Move-Assure Dance for Mental Wellbeing
created by a dancer, a therapist, and a scientist
to help you improve your wellbeing.
Reviews
Directions
Take one 20-minute dance session three times a week for 20 weeks.
Introduce one new wellbeing tip in to your life each week for 20 weeks.
Monitor your wellbeing regularly using the Mental Wellbeing Quiz.
Attend weekly coaching sessions for further support.
Move-Assure
Dance & Wellbeing
Dance for Mental Wellbeing - 60 fun, dance-based sessions, led by Dame Darcey Bussell
- Unique, progressive, 20-week online programme
- 15-20 minute sessions, recommended 3 times per week
- Weekly Wellbeing Tips and Toolkit
- Learn the science behind the moves with Dr Peter Lovatt
- Complete at your own pace - anytime, anywhere
- Monitor your wellbeing - using the Move-Assure Mental Wellbeing Quiz
Move-Assure
Dance for Mental Wellbeing
with Dame Darcey Bussell
and Dr Peter Lovatt
Move-Assure is the perfect combination of dance and wellbeing, to help you get your wellbeing back.
The Move-Assure Dance for Mental Wellbeing programme was created by Lindsey Lovatt (who is an occupational therapist and mental health specialist), Dame Darcey Bussell (who is a former principal ballerina with the Royal Ballet Company and the founder of DDMiX, a dance fitness program) and Dr Peter Lovatt (a Psychologist with a special interest in movement and dance, and the author of The Dance Cure).
The Move-Assure Dance for Mental Wellbeing programme has two main elements. It has a dance element and it has a mental wellbeing element.
The Mental Wellbeing element is grounded in practical advice and activities to help you develop resilience around your own mental wellbeing. Move-Assure does this by including a mental wellbeing quiz, so that you can keep track of changes in your mental wellbeing, by including “Did You Know?s” at the end of each of the 60 dance sessions, by including weekly wellbing tips that help you to develop a wellbeing toolkit and by providing weekly wellbeing coaching sessions, which you can take part in via zoom, either as part of a group or privately.
The Dance element is made up of 60 pre-recorded online dance sessions, which can be done anywhere, at any time. The dance sessions are based on 17 different dance styles, which stimulate a range of positive feelings. All of the dances are taught and demonstrated by Darcey and Peter. You don’t need to be a dancer to dance with Darcey and Peter, or to wear any special clothes. The dances are taught slowly and simply, and they build up across the sixty sessions.
The most important thing to remember about Move-Assure is that it’s not a workout, it’s wellbeing.
Lindsey, Darcey and Peter created Move-Assure for you, to help you get your wellbeing back.
benefits
Taking time to look after your mental wellbeing is essential for overall health and quality of life. Here are 10 benefits of prioritizing your mental wellbeing with Move-Assure:
- Improved Emotional Resilience – Strengthening your mental wellbeing helps you better cope with life’s challenges and bounce back from setbacks.
- Stress Reduction – Engaging in dance can reduce stress levels by releasing endorphins, which are natural mood lifters. The combination of movement and music can also be calming.
- Better Relationships – A balanced mental state allows you to communicate more effectively, empathize with others, and maintain healthier relationships.
- Increased Self-Esteem – Self-care boosts self-esteem and self-confidence, helping you feel more self-assured in various aspects of life.
- Improved Mood – Dancing can elevate your mood and provide a sense of joy and happiness. It’s a fun and enjoyable activity that can help combat feelings of sadness or depression.
- Greater Creativity – A relaxed and well-cared-for mind is often more creative, allowing for innovative problem-solving and a deeper appreciation for art and ideas.
- Self-Expression – Dancing allows you to express yourself creatively, which can be a powerful tool for emotional release and self-discovery.
- Enhanced Sleep – Prioritizing mental wellbeing can lead to better sleep patterns, which in turn improves cognitive function, mood, and physical health.
- Happier Life – Ultimately, taking care of your mental health leads to a happier, more fulfilling life. It allows you to savour positive experiences and find joy in everyday moments.
- Emotional Release – Dancing provides a healthy outlet for pent-up emotions. It allows you to express and release feelings, which can be therapeutic.
Dance, Wellbeing, Science
The Move-Assure Method
60 Dance Sessions
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.
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.
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.
The 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.
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
A Free Move-Assure Taster Session
We are sure you’ll love the Move-Assure Dance for Mental Wellbeing programme.
Please enjoy Week 1 Session 2 as an example of the Move-Assure warm up and cool down and the Move-Assure dance to feel happy and the Move-Assure dance to feel energised.
If you enjoy our taster session, please sign up for access to all 60 sessions, the weekly wellbeing tips, science and coaching.
Before joining in with the Move-Assure Taster Session it is essential that you read the Class Liability Waiver and Release