In an ongoing effort to support remote communities in North Queensland, Move It NQ in partnership with the Cook Shire Council and Northern Queensland PHN are successfully providing greater access to physical activity sessions in the Cook Shire region.
The Move It Cook Shire program has delivered over 14 free yoga sessions to the Cooktown community in 2022. With nearly 100 participants attending the sessions, feedback has been extremely positive, such as “Please do more yoga in Cooktown! Little towns tend to get forgotten and living remote can be difficult. I loved the yoga sessions, thank-you for having them here in little old Cooktown.”
Targeting both ends of the age spectrum in Cooktown with Mindful Movement for 60’s and Over and Teen yoga programs, participants report having a greater understanding of the way their body moves and how low impact movement can be beneficial. “I do not want to be in a wheelchair,” says one satisfied senior participant, “In each exercise movement I am much more aware of my bone structure. Where the bone is when I move a certain way, this might help me to walk properly.”
Healthy Active Lifestyles
The Cook Shire Council has identified the importance of encouraging healthy and active lifestyles as a part of their 10 year community plan by facilitating access to structured and unstructured health and wellbeing activities. “We were delighted with the community involvement in the first phase of the program, particularly the engagement with our neighbouring Indigenous councils Wujal Wujal and Hope Vale, whose residents also participated enthusiastically in the activities. Following positive community feedback, Cook Shire Council plans to continue the Move It Cook Shire program to deliver free entry level fitness activities across four Shire communities including Cooktown, Laura, Bloomfield and Lakeland from July 2022,” said Cook Shire Director Community Economy and Innovation Lawrence Booth.
This announcement will be welcomed by Move It Cook Shire participants who have been pushing for the program to continue. “I really, really enjoy the Teen Yoga lessons with Heidi Carroll. She is good at going through all the moves and positions with us. I hope we can continue doing this program as I find it really enjoyable to attend”.