Category: Art

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Art Carers Dementia Mindfulness Movement

Creative Mindfulness for Dementia Course Is Back!

This “excellent” course is back this year thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund, Healthy Arts Power of Good, Wellbeing Activities project, Healthy Arts | Power of Good

Are you or someone you care for living with a Dementia diagnosis?

Would you like to live well with this disease, sooth your mind & body and have some fun?

The first Creative Mindfulness for Dementia Course in 2023, based on the renowned Breathworks Mindfulness for Stress was described as “excellent” and increased every participant’s sense of wellbeing. It includes learning skills to calm worry and anxiety, enjoyable creative activities, tea and cake in a small group.

“I have found it very useful; the course is very important in your everyday life”

Taking place over eight weeks it is FREE to attend for both you if diagnosed with Dementia or a family member, Carer or friend.

“Hi, I’m Cath the course teacher. I’m Breathworks trained and offering this course as I wish my Dad and I could have done this in the first few years of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.”

Thursdays 18th April-6th June/ 1-3pm

The Gold Room at Leigh Miners Welfare Institute, 1 Kirby Road, Leigh, WN7 4EF

Contact Cath for a chat about the course on,

Mobile-0798 4123 445 or Email-cathhawkins@yahoo.co.uk

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Art Carers Dementia Mindfulness Movement

Creative Mindfulness for Dementia

“Overall, I think it was an excellent course”. Participant diagnosed with Dementia.

“All excellent”. Carer

In Spring, thanks to funding from the Breathworks Seed Fund, Dementia United, Big Brain Health Fund and The Deal Wigan, I offered a new adapted model of the Breathworks Mindfulness for Stress Course to an amazing group of people living with Dementia. One week of the course, Ginny Wall, who provided excellent supervision and support with planning suggested I ask people to bring in something that made them smile to explore ‘letting in the good’. The image above shows the beautiful saris, pebbles and funny, smiling little moving man that the group brought in. Another week we enjoyed wonderfully calming guitar and song from Corrie Shelley, which encouraged a member of the group to bring his guitar and and supply us with live music nearly every week. Writer Chris Harter also took away our writing from a session and returned some amazing poems.

How I See You

Breathing in the moment with courage and daring.

Loving in the moment with laughter and sharing.

Living in the moment with kindness and caring.

As you have probably guessed the course went very well. I want to thank Julie Phillips, my fellow Breathworks teacher who supported me, (don’t know what I would have done without her!) as a volunteer. Leigh Youth Hub was also a great venue.

Here are some more quotes from the evaluation:

“I felt the course very interesting and unusual. I feel relaxed and it kept me interested right through”. Participant diagnosed with Dementia.

“I have found it very useful, the course is very important in your everyday life”. Carer

“Everyone has been loving and caring, restful and calm. Going to miss our Wednesday afternoon”. Carer

“Venue all fab, easy access, light and airy. Tea, cake and strawberries lovely. Timing just right”. Carer

Finally some quantitative evaluation:

WHO-5 Well-being Index/Completed Pre and Post Course:

4 Participants with a Dementia diagnosis began the course with an average well-being score of 35%. This rose to 57% at end of course, a 22% rise in sense of wellbeing.

3 Carer Participants began the course with an average wellbeing score of 25%. This rose to 65% at end of course, 40% rise in sense of wellbeing. 2 Carers sense of wellbeing score more than doubled by end of course.

With funding from, so far, the National Lottery Community Fund, I am inspired to offer the course again in Spring 2024.

Many thanks to everyone involved!

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Art Carers Dementia Mindfulness Movement Nature

Creative Mindfulness for Dementia

I am really excited to be offering this new course soon!

Are you living with a Dementia diagnosis?

Do you know or care for someone affected by Dementia? Would you like to live well with this disease, soothe your mind and body and have some fun?

Creative Mindfulness for Dementia is a new opportunity, based on the renowned Breathworks Mindfulness for Stress course. It will include learning skills to calm worry and anxiety, enjoyable creative activities and tea and cake in a small group. Taking place over eight weeks it is FREE to attend whether you are diagnosed with Dementia or a family member, Carer or friend.

