Our new evening opening hours have brought with them many great things to Cosalea, Bury’s most exciting new café bar. We’ve had a complete revamp, we offer a fantastic range of drinks and a great cocktail menu, along with a wide range of small plates and sharing platters – perfect for a night out.
Something else that has come out of our relaunch is the newly refurbished back room. This additional space away from the main café lends itself to all manner of activities – from private dining and networking, to formal meetings and parties. And now, with later opening hours, we are able to rent the room to a wide range of clubs and organisations who can use this fantastic space to hold evening classes for the community.We’ve put together some ideas of the kind of things that the room could be used for.
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Winter is the ideal time to refocus – after us, many of us put our usual routine on hold during the summer months and just go with the flow but as autumn arrives, it’s worth embracing the opportunity to re-establish a routine along with the change of season.
After all, routines are essential at every stage of life, helping us cope with change, create healthy habits, improve relationships and reduce stress. And while they are often largely centred around the things we are obliged to prioritise such as looking after family, going to work and taking care of household chores, it’s crucial to build some ‘me time’ into that routine.
So in 2022, why not try the following?
Yoga
In many ways yoga is the ideal form of exercise as it provides seemingly limitless benefits and there are classes tailored to every ability level. What’s more it’s known to;
- Sooth tension and anxiety in both body and mind
- Improve muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and cardio-respiratory fitness
- Help balance blood sugar levels
- Boost healthy eating and weight loss
Another benefit is that it doesn’t require any equipment other than a mat. Namaste!
Art Class
Whether you’re naturally talented with a sketch book and pencil but have put your hobby on hold or whether you’re a complete novice, joining an art class is a wonderful excuse to switch off from the world for an hour or two. Studies show that physical and mental health improve when people draw for set periods of time. As with meditation, blood pressure drops and tension is relieved. It’s also fun!
It might not come as a surprise to hear that engaging in art stimulates creativity but it also improves spacial awareness, boosts memory, develops technique and provides an opportunity to socialise. What’s not to like?!
Crafting
From knitting to crochet to embroidery, crafting has certainly made a comeback in recent years. As our Grandmas would have realised, creative activities like these can help us manage our mood and make us feel happier. The World Health Organisation has confirmed that undertaking a craft activity or learning a new skill helps keep several areas of the brain active including those responsible for problem solving, concentration and creativity. And of course, at the end of your project you’ll have a beautifully made item to treasure. Who knows, it may even become a family heirloom of the future.
Language Class
If you enjoyed learning a foreign language at school but didn’t get the chance to keep it up or maybe it wasn’t really your thing back then but now you feel like giving it a go-then give it a go! An amazing piece of research shows that three months of studying a foreign language will literally grow your brain! Not only will the structure of your brain develop, your memory will improve as will your listening skills and attention span. It’s also fascinating that learning a language enhances both verbal and non-verbal intelligence and slows down cognitive decline.
That’s not all-you’ll be able to converse more fluently abroad too!
Book Club
Even the most avid readers will admit that a busy schedule has forced their love of books to take a back seat. Joining a book club is the perfect way to change that as it involves a certain amount of commitment to read the chosen titles. It also acts as a prompt to set aside time to read for pleasure. What’s more, being a book club member creates the motivation to finish whichever novel is up for discussion before the next meeting.
It’s a relatively inexpensive hobby too as books can be borrowed or shared rather than purchased every time. Into the bargain, book clubs invite their members to discover new authors as well as encouraging them to consider genres they perhaps wouldn’t normally choose. After all, as it’s been said; reading is a means of thinking with another person’s mind-it forces you to stretch your own.
So while re-establishing a routine is undoubtedly a positive thing, helping you stay focused and organised, don’t forget to allocate time for yourself as well. It could literally give you a new lease of life.
