Awake is being launched in March by former MMA fighter by local entrepreneur Mark Scanlon and yoga and meditation veteran Dianne Atherton. Tony McDonough reports
A new wellbeing centre opening in Liverpool will offer classes in fitness, yoga, meditation, mindfulness and wellbeing for adults and children – and all the children’s classes will be free.
Awake is being launched in March by former MMA fighter by local entrepreneur Mark Scanlon and yoga and meditation veteran Dianne Atherton. Their mission is to help “combat and prevent mental disorders and promote inner peace, health and wellbeing”.
In November 2018, the NHS released its most up-to-date statistics regarding children’s mental health, with the results showing that one in eight five-to-19 year olds now suffer with at least one mental disorder (previously one in 10).
The biggest surge has been in emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression which has risen from 3.9% to 5.8% in 5-15 year olds.
Awake, based in Prescot Road Business Park, Old Swan, will offer adults morning classes including its ‘high frequency fitness’ class that raises your vibration through a power hour of 20/20/20 domination of circuit training, yoga and mediation, providing the perfect way to start the day.
While adults classes will be chargeable, all children’s classes will be free and will be funded by the payments made for the adult classes. It is something both Mark and Dianne are passionate about to ensure that Awake is readily available to each and every child in the city.
Children’s classes will alternate between practising mindfulness, fitness, meditation and yoga to encourage creating positive habits, and in turn reducing the risk of developing anxiety, depression, stress and other mental health disorders.
Awake will have a number of initiatives, but one of the biggest is the I Am Project. Spearheaded by Mark, the project is currently being run in various Liverpool schools and is a combination of martial arts training, mindfulness and mentoring.
He said: “Awake is something that I’ve been wanting to do for such a long time. Mental health disorders have become more common, and helping people who are struggling is something I feel so passionate about.
“I have been working closely with children in various Liverpool schools on the I Am Project and am really excited to roll this out across other schools in the city, to educate and motivate more children.”
Dianne added: “Yoga, meditation and mindfulness is a recipe for a much healthier and happier life. I’ve been practising yoga, breath work and meditation for more than 15 years and am so excited to start delivering powerful classes to both adults and children.”