Physical activity for mental wellbeing
Physical activity for mental wellbeing
We believe that mental health issues shouldn’t be a barrier to physical activity for anyone. Our physical activity programme supports people to get active to improve their mental health and overall wellbeing. Delivered in partnership with community partners, we offer a combination of taster sessions in different physical activities and weekly structured groups.
Being active has a whole range of benefits when it comes to mental and emotional wellbeing. It improves self-perception and self-esteem, mood and sleep quality, and it reduces stress, anxiety and fatigue. Physically active people have up to a 30% reduced risk of becoming depressed, and staying active helps those who are depressed recover. In older people, staying active can improve cognitive function, memory, attention and processing speed, and reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
How to join
Most of our physical activities are open to anyone who feels that physical activity could benefit their mental health. Individuals can self-refer or be referred by a health professional, support worker or another charitable organisation.
Contact our Activity and Inclusion Coordinator [email protected] for further information on how to join.
Happy Feet Walking Group
Our Walking Group runs every Monday from 11:30AM. We meet by the flower bed outside Kingston train station.
Join our friendly group every Monday at 11:30am to get some fresh air and explore Kingston’s green parks and riverside. Led by our volunteer Barbara Crow, who is a member of Kingston Ramblers, the walks are easy to moderate and incorporate a break so people can leave at that point or continue on.
Our mantra is “Come as your, however you’re feeling. You don’t have to be ‘at your best’. ” Our aim is to support people to feel more confident about walking in the local area.
Previous walks have included the Woodland Walk in Bushy Park, the riverside through Canbury Park Gardens and through Home Park towards Hampton Court. We are inclusive and always welcoming to new participants.
Walking has always been there for me, my confidence has grown immensely. I’m a totally different person now than I was ten years ago and I owe so much of that to walking.
Kath, walker with bipolar disorder
Football for Mental Health – ongoing
The team is supported and trained weekly by coaches from the Chelsea FC Foundation and supported by our Physical Activity Coordinator from Mind in Kingston. Please contact [email protected] to find out more, or fill in a registration form here.
We are home to 
Kingstonian Mind United FC a football club made up of individuals (18 years and over) who have lived experiences of mental health issues and who share a passion for the beautiful game of football! We are open to beginners and players of any level, as our main focus is creating a safe and welcoming environment to get active by playing football.
As part of our Physical Activity programme, we welcome you to come along to meet the team and experience one of our weekly, free training sessions. This opportunity has enabled many new members to decide to get involved with our inclusive mental health football team, Kingstonian Mind United FC.
MiK Jog Together
Our Job Together sessions run every Thursday 1:30 – 2:30 PM at Kingsmeadow Athletics Centre running track
If you want to get more active through running but don’t know where to start, feel anxious or find it very hard to get going on your own – then look no further! This is the group for you. Our brilliant run leader Victoria will help you each step of the way with a focus on mental health and with lots of encouragement and group support.
For more info please contact our Activity and Inclusion Coordinator [email protected]
To support our Physical Activity Programme:
If you are interested in sponsoring our physical activity for mental health programme or volunteering your time and expertise to expand our programme, please get in touch with our Activity and Inclusion Coordinator [email protected]
