Body and Movement

Each year CaraCare facilitates a number of body and movement groups. These groups are designed to increase physical and emotional confidence, learn self-regulation skills and enhance body awareness in safe forms. During 2018 CaraCare will facilitate body and movement groups based on dance, football and yoga.

Shining Stars

Shining Starts is a therapeutic dance group that provides a safe and fun environment for children and young people to experience dance and movement-based activities. These activities support participants to increase their understanding of how their bodies work and how to reconnect to their own body in a safe way. By using their bodies in a purposeful manner, children can learn to better communicate with others as well as develop more self-confidence and control.

Children whose lives have been impacted by abuse often struggle with self- esteem and self- regulation issues. This dance group supports children to develop confidence and control over their bodies, ending with a small performance. Various styles of dance and movement activities are enjoyed at the same time as supporting children to learn about health and wellbeing. This integration of movement and theory allows for a safe atmosphere to promote body- care, self-awareness and confidence through creative engagement with self and others. 

Having a Go

This program provides an environment where children and young people can come together to develop team skills and positive pro-social and intrapersonal skills. This ten- week program explores the importance of safe physical movement in combination with connecting to self and others.  

CaraCare and the West Tigers Professional Rugby League club partner together to support children to develop team skills whilst simultaneously promoting physical health and general wellbeing. Having a Go teaches skills used by professional rugby league players and unearths the ethics that drive teams and care of the self and others. This program is held off site at the Concord Oval (home ground of the West Tigers Rugby Club).

Rising up with joy

Through trauma children can learn not to trust their bodies. Some children don’t want to feel themselves in their bodies, they don’t as one child, described want to “be in my skin”. Every child has the right to fully live in and enjoy ‘their skin’. This yoga group allows children the opportunity to reclaim their relationship with their bodies in a safe environment. Research has shown multiple beneficial effects of yoga. 

Rising up with joy is a group work experience that introduces children to some basic yoga and movement postures which will allow them to reengage with the strength and vitality of their bodies. It will also provide them with some rudimentary strategies to use to assist symptom reduction.

Rediscovering the Power Within.

This is a yoga therapy group for adolescent females who are struggling with states of anxiety, depression, and/or self-harming behaviours as a means to cope with painful or difficult experiences.

Participants will engage in and learn some positive coping behaviours such as yoga postures, self-awareness exercises, breathing and other enjoyable self-care strategies. Yoga has many tools to use to release tension in the body, mind and breath. Participants will learn to understand healing and wellness through ancient Yogic wisdom in combination with trauma- informed care. These yoga practices will assist to increase participants’ ability to be present in the here-and-now and insight into their own internal world so they can better regulate their emotions and recentre themselves amongst life's challenges.