Debo puts faith in yoga sessions to help reduce isolation in Wolverhampton

The sessions also offer a chance to make friends and have been playing a huge role in reducing isolation and loneliness in the community.

As part of the Get Out Get Active programme, Debo has been teaching yoga at a number of faith centres, including four Gurdwaras in Wolverhampton since July 2021.

“I had always been interested in health and wellness, but at 67 it had gotten harder to find opportunities to exercise,” she tells Weekend.

“Then I started teaching yoga and I found an amazing way to combine my love of exercise and making friends.”

Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is a UK programme which brings disabled and non-disabled people together to be active.

In 2020, GOGA partnered with Active Black Country in 2020 and are working specifically in Wolverhampton, to explore the potential of faith-based organisations to reach the most inactive people in the community.

As an NHS worker, Debo saw first-hand the importance of keeping a healthy lifestyle.

Over the years, she has been involved in a number of different health, fitness and wellbeing projects in Wolverhampton.

She has worked as a facilitator for a self-management programme, helping people with long-term conditions take more control of their health by learning new skills and techniques to manage their symptoms and condition better on a daily basis.

“I completed a six-week self-management programme with the NHS.

“I enjoyed the course and trained as a facilitator, talking to people about health, pain management, exercise and nutrition.

“I enjoy learning and I like to get out and into the community,” says Debo, who lives in Wolverhampton.

Her voluntary work has also included setting up gentle exercise classes aimed at helping people to stay active.

She has also been supporting stroke patients, of West Park Rehabilitation Hospital, to use the Easy Line Gym at Bradmore Community Centre as part of their rehabilitation treatment.

“It’s rewarding and we have all become like a little family,” says the grandmother of two.

During the pandemic, Debo wanted to keep both active and social and knew that many elder members of her community were becoming increasingly isolated and lonely.

That’s when she got involved with GOGA and set up dedicated weekly yoga groups at a number of Gurdwaras.

Her classes include sessions at Guru Teg Bahadur Gurdwara in Upper Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, and Nanaksar Thath Isher in Mander Street, Wolverhampton.

She says the classes, which are predominantly attended by middle aged to older women, are always great spots for a catch-up and a gossip.

And unlike some more intimidating yoga classes, it’s not about looking good or pushing yourself into crazy shapes – although plenty of the women are very flexible.

“For some of us it’s also a connection to our culture and our heritage,” says Debo.

The classes offer participants many benefits including helping to boost their mental health as well as reducing feelings of anxiety and isolation.

“Most of the ladies live by themselves so it gets them out of the house and helps them to make friends. They are spending time with other people. It’s lifting their spirits and lifting their moods,” she explains.

“The classes are really helping my mental health as well because I love spending time with people and connecting with people.”

Outside of the classes, the women stay connected via a WhatsApp group and have travelled together on coach trips to Blackpool and Devon.

“Our WhatsApp group is constantly on the go! Everybody can see the messages and join in if they want to,” Debo tells Weekend.

And at the other end of the spectrum, Debo has also been delivering classes for kids in local faith schools including Nishkam Primary School in Wolverhampton. She says the school sessions are always a lot of fun and the children look forward to the sessions. “They are popular and the kids love seeing someone different come into their school,” explains Debo.

Get Out Get Active, which began in 2016, takes place in 21 locations across the UK and is led by Activity Alliance, the national charity for disabled people in sport.

Projects in Wolverhampton have also included a family fun day in East Park, on May Day, 2022.

Residents were able to receive readouts relating their height, weight, body fat percentage, resting and recovery pulse and blood pressure.

Children enjoyed kites, football sessions, a bouncy castle, and boxercise sessions.

For more information visit www.getoutgetactive.co.uk