SLEIGH FAREWELL TO CHRISTMAS ANXIETY

• One third (33%) of Brits say they experience anxiety at Christmas time.
• 69% of Brits say they have no time for themselves during December.
• New David Lloyd Clubs Blissmas class swaps scents, sounds and sights of Christmas for a sense of calm amongst the chaos.

Among battling the high street to buy gifts, mediating family feuds and donning the house with decorations, it’s no wonder that for many people, the Christmas season is not always a time of joy, but often a time of stress.

In fact, research by David Lloyd Clubs found that 33%¹ of Brits say they experience more anxiety at Christmas than any other time of the year, with 69% of people saying they want more time to themselves during December.

Now, David Lloyd Clubs has launched a mindfulness class that’s the perfect antidote to Christmas anxiety. The newly introduced Blissmas class aims to remind people of the real meaning of the festive season which is often forgotten during today’s commercially-driven world. It switches the sounds, scents and stress of the festive season for relaxing sounds, smells and exercises that aim to calm the mind and encourage people to give themselves the gift of wellness this December.

On arrival to the 30-minute Blissmas class, participants are welcomed by the soothing sounds of the piano, providing a break from festive jingles, which are considered by psychologists to be bad for mental health when listened to repeatedly². The studio is dimly lit with Himalayan salt lamps, which not only provide a stark contrast to the garish decorative lights found in the festive season, but also help tackle anxiety by releasing negative ions in to the air that counteract the positive ions omitted by items such as laptops and televisions.

David Lloyd Clubs has teamed up with Scentered³ to swap the festive scents of ginger and cinnamon for a blend of anxiety-busting aromas – Palmarosa, a natural muscle relaxant, lavender which helps support deep sleep and ylang ylang that helps soothe the mind. Meanwhile, each participant is given a relaxing armchair to sit in to rest weary feet that have been trailing the shops.

Once class participants have taken their seats, the instructor encourages them to let go of their Christmas stress, leave all thoughts of shopping at the door and focus on themselves for the duration of the class whilst they are taught a number of meditation and breathing techniques, which can be used throughout the festive season as pressure mounts, whether in the supermarket aisle or under a mountain of gift wrap.

Holding yoga poses such as the lotus and a seated eagle pose, the instructor encourages the class to think about the elements of Christmas such as decadently decorated trees and the rush to find that last present, then uses breathing techniques to slow down their mindset, to replace any negative or stressful thoughts with positive pictures and positive affirmations, asking class participants to make the season special again and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Marie Graham, Group Exercise Product Development Manager at David Lloyd Clubs says, ‘We know that Christmas is a busy and stressful time of year, so it’s important that people take some time for their health at a time of year where fitness and wellbeing tends to take a back seat. The Blissmas class is the perfect escape for Christmas; doesn’t take too much time out of people’s busy schedules but it provides a chance to rethink how they are feeling about the festive season and focus on themselves.’

The 30-minute classes run at David Lloyd Fulham between 11:30am – 12pm – the time at which people begin to see Christmas stress levels rise - from Wednesday December 5th until Sunday December 23rd and will be rolled out at various David Lloyd Clubs across the country throughout December.

1: A poll of 1,000 British people conducted by Censuswide on behalf of David Lloyd Clubs.

2: https://news.sky.com/story/bah-humbug-the-xmas-music-risk-in-retail-11107347

3: David Lloyd Clubs has partnered with Scentered to provide the anxiety-busting scents for the Blissmas class. Scentered provides a unique range of 100% natural, aromatherapy products to help you stay centred no matter where you are or what life throws rel="noopener noreferrer" at you, find out more at https://scentered.me/

About David Lloyd Leisure Group

The David Lloyd Leisure Group has 114 clubs - 99 clubs in the UK and a further 15 clubs across Europe, comprising its two brands David Lloyd Clubs and Harbour Clubs (of which there are three - Chelsea, Notting Hill and Kensington).

It has over 600,000 members and employs around 8100 people. This includes an expert health and fitness team of over 2000 while it contracts the services of more than 680 tennis professionals.

Across all clubs, David Lloyd Leisure has over 190 swimming pools (of which half are indoor) and offers over 13,000 exercise classes per week. Every week over 25,000 children learn to swim at David Lloyd Leisure, 16000 children learn to play in the Tennis All Stars Coaching Programme.

David Lloyd Club’s racquets facilities are unparalleled with over 1080 tennis courts as well as over 400 badminton and squash courts. Additional facilities include health and beauty spas, club lounges with free internet access, crèches, nurseries and specialist sports shops.