A warm summer's day.
A special place.
A cosy garden.
And then: kick-off for the Sport and Health cluster event!
Under the banner of Heart & Soul, Visionskultur once again called for people to come together. Workshops and workouts were on the agenda, because:
Bremen is a city of health!
This focused on both physical condition with numerous activities, such as the Spaces project „Build Your Future“ by the fitness and mental health coach/personal trainer Donia (@build_your_future__) in the areas of endurance and strength training. However, mental wellbeing was not neglected either. For instance, psychotherapist and alternative practitioner Gertrud Bräuer gave an exciting insight into working with tarot cards!
"I take great pleasure in using the imagery of tarot cards to help people on their journey through life towards greater self-awareness."
Petra Reinhardt (qualified educationist, supervisor and communication trainer, certified coach for personal and professional development, and psychotherapeutic practitioner) also had a sympathetic ear for our visitors. In an intimate conversation, questions such as:
What's on your mind?
What is on your mind or weighing on your heart?
What scares you? What do you wish for?
to be talked through. The principle: talking helps you get ahead! So: „Let's Talk!“
Where the projects showed: body and mind form a unity, to which we must and can do good. Astrid Stoffers showed us a special way to look after both the inside and the outside at the same time. She offered a short introductory taster session of Shiatsu.
In addition to the spontaneous, open activities, there was the opportunity to dedicate oneself intensively to a chosen topic in the form of a workshop under the guidance of an expert.
As is the case with inclusive dancing, for instance, an open choreo-lab for those interested, with and without disabilities. Dancers Neele Buchholz and Dorothea Schmidt worked alongside participants on everything from warm-up exercises to coordinated movements.
Furthermore, a short workshop with Thomas Ulrich (director, acting coach and actor) provided a look at physical, vocal and linguistic abilities in order to understand how, in an age when our body is often the focal point, we can succeed both physically and mentally through a confident presence.
And because we all know: „One should offer the body something good, so that the soul has the desire to dwell within it., the fitting comfort food naturally couldn't be left out. Yup Yup pampered with all sorts of colours, healthy indulgence and little tarts.
Our programme was rounded off by „Climeactivity“, who hosted a small climate quiz in the foyer, after all, our Earth also needs to recover. Not least because the positive effect of forest bathing and going for walks has been proven long before Corona.
Heart & Soul – a cluster event that collectively inspired a sustainable shift in mindset, motivated us to once again prioritise our own health, and above all, to take advantage of offerings together that make us feel: „Take care of your body. It is the only place you have to live.“
By way of background
Visionskultur, as a non-profit organisation, is dedicated to promoting the Bremen business location. Alongside supporting and assisting around 300 projects in the start-up and founding sector, our goal is to further develop socially relevant thematic areas in Bremen. These are accompanied and supported through mentoring and coaching, networking and brokering, public relations assistance, and events such as Heart and Soul, where young projects can present their ideas to a broader target group, meet cooperation partners, learn from one another, and discover synergies.
With Heart and Soul, our seventh cluster event was coming up. This time focusing on health, sport & lifestyle. Due to the increasing and high relevance of health promotion and sport, the event will address several social developments at the same time, but is also intended to emphasise the integrative and cultural function of movement as a connecting element and to master the tightrope walk between information and fun. Because whether dance, e-sports or other forms of sports-cultural offerings: joint sporting activity offers, in addition to health-promoting aspects, a basis for encounters, social interaction, the dismantling of barriers and understanding.
However, health aspects also play an important and long-neglected role in society and, in times of demographic change, represent important tasks for every community. In general, a clear lack of physical activity has emerged due to changing society and the world of work. People are increasingly working in sedentary or monotonous postures within their employment. Added to this is the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, which has persisted for almost two years. Work is increasingly being shifted to the home office, and social restrictions are also contributing to the impacts on public health. People are therefore generally not exercising enough. This lack of physical activity can lead to prolonged consequences such as a decline in balancing abilities, as well as decreases in mental and cognitive performance.
In the age of the knowledge society, many people have adopted a lifestyle that is detrimental to their health, spending many hours a day in an office chair and even more hours in front of a screen. Physical exercise is often neglected as a result. Through our exercise and fitness activities, we want to remind people that physical exertion is important for the oxygen supply to our organs and muscles via the cardiovascular system, especially when sporting activity is carried out with a certain regularity. To this end, at Heart and Soul we wanted to demonstrate ways of seamlessly integrating training routines into everyday (working) life. For example, many projects offer their activities in the hub for the community, as well as for visitors.
Yet sport and exercise are not the only factors that play a role in health promotion and prevention. According to the World Health Organisation, nutrition is a major factor regarding chronic diseases and can have a decisive influence on whether a person will develop conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Several of our projects deal with precisely this aspect of nutrition, which also minimises environmental impacts.
Work-related stress can also have a negative impact on our mental health in many ways. Irritability, lack of concentration, insomnia and depression are just some of the stress-related effects. To help prevent stress, several projects are focusing on mindfulness topics, ranging from yoga and massages to health consultations and coaching.
Have a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veWHUSGjuNQ
