Celebrate the power of small changes in 2022

While it’s great to be able to look forward to these big events with renewed optimism, it’s often some of the smaller changes we make to our everyday routines or habits that can make the biggest difference to our happiness and wellbeing.

That’s why at Mirthy we’re celebrating the power of small changes this January, encouraging everyone to try a new activity, craft or learn about something completely different through one of our hundreds of online lectures and classes. From cookery classes to singing workshops, book clubs to Pilates and history talks, Mirthy offers a place to share passions and interests and make new connections in a friendly online community for over 50s.

Here are three small changes that everyone can try this January to help make 2022 their best year yet:

At this time of year when the festive season is over and the days are colder and darker it can be hard to keep cheerful, but it’s well proven that laughter really can be the best medicine. It’s a principle we embrace whole-heartedly at Mirthy where laughter yoga, which combines laughter with breathing and stretching exercises to help boost your mood is a popular session with our community.

If yoga is not for you, there are many other ways to tickle your funny bones – from belly dancing sessions to group readings of classic Shakespeare comedy plays, it’s all about getting outside your comfort zone and trying something new in a fun and supportive environment. With a recent study suggesting that healthy children may laugh as much as 400 times per day, compared to just 15 times per day for adults, isn’t it time we started getting back in touch with our inner child?

It’s wonderful to have hidden talents, but it’s even better to share them with others! Mirthy is a place where we encourage people to share what they love and that includes sharing skills and talents through interactive sessions such as storytelling cafes or poetry workshops. It can be nerve-wracking sharing your own work for discussion with others or singing out loud for the first time in one of our online choir sessions, but it’s also a brilliant way to get to know people, start conversations and make new connections.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, ‘I know so much about X I could probably teach the class myself’ then we also want to hear from you. Mirthy is always looking for experienced and passionate new hosts to share their insights and expertise with our community. So, if you’re an Italian cooking afficionado or a fount of knowledge on medieval poetry, you could be sharing your skills with others while getting paid for it.

It can be so easy to make resolutions and promises to ourselves at New Year then spend the next twelve months putting them off or finding reasons why today isn’t the right day to get started. At this particular moment in time there’s also the added challenge for many people of not feeling comfortable being out in shared spaces or at large events, but this doesn’t mean you have to miss out on things you want to do or wait indefinitely for life to return to normal.

So many of the activities that you once may have had to leave the house to enjoy can be experienced through Mirthy’s online community; you might want to get your fitness back but don’t feel comfortable in the gym right now or are missing the sound of live music and concerts but have restricted access to suitable venues. Mirthy runs over 50 sessions every month so there’s no need to put off joining that book club or signing up for a dance class until another day.

So, whether your hopes for 2022 are to exercise more, to try your hand at a new skill, or just to spend more time socialising with like-minded people, taking the small step of signing up for a free taster session at Mirthy could lead to something a whole lot bigger.

Visit Mirthy to try over 50 classes & events for free at https://www.mirthy.co.uk/