You might know that June is is LGBT Pride month, that is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month and is celebrated annually in June to honour the 1969 Stonewall riots, and all the works done before and since to achieve equal justice and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) people across the world, although it was initially started in America. I am blessed to have many friends from the queer community, and I embrace this opportunity to stand beside them and show my support. To be honest I rarely remember to tell them that I stand beside them and love them wholeheartedly – you see they are simply my friends, and their LGBTQ status is never a point of discussion (but I don’t discuss heterosexuality with my straight friends either) unless they wish to discuss it with me.
I aim to be inclusive, of service and friendly towards all people (if they are nice, honest and kind) and have many acquaintances of varying faiths, economic, political and ethnic backgrounds and some that are neurodiverse. I am fiercely loyal and will stand up for my friends, clients and those who are bullied, misunderstood, need help or are persecuted at any time but this month the focus is on our queer community.
As part of pride month celebrations and awareness I am creating gay icon playlists and choreography for some of the classes to allow the DYBO crew to enjoy some ‘Pride’ and embrace love for all, so keep an eye out for more information on our social media and our blogs.
New Website!!
Yay, the new website is up and running and ready for you to tell all your friends and family about!
I have had some great feedback since we posted about it last week, please do take a look and tell me what you think!
I’ve been pottering in my garden growing various herbs, salads veggies and fruit. I’m intrigued by the healing properties of the plants growing around us and as my Lemon Balm is growing at a rapid rate, I did a little bit of googling to see what I can do with it.
It seems it has great properties for helping with poor sleep, stomach upset, colds and cold sores it also adds flavour to plain water to make a refreshing drink!
I’ve shared a sleep enhancing recipe at the bottom of this blog for you to check out – very timely as these warm nights might disturb our sleep, plus another can can help with a dicky tummy .
So let’s look at the week ahead…
I have some fab gay anthem playlists for our fitness and dance fit classes for you to enjoy, some fresh choreo in step, barre and stretch classes of course!
INDEPENDANCE!
Bookings are open for our last Independance event of 2023 with the adorable and super talented teaching ace, Jo Ali.
Book today for a £10 Early Bird offer! You can follow the link or email me and pay via Bacs to the UK Fitness Academy account.
A sleepy time herbal syrup!
Found on the nerdy farm wife web site…
A delicious way to calm and relax everyone from children to adults! But not infants.
- Place about 3/4 cup lemon balm leaves into a small pot and add enough water to just cover the leaves.
- Simmer, covered partially, until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Strain out & compost the leaves.
- Whilst still quite warm, measure out about 1/2 cup of the concentrated tea and stir 1/4 cup raw honey into it.
- Add more honey to taste, if you wish.
- Store in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
- Dose by the spoonful at night to help calm and relax.
A relaxing, tummy soothing tea:
Fill a jar with fresh lemon balm leaves.
Pour simmering hot water into the jar then cover the top with a saucer so that none of the vapours escape.
Let steep until cool enough to drink. Sweeten to taste & enjoy!
Have a fabulous week and thank you for your support of DYBO it is very much appreciated and needed in these difficult financial times.
To help us keep prices down please continue to support DYBO classes, and one to one services and keep spreading the word about DYBO far and wide.
Love ya,
Helen
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DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:.
At All Hallows, Farnham & DYBO Studio, Church Crookham (Book in Advance only): Zoom class details further down the page.
Monday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: Boogie Fit
7.30-8.15pm: Total Tone – with bands, handweights and mat.
Tuesday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: 5 in 1 Fitness – with bands, handweights and mat.
7.30-8.15pm: Dance Fit
Wednesday (DYBO Studio)
6.30pm Old Skool, Step & Strength – Step, hand weights and band.
7.15pm Barre Fit – Something to assist balance like a barre, eg. chair, worktop, mantlepiece etc.
Thursday (AH)
6.15-7.20pm: Contemporary Stretch – various equipment used at each class, contact me for info.
