Educational modules

Sport England (opens in a new tab) is the public body for sport in England. It describes physical literacy like this: "Physical literacy is our relationship with movement and physical activity throughout life."

These are Sport England's words. They are not covered by this toolkit's licence.

Here, literacy is not about reading and writing. It is about your own relationship with moving and being active.

It is different for every woman. It can change and grow at any age.

Four parts

• Move: the skills your body uses every day, like walking, bending, lifting and carrying.
• Connect: moving with other people, like walking with a neighbour or dancing together at a celebration.
• Think: knowing how to move safely and what is good for you.
• Feel: how you feel about moving, like enjoying it or feeling sure you can do it.

Four parts of physical literacy

Move

Connect

Think

Feel

Balance, coordination, body and mind

Balance means staying steady when you stand, walk or reach. You use it when you carry a child or step onto a bus.

Coordination means making parts of your body work together. You use it when you clap in time to music or roll out dough.

Your body and your mind are linked. Being active can help you feel calmer and sleep better.

Everyone starts from their own place. Small steps help your physical literacy grow.

Being active is good for your body and your mind. It is not about how your body looks.

Being active can:

• lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and high blood pressure
• help reduce stress
• help reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression
• help you sleep better

It may also help you keep a healthy weight, together with the food you eat.

Being active does not replace medical care. If you have a health problem, keep seeing your doctor. Read who should talk to a health professional first.

How much is enough?

Any movement is better than none. If you are not active now, start small. Add a little more over time.

Adults should try to be active for 150 to 300 minutes a week. 150 minutes is about 30 minutes on 5 days.

This kind of activity makes your heart beat faster and you breathe faster. You can still talk, but you cannot sing.

You can split it into short parts. Even a few minutes count.

On 2 or more days a week, do something to make your muscles stronger. Try the strength exercises.

Try to sit less. Moving instead of sitting helps, even gentle movement.

Moving in daily life

• Walk part of the way to the shop or the bus stop.
• Dance to a song while you cook.
• Play active games with children.
• Take the stairs when you can.
• Stand up and move about when you have been sitting for a long time.
• Housework and caring for others count too.

A week of movement

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

150 to 300 minutes a week, in any way that suits you

• A walk
• Dancing while cooking
• Playing with children

There is no one right way to eat well. You can make healthy meals with the foods you already know.

Food is also about family, culture and joy. Take time to enjoy your meals.

A healthy plate

A simple guide for a meal:

• Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit.
• Fill a quarter with grains, bread or potatoes, such as bulgur, buckwheat, brown rice, oats or wholemeal bread.
• Fill a quarter with beans, lentils, chickpeas, fish, eggs, yoghurt or meat.
• Drink water with your meal.

Choose wholegrain kinds of the breads and grains you already eat.

Use less salt. Add herbs and spices for flavour.

Cook with oils like olive, rapeseed or sunflower oil more often than with butter or ghee.

A healthy plate

½¼¼

A round plate seen from above.

• ½Half of it is vegetables and fruit.
• ¼A quarter is grains, bread or potatoes, such as bulgur, buckwheat, brown rice, oats or wholemeal bread.
• ¼A quarter is beans, lentils, chickpeas, fish, eggs, yoghurt or meat.
• A glass of water stands next to the plate.

Eating well for less

• Plan your meals for the week and make a shopping list.
• Frozen and tinned vegetables and fruit count too. Choose tins with no added salt or sugar.
• Beans, lentils and chickpeas cost little. Use them in place of some of the meat.
• Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season.
• Cook a big pot and freeze some for later.
• Turn leftover vegetables into soup.

Water

Water is a healthy and cheap drink. Choose it instead of sweet drinks.

Try to drink 6 to 8 glasses a day. Water, milk, and tea or coffee without sugar all count.

Drink more when it is hot, or when you sweat while you are active.

If a doctor or nurse has told you to drink less, follow their advice.

Being active while you fast

If you fast, for example in Ramadan:

• keep your activity gentle, like walking or stretching
• a good time is at the end of the day, shortly before you can eat and drink again
• drink plenty of water between sunset and dawn
• if you feel dizzy or sick, stop and rest

Talk to your doctor or midwife before you fast if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Do the same if you have a health problem or take medicine.

Read how to move safely.

Do you need special food or drinks?

No. For gentle exercise, your usual meals and water are enough. You do not need sports drinks or powders for this.

Stress is a feeling of worry or tension when life is hard. Everyone feels stress sometimes. It can make it hard to sleep, and you may eat more or less than usual.

Being active can help reduce stress. Moving will not make your problems go away. But it can make strong feelings a little easier to handle.

Two things to try

• 

  Calm breathing

  Slow, gentle breathing that can help you feel calmer.

  Time: About 5 minutesLevel: Gentle Can be done sitting

• 

  One-minute pause

  A short break to notice how you feel and come back to the moment.

  Time: About 1 minuteLevel: Gentle Can be done sitting

You can also listen to them: calm breathing and one-minute pause.

Mindfulness means paying attention to what is happening inside you and around you, moment by moment. The one-minute pause is a short way to try it.

Gentle stretching and slow breathing

Slow stretching can help your body relax. Try these, and breathe slowly as you move:

• 

  Neck turn

  Gently moves your neck from side to side.

  Time: About 1 minuteLevel: Gentle Can be done sitting

• 

  Shoulder rolls

  Loosens your shoulders and upper back.

  Time: About 1 minuteLevel: Gentle Can be done sitting

• 

  Chest stretch

  Stretches the front of your chest and shoulders.

  Time: About 1 minuteLevel: Gentle Can be done sitting

• 

  Side bend

  Stretches the sides of your body.

  Time: About 1 minuteLevel: Gentle Can be done sitting

Take care

• Before you stretch, read how to move safely.
• You can stop at any time.
• You can keep your eyes open.
• If you feel dizzy, breathe in your normal way.
• These exercises are not right for everyone. If one makes you feel worse, stop.
• Sometimes quiet exercises bring back hard memories. That is OK. You can stop.

When to get help

If stress makes it hard to cope, talk to a doctor, a health worker or someone you trust.

Someone to talk to:

• In Norway, call 116 123. This free helpline is run by Mental Helse. It is open day and night.
• In Poland, call 116 123. This helpline is for people in emotional crisis. It is open day and night.
• In Türkiye, talk to your doctor.

If you or someone 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.

More help in your language

The World Health Organization has a free picture guide for hard times. It is called Doing What Matters in Times of Stress. You can read it in:

• Arabic (opens in a new tab)
• Dari (opens in a new tab)
• English (opens in a new tab)
• Polish (opens in a new tab)
• Tigrinya (opens in a new tab)
• Turkish (opens in a new tab)
• Ukrainian (opens in a new tab)

The guide is also in many other languages (opens in a new tab).