Facilitator guide

• You invite. You do not push.
• You show the easier way first. Each woman moves at her own pace.
• You are not a doctor, a physiotherapist or a therapist. You do not give medical advice. If someone has a health question, suggest she talks to a health professional.
• Moving can help women feel better, but it is not treatment. If a woman seems very low, worried or unwell, help her find professional help.
• You do not have to do it alone. A second leader or a helper makes it easier and safer.

Before you plan anything, ask the women. Ask in a place they already know, with women only, and in their own language if you can.

• What would you like to do: walking, dancing, exercises, stretching?
• Which day and time suit you?
• Where would you feel comfortable?
• Do you need a place for children, or help to get there?

Ask again after a few weeks, and change what does not work.

Only offer what you can really provide. Do not promise childcare or transport that you cannot arrange.

The place

• Choose a place close to where the women live.
• If possible, choose a free place: a community centre, a school hall, a library room or a park.
• If women want privacy, choose a room where people outside cannot see in.
• Say clearly in every invitation that the session is for women only and led by a woman.
• Check the room before the first session: a clear floor, chairs without wheels, water and a toilet.
• Have an indoor plan for cold, heat or rain.

The time

• Agree the day and time with the group. Think about school times, prayer times and Ramadan.
• Keep the same day and time each week. Fewer women may come in the holidays. That is normal.

Clothes

Women wear what they feel comfortable in. Choose movements that work in everyday clothes.

Children

If women bring children, plan for them. You could have a helper, a corner with toys, or a session for mothers and children together. Children need an adult watching them all the time.

Getting there

Help women travel safely. Meet at a bus stop, walk together, and finish in daylight.

Language

• Speak simply and show each movement.
• Use the pictures on the exercise cards.
• Ask a woman who speaks two languages, or a cultural mediator, to help.
• Check that everyone understood.
• Do not rely on written forms.

Before the first session

• Go through the safety guidelines with the women, in their language if you can. Explain who should talk to a health professional before starting. Each woman decides for herself.
• Do not collect health information. If a woman wants to tell you something about her health, talk with her privately. You do not need to write it down.

Every session

• Know the address of the place, so you can tell an ambulance where you are.
• Carry a charged phone. Know the emergency numbers. In Norway, call 113 for an ambulance, or 112 for the police. In Poland, call 112 or 999. In Türkiye, call 112.
• Bring a first aid kit. If you can, have someone trained in first aid with you.
• Check the floor for things people could trip on. Check the weather if you are outside.
• If you can, work with a second leader.

During the session

• Remind everyone to stop and rest if something hurts, or if they feel dizzy or sick. They also stop if their chest hurts, their heart races, or they are too out of breath to talk.
• If someone feels unwell, stop the activity for her, help her sit down and stay with her.
• If chest pain, a racing heart or dizziness does not go away quickly, call the emergency number. Call at once if she faints or finds it very hard to breathe. Call at once if she has chest pain and feels sweaty or sick. Call at once if she has pain that spreads to her arm, neck, jaw or back.
• All the signs are in the safety guidelines.

Some women do not want to be photographed or recorded. Some have good reasons to keep who they are private. Always respect this.

Photos and videos

• Taking part never depends on being photographed or filmed.
• Take a photo or video only if every woman in it has clearly agreed. Ask each woman yourself, in her language, and explain what it is for.
• Her agreement is for that one use only. She can change her mind at any time.
• Ask everyone not to take photos or videos during the session.
• To invite women, use pictures without people in them.

Information about the women

• Count how many women come. Do not write down their names.
• Do not write down anyone's health, religion or ethnic origin. The law treats this as sensitive information. Do not note where anyone comes from either.
• For emergencies, a woman can carry her own card with the name and number of someone to call.

• At the first session, agree simple group rules together. For example: we keep what we hear private, we respect each other, phones stay away, no photos.
• Keep it friendly, not a competition. Praise effort. Nobody is left out. A woman can just watch, or leave early. That is fine.
• Do not touch anyone to correct a movement. Show it instead. If touch would really help, ask first and explain why.
• Tell the group who they can talk to about a worry or a complaint. Keep what they tell you private, unless someone is in danger.
• Never ask for or accept anything in return for your help.

If a woman tells you she is being harmed:

• Listen and believe her. Ask what she needs. Do not push her to act.
• Tell her where she can get help, if she wants it. Before the group starts, find out where women in your area can get help.
• If she or anyone else is in danger right now, get help. In Norway, call 113 for an ambulance, or 112 for the police. In Poland, call 112 or 999. In Türkiye, call 112.

Use the same order every time. It helps women feel safe. A session takes 40 to 60 minutes.

1. Welcome, about 5 minutes. Say what you will do and how long it takes.
2. Warm-up, about 5 minutes. Use the warm-up routine.
3. Main part, 20 to 30 minutes. Choose 3 or 4 exercises from the exercise library, a dance from culturally relevant movement, or a walk.
4. Cool-down, about 5 minutes. Use the cool-down routine and the one-minute pause.
5. Closing talk, 5 to 10 minutes. What did you enjoy? What was hard? What would you like next time?

Some tips:

• Show the easier way first, then a harder way. Offer everyone a chair.
• Use the talk test: women should be able to talk while they move.
• Leave time to talk and have tea together, if you can.

Change one thing at a time. There are four things you can change:

• Space: use more or less room, or stay near a wall.
• Task: make the movement smaller, slower or shorter, or split it into steps.
• Equipment: use a chair, a wall or water bottles.
• People: move alone, in pairs or as a whole group.

Ask the women what would make it easier or more fun. Try it, and keep what works.

For more ideas, see the personalisation tips.

• Make sure women can take part without a smartphone. Bring printed cards and forms.
• Print the forms My starting point, My goals and My week. Each woman keeps her own. You do not collect them.
• Play the calm breathing guide at the end of a session.
• Read one of the stories together and talk about it.
• After 3, 6 and 12 months, invite the women to check their progress.

• Start small: one walk or one session a week.
• Find a partner, such as a community centre, a women's organisation, a school, a faith community or the municipality. A partner can offer a room, help you reach women, or help keep the group going.
• Invite women who enjoy the group to help lead it. Over time, they can lead it themselves.
• Plan from the start how the group can go on without you.

Look for free local offers, and ask who can use them:

• In Norway, many municipalities have a healthy life centre (frisklivssentral). National guidance says it can offer groups for women only.
• In Poland, many places have free outdoor fitness areas (Otwarte Strefy Aktywności).
• In Türkiye, some Healthy Life Centres (Sağlıklı Hayat Merkezleri) offer free group exercise with a physiotherapist. Turkish Red Crescent community centres support local and migrant people.

Ask the women what works and what does not. They can fill in the form Tell us what you think and send it by email to info@furim.no.

They can also give you a paper form without their name. Please type the answers into an email, or send a photo of each form, to the same address. We use it to make the toolkit better.

Giving feedback is never a condition of taking part.