Healing Through Movement is a Sport England funded, 7 week, trauma-informed physical activity programme for adults (18+) in Canterbury, Folkestone, Hythe, Dover, and surrounding areas who have experienced trauma, anxiety, depression, or ongoing mental health challenges, and who often find mainstream fitness environments difficult or inaccessible.
Healing Through Movement is a gentle, trauma-informed 7-week programme designed as an introduction to healing, self-awareness, and community connection. This program of healing and recovery is being run in collaboration with our partners, doing beauitful work over at Heal a Generation.
This programme recognises that many people carry stress, trauma, and unprocessed experiences not just in their thoughts, but in their bodies. For some, talking alone can feel overwhelming or inaccessible. Healing Through Movement offers an alternative starting point — one that begins with the body, safety, and connection.
Across seven weekly sessions, participants are invited to explore simple, accessible movement practices alongside guided reflection and facilitated group sharing. The focus is not on performance, fitness, or “doing it right,” but on listening to the body, building trust with oneself, and developing a sense of safety in connection with others.
The programme is specifically designed to:
Introduce participants to trauma-aware ways of working with the body
Gently increase body awareness, emotional regulation, and grounding
Support people to reconnect with themselves at their own pace
Build a sense of belonging and community through shared experience
Introduce new, healthier ways of communicating — both with oneself and with others
Healing Through Movement is funded by Sport England, whose investment supports projects that use physical activity as a tool for improving mental wellbeing, reducing isolation, and strengthening community connection. This funding enables us to offer a safe, inclusive, and accessible programme that uses movement to support emotional regulation, trauma awareness, and social connection, particularly for people who may face barriers to traditional services.
Each session follows a consistent, predictable structure to support nervous system safety. Movement practices are adaptable and invitational, allowing participants to engage as much or as little as feels right for them on the day. Group sharing is optional, facilitated with clear boundaries, and held in a respectful, non-judgemental space.
Healing Through Movement is not therapy, and participants are not required to share personal trauma. Instead, it offers a safe entry point into healing — helping people develop awareness, language, and confidence that can support further therapeutic work if and when they choose.
Above all, this programme is about connection:
Connection to the body
Connection to emotions
Connection to others
Connection to the understanding that healing does not have to be done alone
Healing Through Movement is suitable for people who feel disconnected from their bodies, overwhelmed by traditional talking approaches, or curious about exploring new ways to support their wellbeing within a supportive community setting.
Set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with wonderful views over the Kent countryside, the garden and yurt are open throughout the year for individuals and groups (of all ages) to come and pray, talk, reflect, study or simply to rest. Rooted in Christianity, we welcome people from all faiths or no faith and hope that you will come and find peace. Around the garden you will find hidden ‘rooms’ created from the natural environment where you can simply sit peacefully, reflect, pray or sleep. We hope to mirror the all-embracing hospitality of the Divine.
The beautiful Yurt has blue painted doors to signify that all are welcome, beyond religion and all who find the One Spirit in any religion. The owners learned this symbolism from their Berber friend Ishu in Morocco.
As you enter it, you are met with a powerful sacred dynamic which beckons you to let go of all that burdens you. The Yurt has a fully equipped kitchen, adjacent toilet and educational equipment. It is cosy in winter and airy in summer. No matter how hard the wind blows, everyone feels safe in the Yurt.