IWA members and staff are being encouraged to take part in the association’s own unique version of Operation Transformation in a bid to get the New Year off to the best positive start.

The initiative is being spearheaded by David Barry, Health and Wellbeing Therapist with IWA, who has devised a comprehensive programme which IWA centres around the country can work off with the goal being to improve the overall wellbeing of participants.

He said: “It’s very easy to take our wellbeing for granted but we all need to be a bit more proactive in looking after ourselves and with this programme, it should be easy enough to find some resources and ideas to fit every person, every age and every ability level.”

The eight-week programme which runs over three days a week has a focus on many areas of our wellbeing from physical health to mental health, nutrition, sleep and the all-important aspect of our social interactions and connections.

What is also particularly appealing about the programme he has devised is that groups can pick and choose what ideas, activities and resources will work best for them and tailor their own individual group plans as required.

David Barry, Health and Wellbeing Therapist with IWA

David added: “January can always be a difficult month for many reasons, so hopefully this project can help with motivation and create a bit of a buzz whilst we battle the January blues! It is not about weight loss but more about nutrition, daily/functional fitness and movement, mental health and overall wellbeing.

“We all strive to be a strong, healthy and supportive individual for the people we love and care for. However in order to equip ourselves with this stamina and resilience, we must be kind to ourselves first and foremost and put aside some time, (can even be just 15 minutes) each and every day.

“This may look like a simple quick walk, a meditation, reconnecting with friends over coffee or simply getting a good night’s sleep you’ve craved.”

In tandem with this initiative IWA is also launching a ‘Flip the Narrative’ project to run over February, March and April.

David explained: “IWA’s Community Outreach Programme is all about IWA members accessing their local community, utilising community services, getting to know people, places and amenities. IWA members are individuals with unique talents, abilities, and personalities. What we are trying to endeavour through this project is to ‘Flip the Narrative’ on Disability and showcase our Ability to engage with communities, bring about positive change and to remind communities around Ireland of the vital importance of a genuinely inclusive society

“We want to showcase the best of IWA’s values of Courage, Equality, Integrity, Excellence, Fun, Openness and Vision and are encouraging our members and staff to become involved by doing positive acts of engagement in the area where they live and #flipthenarrative.”

“This could be anything from a clean-up, a coffee morning for a good cause, to making some greeting cards to send to local residents of a community, or create a Disability Awareness project in their community and engage with different organisations to showcase our ability.”

“We are encouraging our members and staff to get out into their communities, make waves, have fun and #flipthenarrative,” he added.