Each session lasts for up to an hour with Mary Parkinson who is a qualified trainer. Mary demonstrates how each exercise should be carried out in a safe and benficial way using music to encourage participation and enjoyment. The routines are changed to prevent boredom and maintain enthusiasm with a variety of additional aids used to create varied sessions such as pom-pons. Mary is also available for one to one training and assisting with personal training programmes for our clients.

We have a regular group of local elderly people who attend but also often see new faces who want to get involved and participate. For more information about the exercise classes please call us on 01535 610263 and we will be happy to help!

We deal with issues such as health awareness, unemployment, self-development, education, good parenting and any other issues that the women identify as being of importance to them. We use a variety of approaches to best suites the specific issue such as healthy meals (in partnership with APCT), workshops (recently activities covered driving theory test, head massage and breast feeding), the job club which assists those people finding employment and accredited courses which are growing in popularity week by week.

Three of our most popular courses in recent years have been the ESOL literacy and numeracy classes and the sewing classes.

Working alongside the women are Rukhsana Nazir, Female Development Coordinator and Azra Yaseen, Female Health Coordinator who over the years have created many bonds and friendships with local women. If you have any issues which you would like to discuss with either Azra or Rukhsana please call 01535610263.

Our Healthy Eating project is a major part of our Health Awareness campaign. We hope to educate the local community about the value of eating healthy foods for them and their families. We aim to ensure that parents are aware of the national nutrition standards and that their children are provided with a healthy and balanced diet. We use a variety of activities to help people understand first hand what a healthy diet needs to contain. We hold regular cook and eat sessions as described on the previous page and also regular shopping trips to local supermarkets for clients to understand which foods are suitable. Areas we cover are discussing food labels to understand what different ingredients and nutritional value each product contains. These projects are designed to also help clients learn how to combine a healthy diet with a small budget so they can provide for their families on minimal money.

Three recent shopping trips were made with 40 people participating. Before the start of the activity 12 people said they did not understand food labelling and the information they contained. However following the guidance from Sangat Centre they now feel confident buying foods which are suitable for their dietary needs such as vegetarian options and understanding nutritional information. Similarly, 22 people were unsure of how to best buy in bulk on a lower budget but since have found this much easier since the shopping trips took place.  

In order to try and encourage both the Asian community and others in the surrounding area to try new foods, in particular fruit, we hold tasting session at the centre. This is particularly aimed at mothers and children who we feel once shown the great variety of flavours and benefits will take these back to their families and learn to adapt their diets for a healthier future.

We have seated exercise once week for the elderly, it helps them to become more physical active and motivated. We also take them to regular walks, due to having such a nice weather they enjoyed barbecue in Bolton abbey.

Cook and eat sessions have been delivered to the community members with opportunities to cook a healthy meal and share ideas with each other.

We also have health seminars regarding different issues such as; bowel cancer, smoking, breast-feeding awareness, MOT checks such as blood pressure, BMI checks (Body Mass Index), etc.

Sangat has many more activities such as shopping trips, aromatherapy sessions, arts and crafts, cycling, walking trip and variety of sport activities, mother and baby toddler group on a Wednesday afternoon.

At Sangat we pride ourselves in taking care of our local community but particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly. Our Day Care Centre has been one of our most consistent and regularly attended functions and is always the first to be written into the months’ timetable of events. Started in 1997 the day centre provides a unique opportunity within the elderly Asian community to gather together to enjoy a chat with old friends and a meal in the luncheon club. The centre is open to women on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and men on Thursdays. Cooked meals are provided by local cooks from within the community itself to create authentic dishes which always go down well with the older generation.

But it is not just a meal we provide to our elderly residents. Throughout the day we have organised events from such as exercise classes specifically designed for the older generation to keep them as fit and healthy as possible with expert tuition from personal trainer Mary Parkinson.

Some of the key achievements of the year have been:

Setting up walks as they have been enjoyable, varied, interesting and a change from the normal routine of participants. Also some participants reported taking up walking up on a regular basis.

Setting up weekly food taster sessions for children and mothers, and getting mothers to encourage children to eat more fruit.  Providing a varied plan for cook and eat sessions to promote healthy eating and introducing new foods.

Numerous aromatherapy sessions were held at Sangat to promote the health and well-being of the day centre clients. This proved to be enormously successful and popular with the clients, providing genuine health benefits for the participants as many of them suffer from arthritis.

This course is completely free and has been growing in popularity since its introduction. So why not try something new today and discover a new path to relaxation and contentment

You will learn about the essential oils and aromatic compounds that can help relieve the everyday stressed of life.

Merv:

Merv works for the NHS specialising in mens health and has been coming to Sangat Centre for over 15 years.

“Sangat is like a home from home for me, the best place to eat and I would encourage anyone to come down and try the food for themselves!

Sophie:

“Food at the Sangat Centre is very nice, sevice users from the Ghyllside Group really look forward to coming down. Thankyou.”

Peter:

“Food at the Sangat is of the same high quality that it has always been. I first encountered Sangat Centre cooking during my duties as chairman of he Keighley Festival and invited Mr Rabani to come along with a selection of his finest dishes.”

Since then Peter has been a regular diner at the centre often bringing along friends and family to sample the food. Our sweet rice is a particular favourite of Peter’s!

We will supply plates, cups, cutlery and napkins so it doesn’t matter if you have no kitchen services available we can cater for you!