7.30-8.30pm: Dancespiration
Friday (DYBO Studio)
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga Express – Release, Restore, Recover and Deep Stretch.
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Joining us at All Hallows? – Protocols and information
I’m so happy to be able to run Face to Face classes at All Hallows and at the DYBO Studio in Church Crookham. My primary objective is to ensure that we all have a wonderful time with effective and fun classes that are engaging, relaxed and of course, safe.
To ensure that is the case I just want to share with you our class protocols to inform and reassure everyone. Not everyone has been out and about much over the past, almost 3 years, and some of us are more anxious than others about getting back to ‘normal’ life and activities since restrictions have been lifted. Please be patient with each other and me – I have the responsibility of keeping you all happy and safe whilst complying with governing body guidelines and providing the best experience possible.
*Denotes for you to do, the rest is just info…
Preparation
1) *Firstly ensure that you have booked by sending us an email info@dybo.co.uk confirming all the classes you wish to attend plus your payment method, be it as a member, using your voucher, or pay as you go.
No on the door bookings or payments can be taken. Bookings are not refundable or transferable. I will keep records of all attending.
2) *Preparing your kit bag/box. This depends upon the class you are attending.
Boogie Fit, Dance Fit and Dancespiration crew will only require your indoor trainers/dance shoes to change in to, sweat towel, and drink.
Total Tone and 5 in 1 crew – currently I am not sharing equipment in a group exercise setting so you will need your mat, a resistance band and light hand weights/equivalent in addition to your trainers, sweat towel and drink.
Contemporary Stretch crew need a mat, band, chi ball and at times 2 x tennis balls and a sock!
3) Re borrowing equipment – if you would like to try a class or have forgotten equipment then you may borrow equipment on that occasion and please ensure that you sanitise it before and afterwards (sanitising products supplied). I can assist you with sourcing your own equipment
On the night
*Please park in the playing courts and walk between the old school building and new sports hall, up a few steps on to the outside seating area, the studio door is to your right.
*Participants are required to arrive, enter and be in their personal exercise space between 5 and 10 mins before the class,
*Please change into your clean trainers for indoor activity as you enter, e.g. slip off your outdoor shoes, place in your bag, walk to activity area then put indoor shoes on, the same in reverse to leave. This is to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of the space, avoiding stones and glass being walked in and potentially causing injury and to protect the lovely new wood floor.
*The toilets are open to use but please arrive changed, ready for activity so as to keep use time minimal and avoiding cues.
I will be sticking to class times for sanitising and ventilation purposes. Doors and windows will be open for ventilation, unless the weather is very cold, and if it’s hot, fans will be used to blow air forwards out of the windows and open door for maximum and safe ventilation. Our exercise space is much larger than the governing body requirements (more than double in fact) indeed the government have lifted all guidelines, so it will be easy to maintain 2m social distance but please do keep your distance as some of our clients are more vulnerable to infection and wary .
I will maintain social distance, however I will have a visor/mask if I have to come close to provide first aid etc.
After an entire teaching career facing my class participants with my back to the mirrors I have made the change (for now) to face the mirrors, this is for my safety in this strange Covid world, but I assure you that I will still be able to see everything you get up to and will coach, encourage and nag as effectively as usual!!!
*After a wonderful class and virtual hugs, change from your indoor trainers to outdoor shoes and sanitise your hands again if you wish.
*Please tell friends and family about our wonderful classes, I now have to rebuild my group exercise business after months away from face to face teaching due to the pandemic and more recently these flu and cold bugs.
When joining me at the DYBO Studio (No.42, GU52 0YA) I will send information directly including entrance code for the Studio and please note, advanced booking is required.
Fees, you have THREE options!
Please note that all Classes must be booked and paid for in advance and are non transferable or refundable.
Online payments only.
£7.50 per class.
10 Class Voucher: £65 (to be used within 12 weeks of purchase).
Membership: £50, unlimited classes, plus a bonus of free access to all class recordings on our DYBO TV channel, and another bonus of a £5 discount for one to one services for current membership holders.
