It is only 2 months since Laura Lopez at ActivLives started up a new Love to Move session in Trimley St Martin, Felixstowe but the session is already a resounding success. Laura completed her Love to Move training in September 2024 and went on to pass her assessment in record time. Her training was funded through a grant received by the British Gymnastics Foundation from Suffolk Community Foundation. Laura was already running several community sessions for ActivLives but Love to Move has offered her the opportunity to add this uniquely different session to her repertoire and she is loving it.
“It’s such a rewarding and positive session to deliver. You can see the benefits it brings, not just for participants living with various conditions but the carers get just as much out of it. It is one of my favourite sessions to deliver. It has huge potential for local communities.”
The banner picture is of Laura with John and Doreen who are regular attendees at the Trimley St Martin session. John has run the London marathon 6 times with his fastest time being an incredible 2 hours 57 minutes. John had a dense stroke in June 2023 and has had a long road to recovery but is now seeing real benefits since starting Love to Move. One of their favourite parts of the session is the alphabet topic. When they get home after a session, they always go through the topic again (sometimes for hours!!) with pen and paper writing a list and coming up with lots more answers. And they never ask Google!
Doreen said “I love it. It gets you going. It makes you think for yourself, not just follow. I’m getting my husband back bit by bit. He is gaining more movement and strength in the side effected by his stroke. It’s not just me who notices it but other people too”.
Sue, pictured with Laura, is a full time carer for her husband who suffers from acute anxiety and depression and they have been coming to the session since it started. “It has helped me as a carer and done a lot for my husband’s mental health and wellbeing. After a session you feel really good. This is the only activity that my husband will come to where he can be with other people.”
The Trimley St Martin session is run weekly and participants enjoy a well deserved cup of tea and biscuit and a chat afterwards. Having seen it’s success, Laura is keen to develop more Love to Move sessions and the British Gymnastics Foundation is currently liaising with ActivLives and Active Suffolk to look at how we might be able to bring more Love to Move sessions to Suffolk.
For more information about Love to Move, please contact: Susannah.taylor@britishgymnasticsfoundation.org
Case Study prepared by Sue Taylor