Move Your Mood (MYM) is a research-based program developed by the Recovery Alberta Mental Health Promotion & Addiction Prevention team. The program promotes physical activity and healthy lifestyle practices to improve the mental and physical well-being of participants.Move Your Mood Vision: Inspire people to be active and healthy for life.
Move Your Mood Mission: Support individuals, families, schools and community to improve their mental and physical
well-being through healthy lifestyle practices.
Move Your Mood aims to teach children, youth, adults and older adults positive coping strategies that they can apply to their daily life to enhance their mental and physical well-being, build resilience, promote healthy decision making and positive relationships. The MYM program does this by providing opportunities for participants to experience how to move their bodies, fuel their bodies, practice mindfulness, and build positive coping strategies. The goal of the program is for participants to have fun, gain confidence and competence to be active and healthy for life.
The original Child and Youth program
The program aims to allow children and youth to experience a variety of fun ways to be active and healthy in their own community. We partner with many local agencies to run the program to expose youth to fun activities they can continue in the future. Check the service listing for the location closest to you for dates, times, and contact information.
Postpartum Moms Program
This free, referral-based program also runs in eight-week intervals for moms who are at least 6 week’s postpartum and with babies under 1 year of age. The program typically takes place at a local recreation centre engaging women in different forms of exercise such as; strollercize, yoga, pilates and strength training. The program also incorporates the five core components of MYM with guest speakers that help develop skills in positive coping, mindfulness, relationship building, nutritious eating and building assets in their children. Check the service listing for the location closest to you for dates, times, and contact information.
Family Challenge
The Family MYM Challenge is an opportunity for families to try different ways to be active and create positive connections through healthy lifestyle practices. The challenge provides different ideas on how families can move together, cook and eat together, practice mindfulness and build positive coping strategies, as well as learn about the 40 developmental assets to help their kids grow up great. The challenge is offered in February for 4-weeks.
School Challenge
The school challenge runs during Mental Health Awareness week in May. The challenge encourages all schools K-12 across Alberta to take part. The goal is to increase awareness on the importance of mental health and how to improve mental health through healthy lifestyles practices. The school is encouraged to have the students read daily messages to the entire school and share one way to incorporate a healthy choice each day. Students can use the ideas provided or get creative and make their own.
Community
The MYM program also aims at being involved in the community to help share the MYM message with other programs and projects that link the benefits of physical activity and healthy lifestyles to enhance mental health. This includes community presentations, displays and projects like; Grow Kids, Community Better ParticipACTION challenge, and the spray painted games for families to be active in local parks.
Partnering in Communities
The Recovery Alberta Mental Health and Addiction Prevention and Promotion team works within their identified communities to establish partners that want to assist in the delivery of the Move Your Mood program. The team works with the community partner to provide training, planning and implementation of the program.