“Hi, I’m Cath the course teacher. I’m Breathworks trained and offering this course as I wish my Dad and I could have done this in the first few years of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.”

Contact Cath for a chat about the course on,

Mobile-0798 4123 445 or Email-cathhawkins@yahoo.co.uk

When-Wednesday, 1-3.30pm, 26th April-14th June

Where-Leigh Youth Hub, Sale Way, Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, WN7 4JY

Breathworks Accredited Teacher

Supported by the Breathworks Seed Fund, Dementia United Big Brain Health Fund and The Deal, Wigan.

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Art Mindfulness Movement Nature

Movement & Mindfulness 2022

Image by Sarah Mason

Earlier this year I received Arts Council England, Homepage (artscouncil.org.uk)Developing Your Creative Practice funding to research combining my movement and mindfulness practice. I spent the summer returning to studio spaces in Liverpool and West Yorkshire and also worked in a new environment for me, up on the moors above Hebden Bridge.

I created four postcards to document, what was a precious time that feature images by Sarah Mason, Filmmaker and photographer for brands and families (sarahmasonphotography.co.uk)a photographer and film maker who I was so lucky to work with and whose amazing images I will begin to include on this website. The postcards include information about the project and also dip into the process I explored.

Here is the back of one postcard:

A summer spent combining practice in movement studios and the natural environment. Catherine Hawkins has worked in dance for nearly thirty years, in improvisation, environmental movement and art making. In 2021 she became an Accredited Breathworks Mindfulness teacher.

“This research harboured a powerful autobiographical undercurrent. High in the hills on the West Yorkshire moors I could reflect, hearing the roar of water flowing lower down in the valley. Mindfulness has offered new paths, un-paths even to help me find my way to wellbeing. To be with challenges of recent years and a strong, supportive feeling that something creative is gathering to further express this being human.”

Thank you to Helen Poynor and Padmadarshini Cole for your mentoring, Mary Prestidge at the Liverpool Improvisation Collective Studio, Bluecoat, Liverpool, Rob Hopper at Wainsgate Dance, West Yorkshire and photographer Sarah Mason for supporting this process-based research.

I’m really looking forward to what comes next after this valuable time to follow an ‘un-path’.

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Art Mindfulness Nature

Mindfulness Group, Getting Out More!

Thanks to funding from the Dementia United, Carers Groups Bounce Back Fund the Mindfulness Group can continue into the spring and summer, Carers and those affected by Dementia can enjoy FREE sessions and everyone can experience the benefits of a number of wellbeing trips. The Group recently enjoyed a relaxing visit to The Monastery, Manchester.

“The trip to Gorton was beautiful, Catherine. Thank you for arranging it.“

Over the coming months we will be continuing the Tuesday afternoon sessions in Leigh at Kingsleigh Methodist Church, taking another trip to The Wellbeing Program at RHS Bridgewater, taking part in the Healthy Arts ‘This Mine Is Yours’ project at Lancashire Mining Museum, Astley Green and enjoying getting outdoors practicing mindfulness. Get in contact if you would like to come along.

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Art Nature

‘Animated’ Article

It’s great to see my short reflection on participating in the People Dancing, Perspectives on Practice, Tree Time by Helen Poynor, included as an article in ‘Animated’, the People Dancing magazine.

Read and download the Spring/Summer 2022 digital edition of Animated magazine online in a flipbook. This is an 80 page bumper edition offering contributions from 30 diverse dancers, teaching artists, community practitioners, academics, researchers and leaders. Produced in collaboration with the Centre of Dance Research (C-DaRE) at Coventry University.

https://www.communitydance.org.uk/developing-practice/animated-magazine

Many thanks for including this People Dancing.

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Art Mindfulness

News

New Website!

Yes, I’ve finally got around to begin creating a new website. It will be a work in progress for a while and then will feature my work as a Mindfulness Teacher and a Movement & Visual Artist. An advantage of working in natural places is that I have lots of photographs to select and add. Hope you like them!