips with the warm-up, cool down and the first four dances, we’ll introduce a new dance every week from week 3.
A Marathon - not a Sprint
From Week 3 we’ll introduce a new dance every week.
At that point we’ll also stop teaching you some of the dances you’ve already practiced. But don’t worry – if you need a refresher just head back to a previous class.
The Move-Assure Method takes in to account people’s memory, learning and attention as you learn the dances.
We want you to be mentally stimulated, but not overwhelmed.
We want you to focus and concentrate at some points and also for your mind to be free and expressive at others.
By Class 60 – however long it takes you to get there – you will have learnt 17 dances, you will have experienced a range of emotional feelings and, to finish off, you’ll be dancing to have fun.
Mental Wellbeing Toolkit
Dr Peter Lovatt is the author of The Dance Cure, the surprising secret to being smarter, stronger, happier. The Dance Cure draws on research and case studies, and includes ten dance-based prescriptions to help improve mental and physical health.
Peter has taken 60 nuggets from The Dance Cure and he poses them as “Did you know…?” questions to Darcey.
At the end of each of the 60 dance sessions, Peter and Darcey briefly riff on the relationship between movement, dance and wellbeing.
Weekly Wellbeing Tips
Whether you’re fixing up a house or sewing on a button, you need a toolkit to help you get the job done.
The same is true for working on your wellbeing – you need a toolkit to help you get the job done.
Your mental wellbeing toolkit can help you think about your relationships, help you think about thinking, help you think about your emotions and your physical wellbeing too.
To help you develop your mental wellbeing toolkit, a Weekly Wellbeing Tip is presented at the end of each week.
The Weekly Wellbeing Tips were written by Lindsey Lovatt, an Occupational Therapist (OT) and a Systemic Therapist, who has worked in mental health for over 25 years.
An OT helps people of all ages overcome challenges completing everyday tasks or activities, their aim is to improve people’s ability to do everyday tasks.
A Systemic Therapist seeks to address people not only on the individual level, but also as people in relationships, dealing with the interactions of groups and their interactional patterns and dynamics.
The Weekly Wellbeing Tips have been informed by these approaches and we hope you find them helpful.
Mental Wellbeing Quiz
The Move-Assure Mental Wellbeing Quiz helps you to monitor and track your mental wellbeing. Your mental wellbeing is categorised in 6 areas of your life. These are: social connections, physical activity, learning new skills, giving to others, being mindful, and your self-concept.
The Move-Assure Mental Wellbeing Quiz asks you to respond to 18 statements about how you’ve been feeling in the last couple of days.
Once you’ve responded to all 18 statements you will receive a score indicating if your mental wellbeing is ‘a bit low’, ‘pretty good’ or ‘fabulous’.
In addition, you will receive a score for each of the 6 areas of your life.
The Move-Assure Mental Wellbeing Quiz can help you think about relative highs and lows in your wellbeing, and it can be used to track changes in your wellbeing over time.
Good mental wellbeing is about feeling good and functioning well. It is normal for your feelings to fluctuate in response to your daily life experiences. Use this tool to monitor changes in your mental wellbeing over time. However, this is not intended to replace a consultation with a GP if you are struggling.
The Science Bit
STEP behind the Movement
Move-Assure is underpinned by scientific theory, evidence and practice.
The STEP Approach was developed by Lindsey Lovatt and Dr Peter Lovatt.
STEP stands for Social, Thinking, Emotion and Physical and is the cornerstone of Movement in Practice.
Movement in Practice is the use of movement to enhance people’s relationships, creativity, health and wellbeing.
Movement is beneficial to mental wellbeing because it stimulates these four aspects of human functioning and behaviour.
Social – is concerned with our relationships and interactions with other people.
Thinking – is concerned with our learning, memory, attention and problem-solving skills.
Emotion – is concerned with our feelings, how we express our emotions and recognise them in other people.
Physical – is concerned with our physical make-up, from our muscles and organs to the functioning of our brain.
The Science Bit provides a short introduction to the science underpinning Move-Assure.
To learn more please visit www.movementinpractice.com
The Move-Assure App
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