May challenge to let exercise-induced feel-good endorphins boost your mood - Helen Macfarlane

Being active is good for your body and mind but often life gets in the way. How many times have you told yourself you’ll start going to the gym, take up hillwalking or join that cycling group, but you never seem to find the time or energy?

As a busy mum of two, I know just how difficult it can be to fit physical activity into your day. When you’re balancing work, family life, household chores and a whole host of other commitments, exercise often falls to the bottom of your to do list.

At Edinburgh Leisure, we’re committed to keeping everyone active and well. We’re passionate about the positive impact that physical activity and sport can have on people’s lives, from improving mental wellbeing, increasing your confidence, getting better sleep, and boosting self-esteem. For me personally, I know how much those exercise-induced feel-good endorphins boost my mood!

As the charity’s Director of Wellbeing, I’m delighted that we’re launching Movement for Good, a month-long challenge in May that aims to inspire people to get active every day. Whether you’re new to physical activity or need a helping hand to get back into the swing of things, the challenge is designed to help you find an activity you love, enable you to create healthy habits, and provide you with the motivation you need to get and stay active.

Movement for Good challenge will help participants reap the wonderful benefits of an active lifestyle.

Being active doesn’t have to mean running a marathon or joining a bootcamp. Even small changes to your day can make a huge difference. Whether you choose to dip your toes into the pool, lace up your running trainers for a jog round the block or unwind in a yoga class, we hope that Movement for Good will help you to reap the wonderful benefits of an active lifestyle.

When you sign up to Movement for Good, you’ll receive a challenge pack which is full of useful resources to help you get moving more and stay motivated throughout the month. Short videos featuring our inspirational team of physical activity experts will leave you raring to go, while the activity calendar and reflections log will help you to keep track of your progress along the way and look back at the end of the challenge to see how far you’ve come.

By taking part in Movement for Good, you’ll be taking an important step to stay active and well. By choosing to raise sponsorship you’ll put the GOOD into your challenge by supporting local people affected by health conditions, disabilities, and poverty through our Active Communities programme – empowering them to improve their health, wellbeing, and quality of life.

In my role, I’m fortunate to see firsthand the difference that the Active Communities programme makes throughout the city, from enabling care experienced children to enjoy the active childhood they deserve, to helping people with long term health conditions to manage their condition and have a better quality of life, to ensuring older adults can stay active and connected for longer.

Join me in getting active this May – sign up today at www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/movement-for-good to take part in Movement for Good and reap the benefits of an active life.

Helen Macfarlane is the Director of Wellbeing at Edinburgh Leisure