All posts tagged: MAT

I tried HigherDose’s ,400 PEMF mat to help me relax. I got weird dreams and disappointment | Health & wellbeing

I tried HigherDose’s $1,400 PEMF mat to help me relax. I got weird dreams and disappointment | Health & wellbeing

Published by Sam Flores

I have a $1,400 mat stashed under my pink velvet couch. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. It’s my roommate’s PEMF and infrared therapy mat, and yes, it costs nearly as much as my monthly rent. Measuring 6ft in length, made of vegan leather, layered with bright-blue amethyst and obsidian crystals and weighing as much as a Siberian husky, the HigherDose mat makes my basic yoga mat feel like a flimsy slab of cardboard. The wellness brand claims its bestselling mat can boost mood, improve sleep and speed up muscle recovery with “total-body relaxation”. All you have to do is spend 20 minutes lying on it: the brand says “a quick session on the mat is equivalent to an hour of yoga or meditation.” HigherDose is at the forefront of our collective obsession with biohacking, which has popularized wellness treatments such as Oura rings and red light therapy masks. The brand sells a zany-sounding list of products: infrared sauna blankets, red light …

Yoga for over-60s: Six reasons why it might be worth rolling out a mat

Yoga for over-60s: Six reasons why it might be worth rolling out a mat

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Turning 60 often marks the beginning of a new phase in how we look after both our physical and mental wellbeing. With more time to prioritise health, many people seek sustainable, enjoyable and supportive activities to navigate the body’s natural changes – and yoga is an option that meets many of these needs. “When you search yoga, a lot of the time, it can really look like a young person’s game when you see images of contortionistic poses, but yoga is open to all,” says Isobel Palmer, a yoga and pilates teacher and founder of LIM Studio. “It’s never too late to start, and the benefits and community are for everyone.” Here are six reasons why it might be worth rolling out a mat: 1. Improves balance “There are so many different types of yoga, and in Vinyasa yoga you work …

Ofsted MAT inspections could begin in 2027, says Phillipson

Ofsted MAT inspections could begin in 2027, says Phillipson

Published by skeptic

Inspections at multi-academy trusts are to be introduced via new legislation Inspections at multi-academy trusts are to be introduced via new legislation More from this theme Recent articles New Ofsted inspections of multi-academy trusts could begin as early as 2027, it has emerged. The government has already pledged to introduce Ofsted inspections at MATs during this Parliament. Currently, Ofsted provides summary evaluation of trusts (MATSEs), which sees it batch-inspect a number of schools within a trust. But it does not inspect the way their central teams work. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has today confirmed today government will introduce legislation to enable MAT inspections, via an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill. Writing for Tes, she said: “Many of the decisions that shape schools…are taken at trust level, yet inspection does not yet fully reflect that reality”. Meanwhile, “variation in quality remains”. She said new MAT inspections will “be about understanding quality and supporting trusts to improve” and “give trusts – and government – a clear, independent view of what they are doing well and where …

Call for education partnerships to fill MAT ‘policy vacuum’

Call for education partnerships to fill MAT ‘policy vacuum’

Published by skeptic

“Local education partnerships” can foster collaboration between maintained schools and academies and fill the “policy vacuum” left by the fragmentation of the system, a former education secretary and Ofsted chief have said. Local education partnerships involve schools – both maintained and academies – teaming up to form groups that partner with councils and lead on things like school improvement, professional development, boosting inclusion and programmes to increase literacy. Partnerships such as Camden Learning – a model championed by schools minister and former Camden council leader Georgia Gould – and HFL Education (once Herts for Learning) are long-established and well-known. But a report from the Area-Based Education Partnerships Association (AEPA) – a membership body for local education partnerships – revealed there are now 30 operating across England. It comes as ministers are deciding what to do about school structures as part of their upcoming schools white paper. Schools Week revealed earlier this year that officials were working on proposals to encourage all schools to join a group. ‘Risk schools lose autonomy and trusts work in weak …