To be paid by the 1st day of the month and is valid from the first to last day of calendar month,
One full month’s notice of membership suspension/cancellation is required with one membership restart permitted within a 12 month period.
Bank details are UK Fitness Academy Ltd.
Sort Code 09-01-28, Acc No. 04284324
Please email me when you have made a payment and use your name and what it’s for as a reference. eg. Jane Smith Class Voucher
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Joining us on Zoom? – Links and Information
Monday
6.30pm Boogie Fit
7.30pm Total Tone
Tuesday
6.30pm 5 in 1 Fitness Class
7.30pm Dance Fit
Wednesday
6.30pm Old Skool, Step & Strength – Step, hand weights and band.
7.15pm Barre Fit – Something to assist balance like a barre, eg. chair, worktop, mantlepiece etc.
Thursday
6.15pm Contemporary Stretch
7.30pm Dancespiration
Friday
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga – Release, Restore, Recover and Deep Stretch.
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your Zoom environment
- You need space to move 2 side steps, 4 walks forward, 4 backward. Move trip hazards and furniture as much as you can (get help, be careful!) to give you maximum space for upper and lower body movement. Roll up rugs or secure them so they don’t slip or cause you to trip.
- Plugging your device in to your TV with an HDMI cable is brilliant as it gives you a good picture of you (like a mirror) and me – as well as boosting the sound if you go through the TV/Hi-Fi sound system. If you can place your device under the TV, then even better.
- I know some of you are using your phones – try to plug in to a speaker system (even those little speakers we have when we go on holiday would help) so that you can hear better as you move back from the phone. Angie has tried Bluetooth earphones and it worked well.
- Ensure you have maximum access to your Wi-Fi in the house and as close to the router as is feasible. Take phones off the Wi-Fi system and pop them on to your 4/5G network or place on airplane mode, unless that’s what you are using to join us, obviously. Ask family to do the same for the duration of your class – keep them off the internet whilst you need the bandwidth. The more bandwidth you have, the better the picture and sound and the less likely you are to lose the feed. Your health is a priority at this time and I’m sure they can do something else for that short time!
- Ventilate your exercise space, have plenty of water and towels to hand, keep your exercise equipment close – if you need anything, let me know.
- Wear correct footwear for your activity – putting an old pair of socks over the toes and ball of your trainers will help reduce friction when exercising on carpet (if they are a really old pair, cutting the toes open and then just having them over the ball of the foot is even better). It’s up to you if you want to dance or train in bare feet but be careful if you don’t usually do this as it takes time for the muscles and connective tissue of the feet and rest of the body to adapt to barefoot training.
- Make your own gym equipment. Save laundry liquid or milk bottles – you can fill them with water or wet sand/rice etc. to add weight and make a dumbell/kettlebell. I recommend you make a few in differing weights and you have written on them so you know what they weigh and seal the caps with tape to prevent leakage. Get a heavy duty shopping bag and put weighty items in it, check they can’t fall out and you have a kettlebell alternative. Make your own hurdles, put cushions, pillows, boxes, books on the floor to jump over. Use household items as floor markers for circuit activities. The stairs and outdoor steps are great temporary steps/benches for cardio and upper body work. The garden is a great open space to make an assault course or if you can get a signal, take your class or PT session outside, but do make it safe.
Disclaimer
I declare that all of the information I have given (both written and verbal) is accurate and truthful. I know of no reason why I cannot participate fully in any exercise programme and I do not deem it necessary to consult my medical Practitioner/GP/specialist. I undertake to inform my instructor should any information change.
I understand that I participate at my own risk and that any information given is not intended to replace or represent medical advice. I agree to comply with all terms conditions and class protocols and instructions as outlined above and whilst attending DYBO classes/training.
Do not attend classes if experiencing symptoms of Covid 19, Flu or airborne transmissible infection or have tested positive.
Attending any DYBO class will assume agreement with above terms and disclaimer.
