“A big part of well-being is looking after the small details” – Improving health and well-being with SPACE in Salford

A free mobile well-being room visited Salford last week to encourage residents to take a moment from their busy lives and practise self care.

Space, organised and run by Steph Walker, in partnership with Art with Heart, has been touring all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester to provide practical well-being tasks for everyone, not just those with specific mental health problems or physical needs.

Steph explained what well-being is and how it can impact everyone.

“I wanted to create a space with no expectations where people could take time out from their day. We all live such busy lives and we sometimes don’t think about how our environment can affect our well-being,” said Steph.

Steph is a mental health practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in the profession, and created SPACE. She first had the idea while touring with a performance on adult ADHD. She created a room where audience members could talk if they felt emotional or triggered by the performance topic.

Since then, Steph has adapted this idea into SPACE, which has become an area where people can relax but also feel more energized depending on what they want to get out of the space. There are no expectations in SPACE and people are free to use the space however they want.

Inside SPACE, there are practical, goal setting tasks for participants to do but they can also just have a cup of tea and chat if they would prefer. One of these tasks include ‘planting’ goals in soil alongside actual seeds to help ground and encourage them to be reached.

Steph said: “A big part of well-being is looking after the small details. Having a small area in your house that is only yours, where you can take time away from everything is perfect. Somewhere where you can light a few candles and read your favourite book, just anything to take a moment to breathe and almost give yourself permission to breathe.”

SPACE has travelled the whole country over the past year, adapting its tasks and decorations to find what works best for those who choose to visit. Rescource booklets were developed for each location Steph visits. These include crisis centres, hobby and craft groups and walking routes that visitors are welcome to take away with them.

If you are unable to visit SPACE while it travels around Greater Manchester, take a sneak peak at the room below!

Here are Steph’s top tips to practice well-being and mindfulness in your own space:

• Try and take time for yourself everyday, even if it is just 5 minutes. These minutes need to be purposeful and you need to consciously tell yourself you are having that time and that you have permission to enjoy it.
• You can create yourself a more uplifting and relaxing environment with affordable comforts, including blankets and candles. Think about where you get your energy and what brings you joy and try bring this into your space.
• It is not selfish to take time for yourself. This helps to keep you grounded so you can care for yourself and others.
• Try something new! You never know what might awaken a new part of yourself and what hobbies can energise you.

Steph hopes to tour SPACE around Greater Manchester again, so keep an eye on both her Twitter (@StephWalkerMCR) and Art With Heart (@artwith_heart) for more information.