Brief summary of episode: The average healthspan, the number of years that people spend healthy in the UK is about 10 years shorter than the average lifespan. Increasing the number of years that we spend in good health is a priority not just for us as individuals but for our wider society. Health is determined by a range of different things in our environment and physical activity is just one of those. As we age our muscle mass and strength decreases and our body fat increases. Physical activity, particularly strengthening exercises are recommended to maintain fitness. There are added benefits too such as balance, flexibility and endurance which means that we are less likely to fall as we age. My guests today are Sheni Ravji-Smith, Head of System Organisational Development, Leadership & Wellbeing working across the whole public service system in Greater Manchester and Hayley Lever Greater Manchester Moving Exec Lead & CEO, GreaterSport Welcome to the show Sheni and Hayley and thank you so much for your time. I’m sure if anyone can get us moving more it will be the two of you. Bullet points of key topics + chapter markers Topic #1 Hayley explains benefits immediate e.g., mental health benefits as well as long-term benefits of health protection, faster recovery from injuries and long-term conditions as we age. Physical activity and movement is an important part of our lives. Topic #2 Hayley explains the difference between physical activity and exercise and talks about the small changes that make an impact and Sheni tells us about her journey to strength training. Topic #3 Identity driven habits – building a lifestyle that brings joy and movement into life. The importance of your WHY. Topic #4 Hayley talks about the barriers that people face in doing exercise The fear of judgement and lack of identity as a. Sheni tells us what impact exercise had on her in perimenopause. Topic #5 Menopause and physical activity and the protective benefits as you age such as maintaining both health. Hayley’s talks about the blog she has written on menopause and exercise. Topic #6 Motivation – Hayley says to find your thing, design it to fit into your life. Sheni shares her experience of breathing and meditation exercises. List of resources, suggested materials, affiliate links, and social media: #1 Hayley’s blog from her TEDx talk https://hayleyleverblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/20/the-power-of-active-soles-to-change-the-world/ #2 Hayley’s Blog on menopause hayleyleverblog – Hayley Lever (wordpress.com) #3 Atomic Habits James Clear Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear GUEST DETAILS HAYLEY LEVER As the Exec lead for GM Moving, her work is located in the devolved and integrated system. Greater Manchester is Doing things Differently. It’s an exciting place to be. Together, leaders from across sectors wrote and launched the GM Moving Plan in 2017. As CEO of GreaterSport, Hayley leads this amazing charity, enabling it to play its full part in the leadership and delivery of the system wide GM Moving Plan. SHENI RAVJI-SMITH Sheni is the Head of System OD, Leadership & Wellbeing working across the whole public service system in Greater Manchester, based at NHS GM Integrated Care. She is leading on the Wellbeing and Inclusion system developments across Greater Manchester, including author of the GM Wellbeing Toolkit, as well as a coach and mentor. During the pandemic, Sheni was the Strategic OD & Wellbeing lead at NHS Nightingale NW field hospital, based in Manchester. Sheni sits on various boards and advisory groups, has a parallel career in cultural and creative production, and is a Short Clore Leadership, and a Creative Leadership Programme alumni. TAKE HOME MESSAGE Do what you can to move more Small meaningful changes are best Choose to focus on what you care about rather than outcomes that are not so important A helpful App is - Balance App https://www.balance-menopause.com/ SPREAD THE WORD I would love you to share this podcast with people in your circles who will find it useful. If you could leave a review and rating on Apple podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from, that would be fantastic. Thanks for listening, Barbara
