Moving Together
Building Health, Community, and Connection
Moving Together
Building Health, Community, and Connection
The room is already moving when the class begins.
“Now let’s do backwards,” calls Karen Castro, a University of Utah kinesiology undergraduate student instructor.
Participants follow along, some standing and some seated. Exercise bands stretch and release. Chairs provide support when needed. Encouragement comes from the students leading the class—and from participants cheering one another on.
There is energy in the room, but also a sense that everyone belongs.
This is Move Together for Health, a free community exercise program hosted at the Sorenson Unity Center, one of the sites served by The Wellness Bus. The Wellness Bus brings preventive screenings and health coaching directly into communities across Utah, connecting people with resources that can support their health.
For some Wellness Bus visitors, that connection continues after the bus closes for the day. People identified as not meeting physical activity recommendations can be referred to Move Together for Health, where they find a welcoming place to move, connect and build healthier habits.
The need is significant. The Wellness Bus serves approximately 1,500 community members in the Salt Lake Valley, and early screening found that more than 70% of visitors were not meeting recommended physical activity levels.
Move Together for Health offers a free, accessible next step.
Learning by doing
The program is a partnership between the Wellness Bus, the Osher Center for Integrative Health, and the University of Utah’s Department of Health & Kinesiology. Kinesiology students can choose to lead a cohort as part of their capstone experience, bringing what they've learned in the classroom into a real community setting.
“We learn a lot about the specifics of exercise, programming, and kinesiology as a degree, but we don't really see the effect it has on people's lives,” says Elijah Larkin, a kinesiology research assistant.
Undergraduate student instructor Parker Bobo agrees. “The books are one thing,” he says. “You can teach this chapter, this chapter. That's only going to do so much. I think applying the content [in the real world] is what’s really going to master education for students.”
For Karen, the experience is also a way to give back.
“It makes me feel that I'm actually helping my community with my knowledge,” she says.
That exchange is at the heart of the program. Students gain real-world experience while community members gain access to free exercise instruction and support.
Movement for every body
The class is designed for people with different ages, fitness levels and physical abilities. Students adapt movements using resistance bands, chairs and other modifications so participants can challenge themselves in ways that work for their bodies.
For Barb, who wears a distinctive cat visor to class, that flexibility matters. Problems with her feet make walking difficult, but many of the exercises can be done from a chair.
The class also provides something she finds difficult to create on her own: accountability.
“It's a discipline of showing up, coming and doing it,” Barb says. “I know personally that I do not do stuff at home.”
The students encourage participants through each movement, while participants give the students an opportunity to grow into their roles as instructors.
For Izel, watching that growth is part of what makes the experience special.
“It's great to watch the instructors because it's also a class for them; they're learning. I think it's exciting to watch their growth during that process.”
More than exercise
As the weeks go by, Move Together for Health becomes about more than physical activity.
Participants make friends. They encourage each other. They share the experience of trying something difficult and discovering they can do it.
“I think they get the peer interaction,” Parker says. “I feel like they come and get their friends, and I think the friends and participation with the group promotes adherence to the program.”
Izel describes it as “the camaraderie that's in the class” and the energy of moving together.
That connection appears to make a difference. During the program's recruitment period, 131 Wellness Bus visitors were identified as not meeting physical activity guidelines. Thirty-four were referred to Move Together for Health, and 23 enrolled through the Wellness Bus pathway. In total, 26 participants attended at least one session, with about 46% attending six or more.
Participants increased their physical activity by approximately 95 minutes per week, and the program was delivered with more than 90% implementation fidelity across sessions.
For student instructor Parker, the goal is for every participant to leave with a sense of accomplishment.
“When a participant leaves here, I want them feeling proud of the work that they did,” he says. “And I want them to feel like they have improvements throughout the semester. And I want them to feel like, ‘Yeah, I did that today.’”
The heart of Move Together for Health may be the creation of a place where people can take steps toward better health together, and where the next generation of health professionals can learn what it means to serve a community—not just from a textbook, but by showing up and moving alongside it.